The campus community can expect to see an increase in the number of Title IX investigations taking place in the near future. As early as fall 2014, students, faculty and staff will be required to begin training to learn more about Title IX.

Title IX refers to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination based on sex or gender from any educational program, activity or institution that is federally funded, said Joan Williams, UNA’s Title IX officer.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw an increase in the number of investigations from an average of about five per year to about 30 to 40,” said Director of Student Conduct Kim Greenway.

Greenway said she expects to see this increase because Title IX investigations will now include cases of harassment, dating violence and victims being coerced or incapacitated because of alcohol consumption.

These changes occurred after the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights released a Dear Colleague Letter in 2011. The letter gave Title IX jurisdiction over a larger variety of sexual crimes.

“Sexual harassment of students, which includes acts of sexual violence is a form of sexual discrimination,” the letter reads. “The requirements of Title IX pertaining to sexual harassment also cover sexual violence. Sexual violence refers to physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person’s will or where a person is incapable of giving consent.”

The letter also says a person is considered incapable to give consent if he or she is impaired by drugs alcohol or a disability.

The new stipulations in Title IX also mean that Title IX investigators on campus are taking on some of the workload that previously has fallen on other University entities.

“Up until this point, the University Police Department would do our investigation, send it to the District Attorney’s office and give a copy of the investigation to University Student Conduct,” said UNA Police Chief Bob Pastula. “Title IX encompasses just about everything on campus nowadays,” he said. “It is investigated just like any other crime on campus.”

Now there will be more investigators on campus to report to the Title IX Officer and decrease the workload put on Student Conduct, he said.

“A part of the expanded guidelines also says that we have to educate so whereas some people had maybe never heard of Title IX before or maybe didn’t understand what would go under a title IX case, the whole campus will be educated,” Williams said.

Educating students will also contribute to the increased number of investigations on campus, Williams said.

“Because of the heightened awareness and education, I think that’s going to make the reporting go up,” Williams said.

Freshman Claire Clark thinks educating everybody on campus will be a difficult task to complete.

“I know it’s a necessity, but it’s going to take a lot of time and a lot of resources to complete,” Clark said.

Freshman Hallie Brown thinks students need to know more about what falls under Title IX.

“It’s very confusing,” she said. “I don’t see how they’re going to get everybody on campus to understand it. There are going to be some people who don’t pay attention and learn anything.”

The university has hired a consultant to develop a plan for educating campus and implementing Title IX procedures, Williams said.

“We know educating everyone is going to be a multi-prong approach,” Williams said. “We don’t know exactly how we are going to do it yet, but we want students to be engaged and interactive in this process.”