Certified Course

Module 1: Overview of Title IX and VAWA

• Explain the purpose of Title IX.
• Describe what types of conduct constitute sexual harassment and sexual violence.
• Identify the crimes of sexual violence (“VAWA crimes”) required to be tracked and reported by institutions under the Clery Act.
• Recognize how VAWA expanded institutional policy and procedural requirements designed to prevent, promptly and fairly respond to, and remedy harm occurring to students from crimes of sexual violence.
• Explain the relationship between Title IX, VAWA, and the Clery Act.

Module 2: Reporting and Response

• Explain the role and responsibility of a Title IX Coordinator.
• Describe how and to whom students and employees can report sexual harassment and sexual violence at your institution.
• Recognize when your institution is considered to be “on notice” of sexual harassment or sexual violence and what actions the institution must take to respond.
• Contrast the role of a Responsible Employee to that of a Title IX Coordinator.
• Assess the obligation of a school to keep Title IX complaints and victim identity confidential and the limitations of that confidentiality.

Module 3: Investigations and Disciplinary Procedures

• Recognize the elements that must be contained in grievance procedures used by an institution to receive and evaluate complaints of sexual harassment.
• Identify the additional elements that must be contained in procedures for institutional disciplinary action in cases of alleged dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
• Explain how a Title IX Investigation is conducted.
• Contrast the purpose and standard of proof in an institutional Title IX proceeding with a criminal proceeding.
• Recognize how off-campus conduct can implicate a school’s Title IX investigation obligations and how Title IX and VAWA off-campus jurisdiction differ.

Module 4: Prevention and Education

• Explain the sanctions and remedial measures your institution may impose for a VAWA crime.
• Explain the prohibition against retaliation for reporting or being involved in a disciplinary proceeding regarding a Title IX offense, including VAWA crime.
• Gain a basic familiarity with VAWA crime definitions under the Clery Act.
• Examine the meaning of consent, including under the state law where your institution is located.
• Describe strategies for bystander intervention to prevent sexual violence.
• Recognize the dynamics of sexual assault, including key aspects of victim behavior, trauma response, intimate partner violence, and capacity to consent.