The number of sexual assaults reported by colleges and universities tends to increase by an average of 44 percent while they’re under review by the U.S. Department of Education, according to new research by University of Kansas law professor Corey Rayburn Yung.
However, as soon as federal officials conclude their investigations, Yung found that reports of sexual assault in annual crime statistics tend to drop sharply to pre-audit levels. The same trend was not observed in the statistics for other types of serious crimes on campus.
–
Nancy Cantalupo, an official with the higher education group NASPA, has suggested that, rather than tighter government enforcement, colleges should be required to conduct climate surveys to get a more accurate picture of the prevalence of sexual violence on campus.
“My view is: If you did a survey, that would shift the incentives for schools,” Cantalupo said. “Schools would have the incentive now to shrink the gap between whatever the incident rate is on their campus, based on their survey, and their reporting rate.”
