Tufts has changed its sexual assault policies and procedures and is resubmitting them to OCR for approval. Last month, the school backed out of an agreement, they say, after being told by OCR that their policies--revised after a complaint filed in 2010--were not in compliance.
The refusal to sign the agreement created quite a stir on campus and beyond when it seemed liked Tufts did not care about fully protecting its students and creating a safe campus. This sentiment is countered by Tufts administrators who say that if the shortcomings of the policies had been pointed out to them prior to the resolution agreement, the necessary changes would have been made.
Now they have been made. The version Tufts is submitting to OCR now includes the addition of two staff members, training on all of the university's campuses, and putting in writing aspects of procedure that exist but are not currently recorded anywhere.
President Anthony Monaco said the revisions were easy to implement.
Who is at fault here remains somewhat ambiguous. But it does not appear that both sides have greater clarity. Tufts has agreed to continued monitoring by OCR. And the university's task force on sexual assault will continue to review policies over the summer.
