Complicated, but has a Positive Impact

The summer of 2020 was tumultuous for many reasons. Our campuses were trying to respond to increased racial tensions, managing the pandemic, and we were working hard to make changes as a result of the new Title IX regulations that would keep our campuses compliant.

The Title IX regulations that took effect on August 14, 2020, had a significant impact on the manner in which our campuses investigate and address claims of sex discrimination and harassment. Until now, there have been no binding federal regulations related to sexual harassment under Title IX, only administrative guidance issued by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.

The new regulations expanded the requirements for Title IX grievance procedures, which required significant policy and procedure revisions, and training. Below are a few of the 2020 changes:

• Narrowed the definition of sexual assault under Title IX
• Limited the obligation to investigate complaints only to conduct that occurred in the college’s program or activity (and not to unrelated off-campus conduct)
• Mandated response obligations of colleges (i.e., providing supportive measures)
• Provided more detailed grievance procedures
• Made hearings optional
• Allowed colleges to choose what standard of evidence to use (e.g., the preponderance of evidence v. clear and convincing)
• Required colleges to offer both parties an appeal from a determination regarding responsibility
• Implemented an evaluative/vetting process to ensure that the Title IX Coordinator, investigator, decision-maker, or any person designated by a recipient to facilitate an informal resolution process does not have a conflict of interest or bias for or against complainants or respondents generally or an individual complainant or respondent
• Required training for Title IX Coordinators, investigators, decision-makers, and any person who facilitates an informal resolution process

These changes were greeted with much consternation and controversy on many campuses. We have been operating under the new regulations for one year now while still navigating a global pandemic. If, for a moment, we review the Title IX guidelines through a historical lens, there is a complicated but positive impact. When you look around our campuses today, you will see a very different view than what you would have seen in the early 20th century. American society had a definite idea of what a woman's life should look like: wife, mother, homemaker. Women were generally not considered equals. They were expected to marry and raise children, not go to college. Those who did go to college were only allowed to participate in certain fields, such as teaching, nursing, home economics, child development, or social work.

Fast forward to 1972, as part of the Education Amendments of 1972, Title IX effectively leveled the playing field. Title IX prevents discrimination based on sex, ensuring that no person in the United States will be excluded from participation or from receiving benefits while pursuing an education in any program receiving federal financial assistance. In a historical context, Title IX became a triumph for women and girls who faced more gender barriers and restrictions than men. However, it is a common misconception that Title IX is for girls and women. The law actually benefits everyone, because it effectively eliminates discrimination based on gender--female, male, transgender and gender nonconforming.

It is crucial to understand different perspectives of what the August 14, 2020, regulations mean for students and the changes that campuses had to make. As stewards of education, we must ensure the best experience possible for our students, faculty, and staff. In the coming weeks, as we start the new academic year, please remain dedicated to learning about Title IX and brushing up on regulations periodically so that you can provide a safe and equitable learning environment for all who seek it. Our chapter in history depends on it.

Can a policy management system track as well as I can?

The views expressed in this post are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of ACUPA or Purdue University.

I track a fair amount of data with each of the policies in the Purdue University policy library. Currently, I use Excel to manually track all my data. Even to me, this seems a bit archaic with the variety of policy management systems out there. I have looked at a couple vendors, but have stopped short of pursuing a contract because I am afraid I won’t be able to capture all my data.

Some data are pretty standard, such as the date of issue, the responsible executive, the responsible office, and the volume and chapter (see my post from October 2020 on Organizing a Policy Catalog to learn more about the last two). It’s easy to designate a field that captures these data. It is also easy to track the date a policy was last revised. Even systems that are not designed exclusively for policy management can track version dates.

Where I run into trouble is finding a way to automatically track the last date a policy was reviewed. Policies get revised all the time. Titles, phone numbers, and email addresses change frequently, which require an update to the affected policy, and thus, a new version date. Most of the time, however, these small administrative updates do not coincide with a comprehensive review of the policy. If I were to use the version date to determine when a policy is due for review, I would likely have a lot of policies that never get reviewed because the version date never falls outside the review period (which, at Purdue, is every five years).

I also get tripped up when a policy supersedes another policy. This can happen for a number of reasons, such as the title of the policy changing, two policies being combined into one or vice versa, old memos being updated into policies, etc. With my Excel spreadsheet, I am able to track a current policy all the way back to its origin, even if that is a memo from 1952. I can tell you the name and number of the policy or memo that addressed a given subject on a given date, and I can find a copy of that document in our e-archives. I have not had to track anything back to 1952, but I have had instances when our legal counsel needed all the versions of a policy going back several years. I just don’t see how a system could track this kind of serpentine information.

Last, but not least, we allow for interim policies. This means a policy can go into effect without having gone through all the required steps. The policy owner then has six months to finish all the steps and finalize the policy, or request an extension of the interim status. I mark policies as interim and track the six-month deadline in Excel. It seems to me that I would have to continue to track this sort of thing manually even if I had a policy management system.

Maybe I am making things too complicated. Maybe I need to let something go. What do you think?

Accelerate your Membership Experience

by Gina Kennedy

This past year has proven that no matter what happens, there is always a way to get through it. Working in an academic institution, the halls are usually buzzing with chatter from students, faculty and visitors, but now, just silence for the most part. A year ago, if you had a question or wanted to share an idea, you walked down the hall, but now you Zoom. We are all learning how to do the same work differently. Of course, it can be scary – most changes are – but that does not mean it will not lead to something amazing, right? Reflecting on this year, I will try to value the human connection a little bit more.

I am grateful for my ACUPA membership connection to help during these unprecedented times. ACUPA represents more than 150 institutions in the USA and abroad, and  I miss the in-person conferences when I could connect, break bread, share a favorite story and learn something new. When we can get together again, we will…but for now we all Zoom.

As policy professionals we navigate around the emerging changes and concerns, we are always evolving and moving forward. Being a member of ACUPA gives me a forum to solicit advice and share policy issues with ‘like’ colleagues (we really are policy unicorns). In our supercharged Zoom world, it is hard not to feel distanced or that there is too much change, frustrated that we cannot conference or socialize, it gives me Zoom fatigue sometimes just thinking about it.

Socrates writes, "The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new." These are sage words to live by, and a great way to kick-start something with new perspective and a heavy dose of positivity. So, here are four ideas on how to make the most of your ACUPA membership.

1. Member Spotlight

It’s important in a group as large and diverse as ACUPA to put yourself out there and introduce yourself.  Each month, ACUPA spotlights one individual in an effort to bring you, our unique and diverse group of members, together to network, share, and acquire knowledge. To be a spotlight participant, send us your information.

2. Be Prepared and Make Every Meeting Valuable

Many do not realize the preparation that should go into each meeting role. The better prepared you are for a position, the more you can learn, help others, contribute to the meeting, and energize the organization. Share your ideas – creative members make all the difference to strengthen the connection.

3. Turn Challenges into Opportunities

Now more than ever, the challenges of COVID and post-COVID provide policy administrators with a wealth of new tools, and I am sure some old tricks of the trade have been used to migrate through the changes needed for our organizations. Having a resource organization like ACUPA established to explore policy processes and to discuss specific policy issues is a great reason to ensure your membership is up to date, that you are participating and that you promote the organization with other policy administrators so they too can turn challenges into opportunities.

4. Be the Dose of Positivity - Engage and Inspire

Do you have a story to tell? Write a guest blog, offer to do a presentation, share with your colleagues!

Get to know new members of the Policy Matters team

ACUPA’s professional blog, Policy Matters, began as a quarterly newsletter in 2013 and transitioned to the blog format in 2018 to reflect changing methods of communication. Read on to learn more about new members of the Policy Matters editorial team in their own words.

Gina Kennedy

Governance Practitioner, Policy Wonk, disAbility Advocate, Good listener-Hear differently #cochlear bionic (ear) 2020 and gifted napper.

After 16 years in the university corporate governance sector, I want to “rumble with vulnerability,” so when I saw the call out to be a member of this committee, I thought this was an excellent way to start a longstanding desire on my endless list of ”must do”! I also asked myself, if I was new to the sector or to the board, where would I start? A blog is a great way to share knowledge, insight and try something new.

Rosalynn Feagins

Rosalynn Feagins from Texas here. Currently serving the University of Denver as assistant treasurer and formerly a banking professional. My first love is traveling, using unusual words and learning something new every day! I’m excited to share and add to my policy knowledge.

Dr. Lisa Biagas

I am the current Senior Vice President of Human Resources at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). A strategic and hands-on leader, I have proven experience developing and executing impactful people strategies and DEIB programs. I am a thought partner, a change agent, and a consensus builder.

On a personal note, I am grandmother to 6-year-old, Cassidy, and her dog, Taco. When not losing to Cassidy in a marathon game of Uno, I spend my Saturdays as an amateur landscape architect. I get great joy in planning the design, then toiling the soil and planting new trees and shrubs. When not in the yard, I can be found reading a mystery novel, specifically crime fiction and thrillers, and watching British detective TV shows.

Hot Topics

Policy work happens in an everchanging environment. Let us know what topics you’d like to see covered in future blogs by submitting a comment below.

What It Means to Have an Effective Policy Program

Have you ever written a policy that took hours of research, conversations, and meetings and years to get approved? Then, months or even years are dedicated to implementation and operationalizing the policy. Program evaluation can take place at various stages of the policy process to assess progress, milestones, and data amongst other things. Then what? When do you evaluate your policy and related programs and how?

The most common stage for program evaluation to take place is the evaluation and termination stage, when policies are evaluated against how successful they were at meeting their objectives (Fischer, Miller, & Sidney, 2007). Program evaluations focus on the inputs (resources) and outputs because program implementations are meant to be successful and require resources, which are increasingly scarce. Focusing on the level of resources used against the outcomes is important to funders. In other words, what did we get for our money? Over the years, evidence-based reporting has increased in popularity amongst public and nonprofit sectors (Emerson, 2009). Organizations need to show apparent, demonstrated and proven effectiveness. Apparent effectiveness is the short-term result, indicating, through documentation, the program is being utilized (Emerson, 2009). Demonstrated effectiveness refers to measuring the impact of the program (Emerson, 2009). Lastly, proven effectiveness, a scientifically proven measurement of a program’s success (Emerson, 2009). Both demonstrated and proven effectiveness utilize a third party evaluator to gauge the effectiveness (Emerson, 2009).

After our last policy implementation, we regrouped with our customers and discussed areas for continued refinement, improvement, and revisions. Even though we sought input and held focus groups prior to implementation, we still had opportunity to improve.

As you prepare your next policy implementation, think ahead to how you evaluate your program. Can you deliver evidence-based reporting? Can you demonstrate the public policy need was met? To find out, engage with your stakeholders and customers before, during, and after to seek feedback. If data is available to help evaluate, utilize that as well.

References

• Emerson, J. (2009). But does it work? How to best assess program performance. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 29-30.
• Fischer, F., Miller, G. J., & Sidney, M. S. (2007). Handbook on public policy analysis. Boca Raton: CRC Press.