COLUMBIA – Under the newly imposed Title IX policy, university employees are required to report any act of discrimination
MU's mandated reporter training is still under development. UM system communication coordinator, John Fougere said, "Our goal is to ensure that the training for all mandated reporters is as convenient and effective as possible, so what we're looking at is mostly likely an online training."
Fougere said UM System employees on all four campuses should receive training by the end of this year.
He said the UM System wants to go beyond the minimum Title IX training requirements. When it comes to addressing sexual misconduct, he said the UM System wants to become a national model for other colleges and universities.
Fougere said, "At the University of Missouri System, we don't want to do merely what's required, when it comes to Title IX and addressing the very difficult problem of sexual misconduct. Instead, we want to make sure that we set up the University of Missouri System as a national model, so that other colleges and universities across the nation look to the University of Missouri as the model of how we prioritize and ensure the safety of all our students, faculty and staff."
He said developing the online mandated reporter training is an "awesome undertaking" and will take some time to complete.
MU spokesperson, Mary Jo Banken said the Title IX website will help MU employees and student report any form of discrimination, including sexual misconduct.
She said, “We're hoping that everyone who becomes aware of any of these actions certainly takes, is responsible and takes the correct actions. We're trying to make it as easy for anyone who becomes aware of any of these actions to report them."
Deputy Title IX coordinator, Doctor Cathy Scroggs said the Title IX policies are completely different than what most MU employees are used to.
She said, "We have a number of faculty and staff [who] have great relationships with our students. Students turn to for them assistance and turn to for support. And I think a lot of us have thought, 'Oh we'll provide the assistance needed, but we feel like we want to keep in confidence and protect the student in some way.' And now to be told that we must report this to the Title IX office is a switch."
Scroggs said some employees may find it hard to report incidents that they were once able to keep confidential. She said university employees want to receive mandated reporter training because they care about student safety.
To file a discrimination report to the Title IX office, visit TitleIX.missouri.edu.
