The University of Iowa has begun making progress toward meeting the goals of the Six-Point Plan to Combat Sexual Assault announced by UI President Sally Mason Friday afternoon.

The plan calls for cracking down more on offenders, increasing support for survivors, improving prevention and education, improving communication, adding funding, and listening more and reporting back findings to the campus and other stakeholders.

Unveiled to the Iowa Board of Regents Friday, the plan itself was immediately posted to the UI Office of the President website, the UI homepage, the Iowa Now news site, and the university’s social media channels.

A day earlier, on Thursday, the university posted a prominent link to the UI Sexual Misconduct Response Coordinator website on its homepage immediately following a listening session Mason led on the issue with an estimated 200 members of the campus community.

Other progress made toward meeting the plans goals:

• The Office of the Sexual Misconduct Response Coordinator immediately made several changes to its website, including posting more prominent action links and contact information at the top of the Report a Problem page so survivors immediately understand their options.
• UI Police immediately added links and contact information on its Reporting Sexual Assault page and continue to review and revise the website.
• The UI has revised language used in its Timely Warning notifications so the notifications now include a “trigger warning” to alert survivors and stronger language about potential consequences for people who commit sexual offenses. [Click here to see a revised Timely Warning template.]
• With Mason’s approval, the UI Department of Public Safety is working to secure a second van and personnel for its Nite Ride program, with the goal of putting it into service as soon as possible.
• Starting in fall 2014, the UI will replace its online training tool for incoming students with a product called Every Choice, to ensure the content is more useful and relevant to students.
• The UI is in the process of forming a sexual misconduct student advisory group

UI Sexual Misconduct Response Coordinator Monique DiCarlo says the Every Choice online course will replace Nformd, which was adopted in 2009, when it was the only online program approved by the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women for the use of grant funds. She said the decision was spurred by student feedback, new requirements for student education in the reauthorization of the 2013 Violence Against Women Act, the UI’s ongoing review of prevention best practices and focus on bystander messaging, and recommendations of an advisory group that included student representatives.

The online class, required before orientation, is the first part of a three-stage approach toward educating new students. During orientation, students must participate in person in a required bystander workshop that focuses on alcohol use and sexual assault. That material is reinforced and supported post-orientation by targeted messaging, regular reminders of resources and training, and special awareness campaigns throughout the students’ academic careers.

For Timely Warnings, Georgina Dodge, the UI’s Title IX Coordinator and chief diversity officer, led an effort begun Friday afternoon to revamp the language of the notifications.

The revised notification uses a generic “Timely Warning” subject line rather than state the nature of the incident, includes a “trigger message” to alert survivors at the top of the notice, and adds stronger language about potential consequences for people who commit sexual offenses, from expulsion for students to termination for employees. View the new Timely Warning template here.

Timely Warnings are issued in accordance with the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. The Clery Act requires all colleges and universities that participate in federal financial aid programs to keep and disclose information about crime on and near their respective campuses, including timely warnings of crimes that may represent a threat to the safety of students or employees.

At the UI, Timely Warnings are distributed to campus via mass email and posted to the Iowa Now website.

Dodge and other UI administrators made the changes in consultation with student leaders.

“Timely Warnings are an important way to alert campus to potential threats but we must also avoid re-traumatizing victims, provide clear links to available resources for survivors and advocates, and spell out the consequences for people who might commit sexual crimes,” Dodge says. “While we believe the latest revisions accomplish that, we remain open to suggestions and will continue to refine the document as needed.”

Other UI officials involved in reviewing and revising the Timely Warning language include DiCarlo, UI Director of Public Safety Chuck Green, Vice President for Student Life Tom Rocklin, Dean of Students David Grady, Public Safety Associate Director Dave Visin, and Nathan Levin from the UI General Counsel’s Office.

Learn more about the Six-Point Plan to Combat Sexual Assault at president.uiowa.edu/six-point-plan.