Category: Department of Education

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Campus Department of Education Scholarships Title IX Equity Project

PR: The 85 Worst Universities in the Nation Offering Scholarships that Discriminate on the Basis of Sex

Contact: Rebecca Stewart

Telephone: 513-479-3335

Email: info@saveservices.org

 The 85 Worst Universities in the Nation Offering Scholarships that Discriminate on the Basis of Sex

WASHINGTON / March 16, 2020 – The Title IX Equity Project today is releasing a list of 85 colleges and universities in the nation with severe violations of the federal Title IX law that bars sex discrimination in schools. These 85 institutions offer at least 10 more scholarships for female students, compared to the number of scholarships for male students. The 85 colleges are located in 34 states across the nation: AL, AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MA, MN, MS, MO, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OR, PA, RI, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, and WY.

One of the worst offenders in the country is the University of Missouri – Columbia, which offers 70 scholarships for female students, and one for male students. The 70 female-only scholarships address a broad range of academic fields, including medicine, education, journalism, art, and other areas. The sole scholarship for male students, the Eric G. Rowe Scholarship Fund, is reserved for “deserving farm boys” who plan to attend the university’s School of Agriculture (1).

On September 20, 2019 the SAVE Title IX Equity Project sent a letter to Chancellor Alexander Cartwright listing the discriminatory scholarships and requesting a substantive response. The University never replied. On January 28, 2020, the Title IX Equity Project filed a formal complaint with the federal Office for Civil Rights, alleging a willful breach of federal non-discrimination requirements. The decision whether to open a formal federal investigation is pending.

Such disparities not only violate federal law, they offend basic notions of fairness. At the University of Missouri – Columbia, female students outnumber males, 11,789 to 10,695 (2).  Nationwide, 56% of undergraduate students are female, and 44% are male (3).

The listing of all 85 universities is available online (4).  The federal Office for Civil Rights is currently investigating over 80 sex-discrimination complaints that were filed by parties alleging discrimination against male students (5).

University of Michigan-Flint professor Mark Perry has commented ironically, “universities would never tolerate any special preferences for men or discrimination against women, but on the other hand, they not only tolerate discrimination against men and special preferences for women, but they actively promote, fund and endorse illegal discrimination…The illegal discriminatory programs are not being corrected internally despite huge staffs of diversity officers.” (6)

Citations:

  1. https://endowedscholarships.missouri.edu/SelectAllSchoalrship.aspx?action=Y
  2. https://www.collegetuitioncompare.com/edu/178396/university-of-missouri-columbia/enrollment/#gender-block
  3. https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=98
  4. http://www.saveservices.org/equity/scholarships/
  5. http://www.saveservices.org/equity/ocr-investigations/
  6. https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/an-interview-about-my-title-ix-complaint-vs-uw-stout/
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Department of Education

Secretary DeVos Announces New, Proactive Civil Rights Compliance Center within Office for Civil Rights

‘OPEN Center’ will focus on Outreach, Prevention, Education and Non-discrimination to Promote Equal Access in Education
JANUARY 21, 2020
Contact:   Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov
WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced today that the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Education will launch the Outreach, Prevention, Education and Non-discrimination (OPEN) Center to focus on proactive compliance with federal civil rights laws. The OPEN Center will provide assistance and support to schools, educators, families, and students to ensure better awareness of the requirements and protections of federal non-discrimination laws.

“The creation of the OPEN Center is yet another example of this Department’s focus on supporting school districts, colleges, and those closest to students,” said Secretary DeVos. “The OPEN Center underscores OCR’s efforts to support all schools and provide technical assistance to help them come into compliance with federal civil rights law prior to the filing of a complaint. This agency will continue supporting school districts and colleges by working with them cooperatively to ensure that every child has access to a quality education.”

While OCR typically enforces federal civil rights laws through the traditional complaint-resolution process, OCR will, through the provision of targeted support to recipient institutions and the public, also be able to work more proactively—prior to the filing of complaints—to ensure that schools are aware of their obligations under federal civil rights law. By investing resources in technical assistance and public education, OCR will provide not only much-needed assistance to recipients, but also better support students, families, and stakeholders.

“The OPEN Center is all about strengthening civil rights compliance through voluntary, proactive activities,” said Assistant Secretary Kenneth L. Marcus. “Instead of waiting for violations to occur before responding, OCR will get in front of the problem, partnering with educators and other institutions to better protect students. As the name implies, we want to be a better resource, more welcoming and supportive of students, families, educators, and communities.”

The OPEN Center, established within OCR headquarters, will provide OCR with a dedicated team that focuses on education, prevention, and outreach. It will also provide for improved technical assistance to recipients and the public through a dedicated team to ensure that technical assistance is high-quality, accurate, thorough, and legally sound. The OPEN Center will be staffed by OCR civil rights attorneys and will be led by Acting Director, Christian Corrigan. OPEN Center inquiries can be sent to OPEN@ed.gov.