Explainer: Title IX and its role at Towson University

By Sarah Sternhagen, Editor-in-Chief

This spring, a former Towson University basketball player pleaded guilty to sexual assault and other criminal allegations. The player, Ryan Conway, is no longer on the team, but remains enrolled at Towson. The case elicited questions from the student body about how Towson officials handle reports of sexual violence.

Below, The Towerlight explains how Towson investigates and addresses sexual misconduct through what’s known as a Title IX office.

What is Title IX?

A federal law known as Title IX requires that all K-12 schools and colleges that receive federal funding, including Towson University, protect against sexual violence, and sex-based discrimination broadly.

The law is also known for requiring federally funded institutions to provide equitable athletic opportunities for men and women. Colleges are not obligated to offer identical sports under Title IX, rather the law mandates equal opportunities to participate and for scholarships.

The U.S. Department of Education has the power to draft regulations under Title IX that directs how federally supported colleges must investigate and potentially punish sexual misconduct. 

What happens when sexual misconduct is reported?

Towson routes sexual misconduct allegations through its Title IX office. Reports filed through email, phone, in-person, or online constitute a formal complaint, so long as it is not submitted anonymously. The person who filed the report is referred to as the reporting party.

When beginning work on a formal complaint, Towson’s Title IX Coordinator and Civil Rights Investigator Anthony Davis will contact the reporting party to offer support, such as counseling. 

Then, the coordinator will notify all parties in writing, including the accused, of the sexual misconduct allegations. The person accused of sexual misconduct is referred to as the responding party. The parties are all also informed of the grievance process.

The reporting and responding parties may designate one support person and one adviser, who can be a lawyer, who can be present with them for any meetings about the complaint.

Investigators are then assigned to Title IX cases, they come from the Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity. TU has a full staff of five investigators, according to the Vice President of the office Patricia Bradley.

An investigator will interview the reporting party and may ask for witnesses for the reported misconduct. The official can compile evidence such as text messages, emails and pictures. They will then interview the responding party, who can also provide names of additional witnesses and evidence they would like considered. 

The investigator then compiles the evidence into a report, which a panel of three individuals will read. They will host a hearing with the accused student and accuser to determine if sexual misconduct occurred.

The three panelists are a hearing officer, an external individual trained in Title IX cases, as well as two Towson staff or faculty members. 

All parties can raise concerns over any of the three panelists, such as if they believe one of them is biased.

The hearing entails a review of the investigators’ report and testimony from the accused and accusers. The hearing officer may pose questions, and each parties’ adviser may question the other, but not the accused or accuser directly. 

When the live hearing is concluded the panel will evaluate the evidence and testimony. Towson uses a legal standard known as preponderance of the evidence, which means officials must believe the misconduct was more than 50% likely to have occurred to determine responsibility.

If at any point the reporting party notifies the Title IX Coordinator that they would like to withdraw the formal complaint the university may dismiss the case. 

An informal resolution, such as mediation, is possible if all parties agree to it. This cannot be applied to cases of sexual assault.

What disciplinary action can TU take?

Towson can discipline any student found responsible for sexual misconduct. The Office of Student Accountability and Restorative Practices determines the punishment which can include warnings, probation, suspension, expulsion, withholding degrees, limitation on residential and co-curricular engagement. 

Faculty and staff can be reassigned, suspended or fired.

An accused student who leaves Towson temporarily, permanently or graduates can still be the subject of an investigation. 

“We still have an obligation to move forward and complete that investigation. It doesn’t just go away,” Bradley said. 

Students may not be able to re-enroll if they’re found responsible for sexual misconduct.

How does Towson learn about allegations? 

Aside from telling the Title IX office directly, the Towson University Police Department must also report any Title IX violation it becomes aware of to the Title IX Office.

Meanwhile, the office only needs to share with campus police that an incident occurred, but doesn’t have to provide specifics. 

A media report can also alert Towson officials to potential misconduct, though that’s rare, Bradley said.

“If a news or media report names a Towson University employee or student and there is a criminal arrest, we pull the arrest report as a matter of public record and determine if the arrest constitutes a violation of university policies,” Bradley told The Towerlight in an email.

She said that anonymous reports make investigating an incident more challenging and can typically only supplement other cases that weren’t filed anonymously.

Who decides the Title IX rules?

Because Title IX is a federal law, when a new presidential administration takes power it can develop regulations that change how colleges must investigate sexual violence. 

Towson follows two federal Title IX rules. One applies to incidents that occurred before Aug. 1 this year, the other applies to any that occurred on or after that date.

These two rules exist because the Trump administration developed one regulation, and the Biden administration the other. The Biden administration’s rule applies to incidents that occur on or after Aug. 1. 

The Biden-era regulation also broadned the definition of sexual harassment and expanded protections for LGBTQ+ students and pregnant students.  

Towson’s Title IX office still has cases that fall under the Trump-era regulations, according to Bradley. Once there are no more incidents that fall under the Trump-era regulations, the policy won’t be in effect anymore. However, Trump’s presidential election win could change that.

“We anticipate that there will be regulatory changes,” Bradley said. “They won’t necessarily happen overnight. There’s a process that they have to go through, but we do anticipate that potentially with this new administration, we could see changes again.”

If you or someone you know is suffering from sexual harassment or assault, contact TUPD at 410-704-4444 or call 911. The TurnAround, a 24-hour hotline crisis support team can be reached at 443-279-0379, and the TU Counseling Center can be reached at 410-704-2512.