California State University received 4,530 reports of actions that could fall under the university system’s nondiscrimination policy between July 2023 and June 2024, according to an annual survey of such cases. Students were the complainant in 76% of the reports, and the largest number of reports came from on-campus housing.
The data, presented Wednesday at a CSU board of trustees meeting, includes allegations related to Title IX, which bars sex-based discrimination in schools, as well as the university system’s policies against discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Hayley Schwartzkopf, CSU’s associate vice chancellor for civil rights programming and services, said the data provides a baseline for CSU to judge trends over time. CSU lacked consistent definitions in the past, Schwartzkopf said, so it cannot compare the most-recent data to previous years.
The survey data shows 664 reports of harassment and discrimination based on race or ethnicity, the most reports related to any single protected class. Schwartzkopf said that figure “aligns with many critical issues we saw emerge on our university campuses last year, including those involving protests and encampments.”
Only 16% of the 4,530 reports resulted in a formal complaint. Of those 725 formal complaints, 60% entered an investigation. Other reports were withdrawn, resolved through methods such as mediation or referred to other offices.
CSU students and employees are trained to report any incident that could violate the nondiscrimination policy, even if they don’t know the name of the person who needs support. About 60% of people impacted by a report respond to outreach like phone calls and emails seeking to inform them of their rights and the resources available to support them, according to CSU data. University officials said non-responses could reflect fear, trauma or other dynamics.
The survey of all 23 CSU campuses and the chancellor’s office comes following a series of investigations into how the CSU system handles reports related to Title IX. Both a state audit and a report by the Cozen O’Connor law firm detailed shortcomings in how the university system responds to complaints and addresses sexual assault allegations.
CSU trustee Lillian Kimbell noted following Schwartzkopf’s presentation that the system has completed 15 of 16 recommendations made under the state audit and is on track to complete a final recommendation next year.