Might restorative justice be a preferable approach to resolving sexual assault cases in higher ed?

Instead of turning our campuses into mini-criminal justice systems, perhaps a more nuanced and sophisticated approach in keeping with our mission makes more sense. 
http://chronicle.com/article/Alternative-Idea-for-Resolving/230623/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

And it might forestall some subsequent law suits.
My July webinar on student discipline covers this and much more:

 

Student Discipline Policy Review: Responding to the Challenges of Hazing and Bullying, Drugs and Alcohol, Sexual Harassment and Assault

Best For: Higher Education
Date/Time: 7/16/2015, 1 PM Eastern
Duration: Scheduled for 90 minutes including question and answer session.
Presenter(s): James Ottavio Castagnera, Ph.D. and Attorney at Law
Price: $299.00 webinar, $349.00 CD, $399.00 webinar + CD. Each option may be viewed by an unlimited number of attendees in one room using one unique login. CD includes full audio presentation, question and answer session and presentation slides.
Who Should Attend? College and university administrators, department chairs, legal counsel

More than ever before, higher education is expected to police and prosecute its unprincipled students or face the consequences. This demands first-rate student discipline-related risk-management practices which should include: cutting-edge disciplinary rules; strong policies and procedures; well-informed faculty and well-trained administrators and staff, and a communications office cued to the imperatives of crisis management. Falling down in any of these areas could expose your institution to substantial financial and reputational risks.
Examples of the rising tide of infractions of college rules by students and the consequences for both students and universities are easy to find. For example:

• The suicide death of a Rutgers University student and the hazing death of a marching band member at Florida A&M. In both of these cases student- perpetrators were convicted in criminal courts. Incidents of cyber-bullying and hazing are prominent in the news, and both regulatory agencies and law enforcement are watchful.
• Drugs and alcohol remain, as always, major risk-management challenges on college campuses. In fact, binge drinking has never been more prevalent than it is today.
• The movement toward the legalization of marijuana. With recreational use of cannabis now legal in several states and medical marijuana sanctioned in dozens more, universities need to reexamine their rules regarding possession and use by their students.
• Lastly, the crusade initiated by President Obama in a now-famous speech last June, calling for the eradication of sexual assault on college campuses. This call to action initiated what might fairly be called “a Movement” across the country. While the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has experienced a seven-fold increase in sexual assault complaints since 2009, the United Educators insurance carrier reports a similar spike in lawsuits by both victims and the accused. Meanwhile, the revelations in Rolling Stone Magazine’s journalistic disaster involving the University of Virginia stand as a caution to all administrators about the fallout from a shoddy investigation.

Any of these hot issues, by itself, represents a major challenge for current college and university student-disciplinary practices and procedures. In combination, however, they make for a Perfect Storm that can only be weathered by a review of current policies and procedures to make sure they are equal to today’s increasing student-discipline challenges. Please join Dr. James Ottavio Castagenera as he takes you through a review of higher education student discipline rules and procedures and discusses critical areas of concern for colleges and universities.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Just a sampling of what this webinar will cover:

• Best practices in student disciplinary rules and procedures
• Communicating your code of conduct to all campus constituencies, especially your students
• Creating a climate and culture of compliance
• Training faculty and staff
• Providing “due process” while effectively investigating and adjudicating student misbehavior
• Communication crisis-management on campus and beyond
• Effective litigation-avoidance strategies
• AND MUCH MORE!

YOUR CONFERENCE LEADER

Your conference leader for “Student Discipline Policy Review: Responding to the Challenges of Hazing and Bullying, Drugs and Alcohol, Sexual Harassment and Assault” is Dr. James Ottavio Castagnera. Dr. Castagnera holds a law degree and a Ph.D. in American studies from Case Western Reserve University. Jim brings three decades of experience in higher education to this webinar. Prior to law school he served Case Western Reserve as director of university communication. He went on to teach as a full-time faculty member at the University of Texas-Austin and the Widener University Law School, and as a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton Business School. Currently, and for the past 19 years, he has been Rider University’s associate provost and legal counsel. His diverse duties include risk management, regulatory matters, faculty and student disciplinary cases, international student and study abroad programs, intellectual property, litigation management, governance and institutional policies.
He is the author of 19 books, including the Handbook for Student Law for Higher Education Administrators (Peter Lang, 2010, revised edition 2014) and a textbook titled Counter Terrorism Issues: Case Studies in the Courtroom (CRC Press 2013).
His teaching experience includes continuing legal education courses, webinars and presentations at numerous national forums, including the Annual Conference of the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Annual Homeland Defense and Security Higher Education Summit sponsored by the Naval Postgraduate School.

EducationAdminWebAdvisor.com QUALITY COMMITMENT

EducationAdminWebAdvisor, a division of DKG Media, LP, wants you to be satisfied with your webinar. If this webinar does not meet your expectations, email us at service@educationadminwebadvisor.com.

CERTIFICATES OF PARTICIPATION

EducationAdminWebAdvisor certificates of participation are available to everyone completing this webinar.