June 2023
Cozen O'Connor is nearing the conclusion of its systemwide assessment of the CSU's Title IX and Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation (DHR) programs. There has been strong participation and engagement at each of the 23 universities, as well as the Chancellor's Office, which will help ensure the assessment is informed, thorough, complete and tailored to each university.
Throughout the process, the Cozen O'Connor team invited feedback from university constituents through a dedicated email address , and from each campus community during their visits and through a confidential (anonymous) online survey. Nearly 18,000 members of the CSU community responded to the survey.
On Wednesday, May 24, 2023, Cozen O'Connor reported on its assessment at an open session of the board of trustees meeting. The presentation was livestreamed and is accessible
here. A PDF of the PowerPoint presentation is available here.
In late June, Cozen O'Connor will issue a written report that will describe the assessment process, what the assessment revealed, and their recommendations regarding programming and services at the system level (Chancellor's Office) and at each of our 23 universities. (Cozen O'Connor will also prepare individual reports for each campus that will be attached to the systemwide report.) Cozen O'Connor's report (including the campus reports) will be shared publicly. To learn more about the campus reports, visit the Campus Reports Update page.
Each university president has formed an Implementation Team to support the implementation of Cozen O'Connor's recommendations on their campuses. The Implementation Teams include a member of the president's cabinet (or other high-level administrator), the Title IX Coordinator, the DHR Administrator, at least one staff member; at least one faculty member, including a representative of the faculty senate; and at least one student, including a member of student leadership.
In April, the Cozen O'Connor team held two half-day meetings with all of the Implementation Teams together to ensure they had the opportunity (before the end of the term) to develop a deeper understanding of the framework of the assessment; the evidence base and process for reaching observations and recommendations; the goals that form the basis for the recommendations; and how to be best prepared to receive the upcoming report and successfully move forward on their campuses.
In conjunction with the release of Cozen O'Connor's written report, the Chancellor will send a written charge to the university Implementation Teams that describes the purpose and scope of the teams' work, as well as expected deliverables. Cozen O'Connor and a member of the CO Title IX/DHR team will thereafter meet separately (most likely in late summer and early fall) with each university Implementation Team to discuss Cozen O'Connor's observations, recommendations and next steps with respect to that university.
Significant progress has been made by Cozen O'Connor in its systemwide assessment of the CSU's Title IX and Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation (DHR) programs. There has been strong participation and engagement at each of the 23 universities, as well as the Chancellor's Office, which will help ensure the assessment is informed, thorough, complete and tailored to each university.
Throughout the process, the Cozen O'Connor team has invited feedback from university constituents through its dedicated email address, and with each campus community through their visits and a confidential (anonymous) online survey. Nearly 18,000 members of the CSU community responded to the survey.
At the May 2023 board of trustees meeting, Cozen O'Connor will report to the trustees, university leaders and all members of the CSU community during an open session that will be live streamed. This report will describe the assessment process, what the assessment revealed and their recommendations at the system level (Chancellor's Office) and at our universities. Consistent with our commitment to candor in this assessment, Cozen O'Connor's written report will be publicly released soon after the board meeting, and will include a section with observations and recommendations for each of the CSU universities.
Cozen O’Connor initially planned to provide a separate report to each university prior to the final systemwide report. While Cozen O’Connor has shared ongoing feedback about recommendations to strengthen and support the work of Title IX and DHR during campus visits and in follow-up discussions, the Cozen O’Connor team concluded that sharing individually tailored recommendations to each university would be best understood and most meaningful if delivered in the context of, and in conjunction with, systemwide observations and recommendations. Therefore, the final written report will address specific findings for each university in a separate section of the final systemwide report.
Each university president is forming an Implementation Team that will include university Title IX and DHR staff, as well as student, faculty, and staff stakeholders. Beginning in mid-April, the Cozen O’Connor team will convene all members of these Implementation Teams to ensure that all team members have the opportunity (before the end of the term) to develop a deeper understanding of the framework of the assessment; the evidence base and process for reaching observations and recommendations; the goals that form the basis for the recommendations; and how to be best prepared to receive the upcoming report and successfully move forward. To learn more about the campus reports, visit the Campus Reports Update page.
Members of the Cozen O'Connor team have engaged with CSU campuses and the Chancellor's Office through visits (in person or via zoom, based upon campus preference), other meetings and written communications with students, faculty, staff and administrators, and document review.
The campus visits were scheduled at the start of each campus assessment, in order to provide insight to each campus's individual antidiscrimination programs, practices and protocols, as well as the organizational structure of each campus's Title IX and DHR offices. More information about the campus visits can be found in the FAQs and Sample Campus Visit Schedule.
Campuses were provided a sample campus visit schedule as a starting point, but were allowed to modify their schedules to include open listening sessions and meetings with campus task forces and other stakeholder groups. As of mid-December, members of the Cozen Assessment team have visited 20 of the 23 CSU campuses. The remaining visits at SLO, Fullerton and Dominguez Hills are scheduled to take place between January 17-January 26.
Throughout the fall, Gina Smith and Leslie Gomez, the chair and vice-chair of Cozen's Institutional Response Group, also met with, and received input from, other stakeholder groups including members of the California State Student Association (CSSA), the Academic Senate of the California State University (ASCSU) and the Council of Campus Senate Chairs.
During and after the campus visits, the Cozen team engaged with individual and constituent members of the CSU community, and this will continue into early 2023. Any member of the CSU community (students, faculty, staff, and administrators) may share confidential feedback with the Cozen assessment team by sending an email to CalStateReview@Cozen.com.
Additionally, a survey will be deployed in January, providing an opportunity for any member of the campus community to share insights into their campus, its culture, and climate, and its strengths and challenges related to CSU Title IX and DHR programs. More details about the survey, instructions and timing will be sent to the CSU community.