Examining college sexual violence mandatory reporting policies and report outcomes: Evidence does not support a universal approach over alternative approaches

Mandatory reporting policies for sexual violence in U.S. institutions of higher education (IHEs) require certain designated employees to report any potential sexual violence they learn about to IHE officials, even when the victim/survivor does not want to report. The most common policy approach is a Universal approach, in which all or nearly all employees are designated as mandatory reporters. However, some have adopted Alternative approaches (e.g., designating only select employees as mandatory reporters, considering survivor consent to the report). It is often assumed that Universal policies best facilitate beneficial outcomes, such as addressing cases of sexual violence and supporting survivors. Yet, these assumptions have not been supported with empirical evidence.

This exploratory study examined if having a Universal approach (vs. an Alternative approach) was associated with the number of reports made to the Title IX office and key report outcomes following a mandated report. There were no formal hypotheses.

This study used survey data collected from a national sample of Title IX practitioners in IHEs (N = 260).

Title IX practitioners working at IHEs with a Universal policy received significantly more reports from mandatory reporters than those with an Alternative policy. However, there were no clear significant differences between policy approaches for other outcomes, including total reports, percentage of reports possibly actionable under Title IX policy, how frequently survivors responded to contact from the Title IX office, or how frequently survivors wanted or received a formal investigation process, accommodations, or resource referrals.

There were few differences between policy approaches for important mandatory report outcomes, refuting assumptions that Universal mandatory reporting policies are associated with better outcomes than Alternative approaches. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).