After Student Feedback, Harvard Gender Equity Office Cut Title IX Training Module Time

The Office of Gender Equity revised its Title IX training modules and hired new staff in recent months to increase student and affiliate awareness and use of the office.

These changes to the OGE — which consists of the Sexual Harassment/Assault Resource Education, Prevention, and Title IX teams — came as the Biden administration announced its new Title IX policies earlier this year.

The Title IX eLearning training modules assigned to all undergraduates at the beginning of the year underwent significant changes, including a significant reduction in duration and changes in content and approach.

Associate Director for Strategic Prevention Initiatives in OGE Rachel Dibella wrote in a statement to The Crimson that the changes were made in response to student feedback.

“We adapted the student eLearning modules to be more concise, while bridging concepts such as active bystander intervention further into in-person community-based programming, including orientation and entryways for first-year College students,” she wrote.

The Title IX team has also seen significant staffing overturn in the past few months.

In August, Lindsey Ciolfi was appointed assistant director of College Title IX, a newly created role. The addition of Ciolfi doubled the size of the team — which initially consisted only of the College Title IX resource coordinator, a position Reisha Williams filled last February after the previous program officer, Erin Clark, left three months earlier.

The College Title IX office also has its own Student Advisory Board, which consists of 15 students working with the College Title IX office to provide feedback on initiatives and material.

In addition, OGE currently has four undergraduates and one graduate student serving as interns. The intern program is housed under the SHARE and Prevention teams and was created largely in response to feedback from students and affiliates, according to Dibella.

Dibella said the internship program focuses on increasing access for students to become familiarized with Title IX procedures and available confidential resources.

As part of the internship, students engage in work focused on prevention, including raising awareness through outreach and programming across residential spaces, including tabling pop-ups on campus, according to DiBella.

In addition to these responsibilities, the interns are also involved in developing and revising content used for student training as prevention resources.

Per DiBella, the Prevention Team also works with residential life staff and student organizations to host programs on active bystander intervention and foster conversations about consent.

Harvard College Associate Dean of Students Lauren E. Brandt ’01 wrote in a statement to The Crimson that “the College Title IX Team have been active in partnering with student leaders, orientation and pre-orientation programs, and residential communities, and the OGE in running workshops, trainings, and information sessions.”

“They are always eager to learn more about students’ experiences, and to help them navigate these challenging issues in ways that preserve their access to all that Harvard College offers,” she wrote.

—Staff writer Caroline K. Hsu can be reached at caroline.hsu@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @CarolineHsu_.

—Staff writer Hana Rostami can be reached at hana.rostami@thecrimson.com.