The new rules aim to safeguard the accused in three key ways:Accused students must now be given written assurance that they are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Colleges will be required to adjudicate claims through live hearings during which accusers and the accused can be cross-examined by an intermediary to challenge their credibility. Whereas the Obama administration asked schools to adopt a “preponderance of evidence” standard of proof in determining guilt — sometimes known as “50 percent plus a feather” — colleges will now have the flexibility to use the higher “clear and convincing evidence” standard. The presumption of innocence is arguably the least controversial change. As a result, hundreds of students have sued colleges for denying them a fair process in recent years, many of them successfully.

Source: New York Times May 12, 2020 21:56 UTC