A Depressing Year for Campus Due Process

(From Mindingthecampus.com):

A DEPRESSING YEAR FOR CAMPUS DUE PROCESS

By K.C. Johnson

This article is second in a series on “the year that was” in higher education.

The 2013-4 academic year featured a steady assault on campus due process, resulting from a loose alliance between the Obama administration (especially its Office for Civil Rights) and self-appointed “activists,” their faculty supporters, and a handful of higher-ed journalists. The year concluded with some pushback from an unexpected source—the federal courts—likely previewing major controversy between the academy and civil society for coming years.

A More Aggressive Federal Policy

The year opened with debate over whether the OCR’s settlement with the University of Montana constituted a “blueprint” that all other schools would be expected to follow. Under strong editorial and political pressure, OCR backtracked, suggesting that the agency’s use of the word “blueprint” didn’t necessarily mean that OCR wanted other colleges to follow the Montana policy. READ MORE HERE