US Department of Education ignores male students’ interest

Erie Community College, SUNY, settles Title IX case.

According to Buffalo News:

“The U.S. Department of Education announced … that it has reached a settlement with Erie Community College (ECC)…

The agreement includes 11 steps to remedy the disparity, including:

• Conduct a survey of women in ECC’s student body aimed at determining their possible interests and abilities in sports opportunities that the college does not currently offer to them.“

Note that the settlement does not include a survey of male students in ECC’s student body. The U.S. Dept. of Ed. does not appear to be concerned about the interests of ECC’s male students.

Community colleges often have significant enrollment of ‘non-traditional’ students, adults who enroll in college later in life. So, that can provide challenges when they offer athletic teams, which must comply with Title IX’s gender quotas.

County Attorney Michael A. Siragusa said college officials are working on ways to adhere to the agreement, although he noted that it comes with challenges for ECC.

“It’s just a challenge at a community college, I think, because of the average age of the student,” Siragusa said.

According to the American Association of Community Colleges, “Community colleges also provide access to education for many nontraditional students, such as adults who are working while enrolled. The average age of a community college student is 29, and two thirds of community college students attend part-time.”

The ASC advocates for reform of Title IX’s current regulations, so that no one is denied the benefits of athletic participation on the basis of their gender.  We need more realistic and fair compliance standards for Title IX that are not governed by a gender quota, and US community colleges would benefit from more flexibility.

-Eric Pearson, Chairman, American Sports Council

 

We hope that ECC is able to add more sports programs for its female students, without cutting athletic opportunities for male athletes. According to the Institute of Education Sciences, females earn 62% of all Associates degrees, so eliminating male athletes would likely increase gender disparity at ECC.