FAYETTEVILLE Ark.– The University of Arkansas is under federal investigation after a student filed complaints with the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights in April.

In a letter to Chancellor Joseph Steinmetz on April 21, the Office of Civil Rights said that it received two complaints against the University. The first complaint was filed June 6, 2015.  The second was filed August 3, 2015. The complaints deal with three Title IX cases at the University from 2014. These complaints have led to the investigation of two issues.

The first asks whether or not the University handled the Title IX complaints in a timely manner. The second is regarding whether or not the University’s potential delay in responding to the complaints led the students being “subjected to a sexually hostile environment that denied or limited the students’ ability to participate in or benefit from the University’s programs…”

“The University is actively gathering information,” Mark Rushing, the Assistant Vice Chancellor of University Relations said, “and will comply with all OCR requests. The University feels it responded to these matters appropriately and in a proactive manner.”

Earlier this year, UATV spoke with Rachel Eikenberry, the Director of Student Conduct, who said that the Title IX system isn’t created to investigate or prosecute criminals, but to decide if a student was in violation of campus policy.  Eikenberry said, “when they send that report to us and it comes into our hands we are not looking at this as a crime. We are looking at this as a code of student life violation.”

One of the complaints was made by Kayla Kimball, a student who said she was sexually assaulted her sophomore year.

According to the Division of Student Affairs Student Handbook, the Title IX Office has up to 60 days to complete an investigation before a hearing. Kimball filed her report on April 21, 2015. According to a notification letter obtained exclusively by UATV, she was not notified of a hearing until July 27, more than 90 days later. The other student involved was on a study abroad trip at this time, so the hearing was pushed back even further, to Aug. 14.

In response to this, Rushing said “The Office of Civil Rights recommends that typical cases be adjudicated in a specific time period, but recognizes there are circumstances that would extend the process. ”

The second issue under investigation asks whether or not this potential failure allowed any students to be “subjected to a sexually hostile environment that denied or limited the students’ ability to participate in or benefit from the University’s programs.”

According to the complainant outcome notification, Kimball’s Title IX hearing concluded on Aug. 21. Although the other student was found not responsible, the hearing upheld a No Contact Order. This means that the other student could have no written, verbal, direct nor third-party communication with Kimball.

Kimball and the respondent shared the same major, so often had classes together. Before the Fall 2015 semester, the students found themselves in a situation where they could end up in the same choir. Two days after the hearing decision was handed down, on Aug. 31, one of her professors asked to see the No Contact Order that was filed against the other student, through an email.

On Sept. 2, Kimball received an email from the professor that said, “I have decided it best that you refrain from participating in inspirational choral this semester.” When asked for clarification, the professor said in another email that the decision was “his alone” and that the other student would still be allowed to participate. According to this email, the other student had come to speak to the professor three weeks prior. UATV reached out to the professor in question, but he was not available for comment.

Rushing stated “The University did not deny the complainant access to any class.”

Kimball reached out to the Title IX office through email, and the professor allowed her to return. After returning, however, she dropped the class after her classmates made her feel uncomfortable.

The U of A has kept record of the number of rapes that have been reported to U-A-P-D. In 2012, four were reported, with three of them occurring on campus. The next year, 2013, five were reported to have happened on campus. In 2014, three rapes were reported and there were two reports of dating violence.

“I think it’s disappointing,” said State Representative Greg Ledding, “Even if ultimately the [Department of Education] clears them of mishandling these three cases, I think its clear that the campus has some work to do because you have at least 3 students now who felt like they weren’t treated fairly and took the step to contact the DOE.”  Ledding serves on the House Committee for Education and said he wants to find a solution and hold the schools accountable.

The U of A is one of 181 higher education institutions under investigation right now. Of these six are in the SEC, including Arkansas. The University of Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, Louisiana State University and the University of Kentucky are all under investigation. The University of Tennessee has two open investigations while the other schools only have one.