Every MU student will soon be expected to complete an online training aimed at preventing future sexual assaults.
The program, entitled “Not Anymore,” will educate students on topics including sexual assault, consent, dating and domestic violence, bystander intervention and stalking. Requiring students to complete the training will educate them on interpersonal violence behaviors and give them resources to help a friend in certain situations, interim Title IX coordinator Linda Bennett said.
“We want to have our campus culture and climate move to a place where everybody’s knowledgeable about not only what they’re studying as a major, but about the expectations of important sexual discrimination behaviors,” she said. “The reason we expect people to do it is that it makes everyone responsible for the safety of our campus.”
The training, which includes short videos and related questions, will take about an hour to complete, Bennett said.
Bennett said she plans to send a mass email to all students next week to announce the new program. The email will include contact information for resources such as the the Title IX Office, Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention Center, Student Health Center and Counseling Center.
Students who do not complete the training weeks after the initial email will receive a reminder email. Bennett said though initially there will be no real consequences for students who do not complete it, that could change after the first several weeks if program coordinators deem it necessary to spur participation.
The program requirement is in part a response to [calls from the White House to curb sexual assaults on college campuses nationwide](http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/apr/29/college-sexual-assault-white-house-proposals).
“(Not Anymore) is our campus’ way to say we’re training all of our students to know what behaviors are and are not acceptable,” Bennett said.
She said students who are also paid MU employees will be expected to complete both the “Not Anymore” training and the mandatory employee training.
The cost of purchasing the program, which was created by a prevention training firm called [Student Success](http://public.studentsuccess.org/), is covered by a grant the RSVP Center and Women’s Center received three years ago.
The RSVP Center has been searching for a program that best meets the needs of the MU community over the past two years, center coordinator Danica Wolf said. She said the center has used “Not Anymore” for its voluntary training program over the past year.
“I hope that using this program will help establish a baseline of knowledge for our campus community,” Wolf said. “I also hope that this program will increase awareness of campus services and resources for survivors.”
Bennett said she has collaborated with administrators, the Division of Information Technology and the registrar’s office to handle technical aspects of the training. She said MU is also discussing ways to incorporate newly enrolled students into the program.
UM-Kansas City received the same grant used by the RSVP Center and has used “Not Anymore” for the last few years, Bennett said. She said the goal is for all four UM System campuses to use the program in the 2015-16 school year.
“Education is knowledge, and knowledge helps people enact skills that help them be safe,” Bennett said. “If we have more people aware of our surroundings and saying certain behaviors are not okay, we have more people buying in and helping encompass that support network for victims. Education is the power to make good choices.”