So during the Obama era, rules were put in place to force colleges to deal with sexual assault accusations. The basic idea is sound: the university needs to do something when one student accuses someone else. Applying a criminal standard of proof is incredibly unfair. In the case of a false negative, that results in some student being forced to continue attending classes with her rapist, or to give up educational opportunities by leaving the school herself. Unlike in the criminal context, a false negative (incorrect acquittal) has a direct prejudicial impact on the victim. A rape victim whose rapist doesn’t get convicted may suffer a moral loss, but it’s not like conviction can undo the rape. Accordingly, many women don’t even press charges. But in a college context, the victim is seeking something that can actually help. Not punishment of the accused, but freedom to continue her education without the threat posed by the accused.
Once you realize that false negatives are as harmful as false positives, then it makes sense to use a civil standard instead of putting a thumb on the scale for the accused. Statistically, sexual assault is far more common than false accusations. Applying a criminal standard results in a lot of social harm through false negatives that isn’t outweighed by avoiding false positives.
Where I think Title IX goes off the rails is treating these cases as being about punishment. Civil standards aren’t for punishment, they’re for resolving disputes. In this context, it’s not about deciding whether the accused is guilty of rape, but about deciding: “which student should be the one to leave?” I think Title IX resolutions should be secret and the only remedy should be expulsion or some sort of internal restraining order.