St. Louis University mandated EVERFI’s online sexual assault prevention courses in 2015; on-campus sexual assault statistics have gone up since EVERFI’s implementation.
Kim Sahr, a Title IX investigator, said that the Title IX office is satisfied with the content EVERFI offers. EVERFI modules make students more comfortable reporting, preventing, and discussing sexual assault.
In the early 2010s, St. Louis University created homemade sexual assault awareness and prevention videos for students.
“We used the available, academic-side technology to record our videos. Did not look as nice as professional educational software since they were internally made,” said Sahr. “In 2015 we started using EVERFI. We’ve done extensive reviews of other online module vendors, but we’ve continued to use EVERFI due to the depth and the breadth it offers students and employees.”
According to everfi.com, EVERFI is an education technology company that empowers educators to bring real-world learning into the classroom. EVERFI offers modules that analyze scenarios and provide step-by-step processes to handle adversity.
Sahr said that she likes how EVERFI modules allow students to stop and start because students can process the information at their own pace. Sahr said that since sexual assault is taboo, some students prefer to learn in private. For a lot of St. Louis University students, EVERFI is their first course of bystander education.
“I talk to a lot of first-year students. When I ask them if they’ve had training on consent or bystander education of any kind before they come to college, the vast majority of them say ‘no.’ A lot of them are uncomfortable with the idea too because it’s just not normalized,” said Sahr.
Sahr said that she’s heard reports where students cite EVERFI for using its tactics to deter sexual assault. EVERFI also provides tactics for reporting sexual assault to campus authorities.
Sexual assault statistics increased since EVERFI’s implementation, but Michael Parkinson, the university’s Clery compliance officer, says that an increase in statistics can represent Title IX and DPS gaining the students’ trust.
“I don’t see an increase in sexual crime numbers as a problem. It shows that people are trusting systems to report to more,” Parkinson said.
Stats sourced from Saint Louis University's Annual Fire and Security Report. Statistics compiled by NYDATABASES.com
Green represents years before every student completed an EVERFI course. Red represents years after every student finished an EVERFI course.
Victimized by sexual harassment on campus, an anonymous sophomore appreciates EVERFI but wants more.
“I’m glad that [EVERFI] is, like, mandated at least, but I can see how some students might just breeze through the information. It's online, after all,” said the sophomore.
Since men statistically are affected less by dating violence and sexual assault, the sophomore said they're worried that men may not understand the importance of bystander education.
“Not that I expect attempts of sexual assault to stop, but we need men to intervene more on the ones causing the problems,” said the sophomore.
Junior Nicole Fortney said that she thinks she remembers the information in the modules is useful, but she doesn’t like the gaps between assignments.
“Only having one mandatory module a semester and then nothing for the rest of the year doesn’t really do much,” said Fortney, “When I got the recent email from EVERFI it took me a minute to remind myself what it is.”
Some upperclassmen have not started any EVERFI module and remain unpunished.
“I’ve never taken them. Just don’t tell SLU on me. Still says I’m two years overdue or something,” said a junior in the business school.
The junior said that the courses do not seem directed toward him, as someone who doesn’t party nor want to hurt anyone. He said he ignores automated reminder emails from EVERFI and has dealt with no repercussions.
On rare occasions, the Title IX office blocks students from accessing their MySLU portal if they fail to complete their EVERFI modules. Sahr says that most students are granted a lot of grace, as sexual assault is a heavy topic.
Some students may wish St. Louis University would mandate more bystander education. Some students wish there was no bystander education. However, there is a statistical correlation between the implementation of EVERFI and students' increase in reporting sexual assault.
"EVERFI is here to stay," said Sahr.
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