After the school reported only 14 cases of sexual assault over seven years, including a four-year span in which none were reported, Baylor University's compliance with federal campus crime reporting rules is under review.
The university confirmed Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Education will begin reviewing Baylor's annual crime and safety reports, as well as its drug and alcohol abuse prevention program, required by the Clery Act.
The Clery Act review is separate from an ongoing Title IX investigation by the education department's Office for Civil Rights that was triggered by a complaint filed last fall by Baylor's former Title IX coordinator, Patty Crawford.
The Clery Act mandates that colleges publish a list every year of crimes reported on and adjacent to campus or in university-controlled buildings, but it does not include crimes committed on non-university property off campus.
From 2008 to 2011, Baylor reported no incidents of sexual assault. It reported two in 2012, six in 2013 and six in 2014, according to the U.S. Department of Education's online Campus Safety and Security database.
Baylor reported 23 rapes in 2015, which was a sharp increase. The 2015 numbers came out in October 2016, about four months after an investigation into the school's handling of sexual assaults -- including many involving football players -- revealed university-wide failures in responding to complaints of sexual violence and led to the departure of President Kenneth Starr, athletic director Ian McCaw and head football coach Art Briles.
In November 2016, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it would fine Penn State University a record $2.4 million for failure to comply with Clery Act disclosure rules, after the department investigated reports of on-campus sex offenses involving former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, who was convicted of child molestation in 2012.