Cornell Sexual Misconduct Claims Rarely Result in Expulsion, Data Shows
An analysis reveals that only 13% of sexual misconduct claims at Cornell University between 2018 and 2024 led to a student or staff member being expelled or dismissed.
Just 13% of sexual misconduct claims filed at Cornell University between 2018 and 2024 resulted in the accused student or staff member being expelled or dismissed, according to a USA Today analysis. During this period, over 1,200 allegations of sexual assault, domestic violence, or dating violence were reported to Cornell's Title IX office, but only 162 were investigated.
Of the investigated cases, 53 resulted in the accused being cleared, while 51 found the individual responsible. Twenty-six cases concluded with an informal resolution or were withdrawn. Among those found responsible, only seven cases led to expulsion or dismissal, with 14 resulting in suspension and 39 resolved through other sanctions.
The university's disciplinary record has come under renewed scrutiny following a lawsuit filed in September 2026 by a former student alleging she was drugged and gang-raped by seven fraternity members at the school's Chi Phi house in 2024. The lawsuit detailed claims of drug and alcohol use and subsequent sexual assault. Screenshots from a Snapchat group allegedly used by Chi Phi members, included in the suit, appeared to show some members bragging about the incident.
The accuser reported the alleged rape to campus police weeks after the incident in November 2024. No criminal charges were filed at the time, though the Tompkins County District Attorney's office has since reopened the investigation.
Cornell has disputed the lawsuit's claims regarding disciplinary actions, stating that none of the accused students were allowed to write an essay as their sole consequence and calling the accuser's suggestion of such a penalty "irresponsible." A university spokesperson noted that some allegations are dropped if the suspect is not identified or if the accuser chooses not to proceed with an investigation. "Cornell takes each report seriously and, to the greatest extent possible, honors a complainant’s decision not to pursue resolution," the spokesperson told USA Today.
A 2025 survey indicated that one in six students at Cornell reported experiencing unwanted sexual conduct. The data from Cornell is not an outlier among New York schools; across 26 institutions in the state, nearly 10,000 sexual incidents were reported between 2018 and 2024. Only about 1,295 of these led to investigations, with 523 resulting in a finding of responsibility. Expulsions were rare, accounting for fewer than 1% of cases, with just 81 leading to expulsion across all 26 institutions.
"Those numbers strike me that there’s been an erosion of trust," said Nicole Bedera, a researcher specializing in campus sexual violence, in comments to USA Today. "If perpetrators know that nothing is going to happen to them, then they feel less inhibited in acting violently. If there’s no check on that violence, it just grows and grows."