Published on: September 16, 2026
An ATIXA Tip of the Week by Christina Graziano, J.D.
Many Title IX Coordinators work alone or with just one other person, managing everything from reporting procedures and intake to supportive measures, investigations, staff training, and policy implementation.
This can be particularly challenging when recommended practices assume levels of staffing and specialization that do not exist at many smaller institutions, such as dedicated investigators, hearing officers, deputy coordinators, and larger budgets.
An Effective Title IX Program Does Not Require a Large Staff
Small offices at colleges, universities, and K-12 schools can build sustainable systems by expanding partnerships, distributing knowledge across the institution, and creating processes that do not depend on a single individual.
The goal is not to recreate the structure of a large institution with fewer people; it is to build a program around the institution’s actual resources and needs.
The Unique Challenges of a Close-Knit Community
A small school’s close-knit culture is often one of its greatest strengths. It can also make Title IX work more complicated. Students know faculty and administrators on a personal level; employees often work across departments; relationships may extend well beyond formal institutional roles.
Students may recognize who walks into the Title IX office. Witnesses may worry about being identified, and Parties may be concerned not only about retaliation, but about the effect that participating in a process could have on friendships, teams, workplaces, or other relationships within the campus community. These realities can significantly affect reporting.
Low reporting numbers, standing alone, are not evidence that misconduct is not occurring. In many cases, low reporting may reflect uncertainty about where to report, confusion about what Title IX covers, or concern that coming forward will lead to consequences greater than the individual wants. In short, it may represent a trust gap. In a small community, an individual may want assistance while also worrying that making a report will affect parts of their daily life that cannot easily be separated from the Title IX process.
Higher reporting rates, particularly when considered alongside other evidence, may indicate something positive: community members understand the reporting process, know where to seek help, and trust the institution enough to use available resources.
Building that trust requires consistent communication and transparency. Title IX Coordinators should ensure that their Title IX website is current and accurate, clearly identifies reporting options, explains available supportive measures, and reminds students and employees that the Title IX role extends beyond administering formal complaint processes to include responsibilities related to pregnancy-related modifications and other protected rights.
Just as importantly, practitioners should educate the school or institution on confidentiality, privacy, and protections against retaliation so that individuals understand what will happen if they reach out to the Title IX office, what choices may be available to them, and what participation in a Title IX process entails. Especially at smaller, mission-driven institutions, communication should fit the culture. Title IX compliance need not feel disconnected from institutional commitments to fairness, dignity, care, and accountability.
Build a Program, Not a Person
One of the greatest risks for small teams is the concentration of institutional knowledge in a single employee. Every institution should ask: What happens if the Title IX Coordinator is unexpectedly unavailable?
Whether due to illness, extended leave, or sudden vacancy, Title IX responsibilities cannot be put on hold. Institutions need resilient systems that function regardless of who is in the Coordinator’s role. That means identifying cross-functional partners in advance in HR, Student Affairs, Athletics, Disability Services, Residence Life, Academic Affairs, Safety and Security, and General Counsel’s office.
Small teams can build layers of institutional capacity by including Title IX responsibilities in relevant job descriptions, creating cross-training opportunities, and ensuring multiple people understand referral procedures, supportive measures, and how concerns are reported. That does not mean everyone needs to become a Title IX expert. It means enough people need to understand where their responsibilities begin, when the Coordinator should be involved, and what to do if the Coordinator is unavailable.
Creating Practices that Endure
Reporting, documentation, and training practices should never depend on a single person’s availability or knowledge. Institutions should establish multiple reporting pathways and ensure that key leaders understand how information flows to the Title IX office. A report should not fail to reach the Coordinator simply because it was initially made to the wrong person.
Documentation deserves equal attention. Critical information should not live only in email threads or personal notes. Develop consistent methods for documenting reports and case management to keep records accessible and organized over time. A colleague stepping into an active matter should be able to understand what happened, what supportive measures were offered, what decisions have already been made, and what still requires attention, without having to reconstruct the history from someone else’s memory or fragmentary records.
Training also requires a long-term approach. Investigators or decision-makers at smaller institutions may have fewer opportunities to apply their training, and without regular practice, skills can erode quickly. Rather than waiting for a complaint to arise, schedule periodic training, tabletop exercises, and case studies so that institutional partners can practice their responsibilities before they are called upon. These exercises may also expose gaps in a process before those gaps affect one of your students or employees.
Focus on Capacity, Not Perfection
Small Title IX offices have limited resources, making it unrealistic to replicate the staffing models of larger universities. That should not be the measure of a strong program. Thoughtful systems can make effective use of available resources while maintaining fairness, consistency, and compliance.
Just as importantly, small institutions should know where their internal capacity ends. There may be matters that require an outside investigator, decision-maker, interim Coordinator, or other specialized support as a result of complexity, conflicts, staffing limitations, or an unexpected vacancy. Identifying those external resources before they are needed is itself part of building a sustainable program.
Building institutional capacity in an office of one or two does more than ease the workload. It strengthens continuity, builds community confidence, and creates a Title IX program that remains resilient through staffing, regulatory, and institutional changes. The strength of the program is not measured by the number of people assigned to it, but by whether the institution can respond consistently, preserve institutional knowledge, support its community, and access additional capacity when needed.
Continue Strengthening Your Title IX Program
ATIXA offers practical training, member resources, model policies, and expert guidance to help institutions of all sizes build sustainable, effective Title IX programs.
Through ATIXA’s parent organization, the FAIR Center provides additional short- and long-term staffing support when an institution encounters a matter that exceeds its internal capacity, without requiring a small office to permanently staff for needs that may arise only periodically.
Contact inquiry@tngconsulting.com to learn more.
Continue the Conversation
This Tip of the Week is based on the Time with IX conversation, Help! I’m an Office of One: Building a TIXC Office and Culture at a Small Institution. Watch the recording or access it through My ATIXA.