By Kara Grace Hess, Senior Associate Editor
Wheaton College’s Equity and Title IX office notified student-athletes that a virtual training was added to their list of eligibility requirements in an email on July 14, 2025. The course satisfies the NCAA standards for student-athletes to meet two requirements: recognize their school’s Title IX Coordinator, and know how to file a Title IX report. All athletes must take the course before they are allowed to compete in their sport.
In previous years, team meetings were the primary means of communicating necessary information. The exception was if an individual missed their team meeting. Absences required athletes to attend a personal meeting with Beth Maas, Wheaton’s Title IX Coordinator.
The previous system added time and inconvenience for the athletics staff, coaches and her office, Maas said. The protocol added 10-15 one-on-ones to Maas’s each year. She hopes the switch to virtual training will reduce stress while meeting NCAA requirements.
“The online modules still require time and coordination, but it lightens the load for athletics staff, and shifts the load for my office to a time when things are often moving at a slower pace,” Maas said.
The course includes four modules with quizzes on each. Additional resources, videos, and reading materials are included as well. Online training allows students to complete the course when they choose, provided it is before they start their season.
Cooper Starks, a senior on Wheaton’s basketball team, noted that the new online version, though easy to complete and understand, limited the real-time feedback and learning that is only possible in a group setting.
“Normally, we get to ask questions and hear input that others might have,” he said.
Similarly, Laura Prothero, a senior running for the Women’s cross country and track and field, reported a smooth and quick training process with the virtual format, though she repeatedly found herself losing focus.
“When given modules to do on our own, it is a lot easier to not actually listen to what is being said, especially as a returner,” she said.
The training as a whole is not only an NCAA requirement; it is affirmed by the college’s Community Covenant. Wheaton’s training covers the prevention of discrimination and harassment, in all forms, far beyond Title IX coordinator identification and knowledge of reporting alone.
The college’s rationale for additional training was also explained in the July 14 email to student-athletes. Citing Wheaton’s community covenant, the Title IX Office affirmed:
“The call to love God with our whole being, including our minds, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Christ-like love should be the motive in all decisions, actions, and relationships.”
