Bound by federal and state laws, which protect individuals from sex discrimination, public higher education institutions must respond to the challenge of eliminating sexual harassment on campus. Statistics published by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suggest that in spite of well-designed sexual harassment policies and action plans, institutions are being found at fault for lack of follow-through, resulting in fines of thousands to even millions of dollars ("Sexual Harassment Charges", 2008). A review of the literature evidences a lack of research regarding how and to what extent application of sexual harassment policies impact higher education. This situation calls for additional study to determine the specific trends that are occurring and leading to institutional liability. By increasing our understanding of the problem and investigating commonalities of tried cases, leaders in higher education are more apt to find ways in which to counter this escalating trend while protecting both the institutions and the students. This study was designed to identify the problematic disconnects between sexual harassment policy construction and institutional follow-through. The study specifically examined sexual harassment cases in which students brought charges against faculty members under Title VII and Title IX. An ex post facto research design was employed to analyze sexual harassment cases within the setting of higher education in an effort to identify trends in assigning institutional liability. The obtained data and resulting statistics evidenced a strong relationship between institutional policies and procedures and assigned legal liability. The study found that institutional sexual harassment policy construction and procedural follow-through are in fact the norm. In those few cases in which institutional liability was assigned, proper procedural protocol had not been followed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]