WASHINGTON – Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced Thursday she intends to unravel the Obama-era policies dealing with campus sexual assault to better ensure due process for those accused.

DeVos made the announcement in a speech at George Mason University, where she called the Obama Administration effort to force colleges to set up quasi-legal systems to deal with campus assaults “failed.”

“Survivors aren’t well-served when they are re-traumatized with appeal after appeal because the failed system failed the accused,” DeVos said. “And no student should be forced to sue their way to due process.”

The Obama Administration, under the Title IX federal law that prohibits sex discrimination, forced schools to take steps to address sexual assaults on campuses. The move was hailed by victims’ advocates for drawing attention to rape on campuses, but critics say the colleges were too quick to kick out students accused of misconduct without due process.

DeVos said she aims to redefine the regulations through a formal rule-making process where the Department of Education will hear input for many sides of the issues.

“Every survivor of sexual misconduct must be taken seriously,” DeVos said. “Every student accused of sexual misconduct must know that guilt is not predetermined.”

She added: “The notion that a school must diminish due process rights to better serve the ‘victim’ only creates more victims.”