FIRE has discussed the issues with mandatory sexual assault education before. Most recently, we've done so with regard to Hamilton College's "She Fears You" orientation program, which was based on the theory that men need a "combined emotional and cognitive intervention" to reform their deeply ingrained rape-supportive beliefs about gender and sexuality.
Hess mentions this program in her article, and the "She Fears You" program is well worth reading about in full, so I won't rehash it here. It's important to note, though, that AU's proposed program was problematic in an additional way: aside from the training itself, it would have required students to fill out two sexual assault surveys per year, apparently asking questions such as whether they had had "unwanted sexual intercourse" or endured "forced sexual touching or fondling" in recent months. If students failed to fill out these surveys (or attend the training program), they would be blocked from registering for classes--essentially, kicked out of school.
No school should require students to attend a mandatory sexual assault training program in order to register for classes. Good for American University for saying no to the grant and such a requirement.