Kirtland Community College is committed to providing a workplace and educational environment, as well as other benefits, programs, and activities, that are free from sexual harassment and retaliation. To ensure compliance with federal and state civil rights laws and regulations, and to affirm its commitment to promoting the goals of fairness and equity in all aspects of the educational program or activity,  the College has developed internal policies and procedures that provide a prompt, fair, and impartial process for those involved in an allegation sexual harassment or retaliation. College values and upholds the equal dignity of all members of its community and strives to balance the rights of the parties in the grievance process during what is often a difficult time for all those involved. 

Definitions

Advisor: A person chosen by a party or appointed by the institution to accompany the party to meetings related to the resolution process, to advise the party on that process, and to conduct cross-examination for the party at the hearing, if any. 

Complainant: An individual who is alleged to be the victim of conduct that could sexual harassment based on a protected class; or retaliation for engaging in a protected activity.

Complaint (formal): A document submitted or signed by a Complainant or signed by the Title IX Coordinator alleging sexual harassment or retaliation for engaging in a protected activity against a Respondent and requesting that the College investigate the allegation.

Confidential Resource: An employee who is not a Mandated Reporter of notice of harassment and/or retaliation (irrespective of Clery Act Campus Security Authority status).

Education program or activity: Locations, events, or circumstances where Kirtland exercises substantial control over both the Respondent and the context in which the sexual harassment occurs and also includes any building owned or controlled by a student organization that is officially recognized by the College. 

Final Determination: A conclusion by the preponderance of the evidence that the alleged conduct did or did not violate policy. 

Finding: A conclusion by the standard of proof that the conduct did or did not occur as alleged (as in a “finding of fact”).

Formal Grievance Process: means “Process A,” a method of formal resolution designated by the College to address conduct that falls within the policies included below, and which complies with the requirements of the Title IX regulations (34 CFR §106.45).

Grievance Process Pool: Includes any investigators, hearing officers, appeal officers, and Advisors who may perform any or all of these roles (though not at the same time or with respect to the same case).

Hearing Decision-maker: Those who have decision-making and sanctioning authority within the College’s Formal Grievance process.

Investigator: The person or persons charged by the College with gathering facts about an alleged violation of this Policy, assessing relevance and credibility, synthesizing the evidence, and compiling this information into an investigation report and file of directly related evidence.

Mandated Reporter: An employee of the College who is obligated by policy to share knowledge, notice, and/or reports of harassment and/or retaliation with the Title IX Coordinator.

Notice: An employee, student, or third-party informs the Title IX Coordinator or other Official with Authority of the alleged occurrence of harassing, discriminatory, and/or retaliatory conduct.

Official with Authority (OWA): An employee of the College explicitly vested with the responsibility to implement corrective measures for sexual harassment and/or retaliation on behalf of the College.

Parties: Includes the Complainant(s) and Respondent(s), collectively.

Remedies: Post-finding actions directed to the Complainant and/or the community as mechanisms to address safety, prevent recurrence, and restore access to the College’s educational program.

Respondent: An individual who has been reported to be the perpetrator of conduct that could constitute sexual harassment or retaliation for engaging in a protected activity.

Resolution: The result of an informal or Formal Grievance Process.

Sanction: A consequence imposed by the College on a Respondent who is found to have violated this policy.

Sexual Harassment: The umbrella category including the offenses of sexual harassment, sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence and domestic violence.

Title IX Coordinator: At least one official designated by the College to ensure compliance with Title IX and the College’s Title IX program. References to the Coordinator throughout this policy may also encompass a designee of the Coordinator for specific tasks.

Supportive Measures: Non-disciplinary, non-punitive individualized services offered as appropriate, as reasonably available, and without fee or charge to the Parties to restore or preserve access to GRCC’s education program or activity, including measures designed to protect the safety of all parties or the educational environment, and/or deter Sexual Harassment and/or retaliation.

Applicable Scope

The core purpose of this policy is the prohibition of sexual harassment and retaliation. When an alleged violation of this policy is reported, the allegations are subject to resolution using Colleges’s processes as determined by the Title IX Coordinator, and as detailed below.

When the Respondent is a member of the College community, a grievance process may be available regardless of the status of the Complainant, who may or may not be a member of the College community. This community includes, but is not limited to, students,  student organizations, faculty, administrators, staff, and third parties such as guests, visitors, volunteers, and invitees. The procedures below may be applied to incidents, to patterns, and/or to the campus climate, all of which may be addressed and investigated in accordance with this policy. 

Title IX Coordinator 

The Associate Director of Human Resources serves as the Title IX Coordinator and oversees implementation of this policy. The Title IX Coordinator  has the primary responsibility for coordinating College’s efforts related to the intake, investigation, resolution, and implementation of supportive measures to stop, remediate, and prevent sexual harassment, and retaliation prohibited under this policy. 

The Title IX Coordinator can be contacted using the information listed below.

Kirtland Community College
Vanessa Noffsinger
Director of Human Resources
989-275-5000 Ext. 239
Fax: 989-563-5905
[email protected]

Independence and Conflict-of-Interest

The Title IX Coordinator acts with independence and authority free from bias and conflicts of interest. The Title IX Coordinator oversees all resolutions under this policy and these procedures. 

The members of the Title IX Team are vetted and trained to ensure they are not biased for or against any party in a specific case, or for or against Complainants and/or Respondents, generally. 

To raise any concern involving bias or conflict of interest by the Title IX Coordinator , contact the College President, Dr. Thomas Quinn. Concerns of bias or a potential conflict of interest by any other Title IX Team member should be raised with the Title IX Coordinator. 

Reports of misconduct committed by the Title IX Coordinator should be reported to the College President or designee. Reports of misconduct committed by any other Title IX Team member should be reported to the Title IX Coordinator. 

Administrative Contact Information

Complaints or notice of alleged policy violations, or inquiries about or concerns regarding this policy and procedures, may be made internally to:

Kirtland Community College
Vanessa Noffsinger
Associate Director of Human Resources
989-275-5000 Ext. 239
Fax: 989-563-5905
[email protected]

The College has also classified all employees as Mandated Reporters of any knowledge they have that a member of the community is experiencing sexual harassment and/or retaliation. 

The section below on Mandated Reporting details which employees have this responsibility and their duties, accordingly. 

Inquiries may be made externally to:

Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C.  20202-1100
Customer Service Hotline #: (800) 421-3481
Facsimile: (202) 453-6012
TDD#: (877) 521-2172
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.ed.gov/ocr

Notice/Complaints of Sexual Harassment and/or Retaliation

Notice or complaints of sexual harassment and/or retaliation may be made using any of the following options:

1) File a complaint with, or give verbal notice to, the Title IX Coordinator. Such a report may be made at any time (including during non-business hours) by using the telephone number or email address, or by mail to the office address, listed for the Title IX Coordinator.

2) Report online, using the reporting form posted at [insert URL]. 

Anonymous reports: Anonymous reports are accepted but can give rise to a need to investigate. The College tries to provide supportive measures to all Complainants, which is impossible with an anonymous report. Because reporting carries no obligation to initiate a formal response, and as the College respects Complainant requests to dismiss complaints unless there is a compelling threat to health and/or safety, the Complainant is largely in control and should not fear a loss of privacy by making a report that allows the College to discuss and/or provide supportive measures.

A Formal Complaint is a document filed and/or signed by the Complainant or signed by the Title IX Coordinator alleging a policy violation by a Respondent and requesting that College investigate the allegation(s). A Formal Complaint may be filed with the Title IX Coordinator in person, by mail, or by electronic mail, by using the contact information provided. A Formal Complaint will contain a Complainant’s or the Title IX Coordinator’s digital or physical signature, or otherwise indicates who is filing the Formal Complaint. If notice is submitted in a form that does not meet this standard, the Title IX Coordinator will contact the Complainant to verify their intent to file a Formal Complaint and ensure that it is filed correctly. Where the Title IX Coordinator signs a formal complaint, the Title IX Coordinator is not a Complainant or party. 

Supportive Measures

The College will offer and implement appropriate and reasonable supportive measures to the parties upon notice of alleged sexual harassment and/or retaliation.

Supportive measures are non-disciplinary, non-punitive individualized services offered as appropriate, as reasonably available, and without fee or charge to the parties to restore or preserve access to theCollege’s education program or activity, including measures designed to protect the safety of all parties or the College’s educational environment, and/or deter sexual harassment and/or retaliation.

The Title IX Coordinator promptly makes supportive measures available to the parties upon receiving notice or a complaint. At the time that supportive measures are offered, the College will inform the Complainant, in writing, that they may file a formal complaint with the College either at that time or in the future, if they have not done so already.

The Title IX Coordinator works with the Complainant to ensure that their wishes are taken into account with respect to the supportive measures that are planned and implemented. The College will maintain the privacy of the supportive measures, provided that privacy does not impair the College’s ability to provide the supportive measures. The College will act to ensure as minimal an academic/occupational impact on the parties as possible. The College will implement measures in a way that does not unreasonably burden the other party.

These actions may include, but are not limited to:

• Referral to counseling
• Referral to community-based service providers
• Visa and immigration assistance
• Student financial aid counseling
• Education to the institutional community or community subgroup(s)
• Altering work arrangements for employees or student-employees
• Safety planning
• Providing campus safety escorts
• Providing transportation accommodations 
• Implementing contact limitations (no contact orders) between the parties
• Academic support, extensions of deadlines, or other course/program-related adjustments
• Issuing Timely Warnings, per the Clery Act. 
• Any other actions deemed appropriate by the Title IX Coordinator

Emergency Removal 

The College can act to remove a student Respondent entirely or partially from its education program or activities on an emergency basis when an individualized safety and risk analysis has determined that an immediate threat to the physical health or safety of any student or other individual justifies removal. This risk analysis is performed by the Title IX Coordinator in conjunction with the Behavioral Intervention Team using its standard objective violence risk assessment procedures. In all cases in which an emergency removal is imposed, the student will be given notice of the action and the option to request to meet with the Title IX Coordinator prior to such action/removal being imposed, or as soon thereafter as reasonably possible, to show cause why the action/removal should not be implemented or should be modified. This meeting is not a hearing on the merits of the allegation(s), but rather is an administrative process intended to determine solely whether the emergency removal is appropriate. When this meeting is not requested in a timely manner, objections to the emergency removal will be deemed waived. A Complainant and their Advisor may be permitted to participate in this meeting if the Title IX Coordinator determines it is equitable to do so. 

A Respondent may be accompanied by an Advisor of their choice when meeting with the Title IX Coordinator for the show cause meeting. The Respondent will be given access to a written summary of the basis for the emergency removal prior to the meeting to allow for adequate preparation. The Title IX Coordinator has sole discretion under this policy to implement or stay an emergency removal and to determine the conditions and duration. Violation of an emergency removal under this policy will be grounds for discipline, which may include expulsion. 

The College will implement the least restrictive emergency actions possible in light of the circumstances and safety concerns. As determined by the Title IX Coordinator, these actions could include, but are not limited to: temporarily re-assigning an employee, restricting a student’s or employee’s access to or use of facilities or equipment, allowing a student to withdraw or take grades of incomplete without financial penalty, authorizing an administrative leave, and suspending a student’s participation in extracurricular activities, student employment, student organizational leadership, or intercollegiate/intramural athletics. At the discretion of the Title IX Coordinator, alternative coursework options may be pursued to ensure as minimal an academic impact as possible on the parties.

Where the Respondent is an employee, existing provisions for interim action are applicable.

Promptness

All allegations are acted upon promptly by College once it has received notice or a formal complaint. Complaints can take 60-90 business days to resolve, typically. There are always exceptions and extenuating circumstances that can cause a resolution to take longer, but the College will avoid all undue delays within its control. Any time the general time frames for resolution outlined in College procedures will be delayed, the College will provide written notice to the parties of the delay, the cause of the delay, and an estimate of the anticipated additional time that will be needed as a result of the delay.

Privacy

Every effort is made by the College to preserve the privacy of reports.  The College will not share the identity of any individual who has made a report or complaint of harassment or retaliation; any Complainant, any individual who has been reported to be the perpetrator of sexual harassment or retaliation, any Respondent, or any witness, except as permitted by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. 1232g; FERPA regulations, 34 CFR part 99; or as required by law; or to carry out the purposes of 34 CFR Part 106, including the conducting of any investigation, hearing, or grievance proceeding arising under these policies and procedures.

The College reserves the right to determine which College officials have a legitimate educational interest in being informed about incidents that fall within this policy, pursuant to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Only a small group of officials who need to know will typically be told about the complaint, including but not limited to: College President, Vice President of Student Services/Registrar, Vice President of Instruction, Director of Public Safety, the College Police, the College Counselor, and the Behavioral Intervention Team.  

Information will be shared as necessary with Investigators, Decision-makers, witnesses, and the parties. The circle of people with this knowledge will be kept as tight as possible to preserve the parties’ rights and privacy. 

The College may contact parents/guardians to inform them of situations in which there is a significant and articulable health and/or safety risk but will usually consult with the student first before doing so.

Jurisdiction of the College

This policy applies to the education program and activities of the College, to conduct that takes place on the campus or on property owned or controlled by the College, at College-sponsored events, or in buildings owned or controlled by College’s recognized student organizations. The Respondent must be a member of College’s community in order for its policies to apply.

This policy can also be applicable to the effects of off-campus misconduct that effectively deprive someone of access to College’s educational program. The College may also extend jurisdiction to off-campus and/or to online conduct when the Title IX Coordinator determines that the conduct affects a substantial College interest. 

Regardless of where the conduct occurred, the College will address notice/complaints to determine whether the conduct occurred in the context of its employment or educational program or activity and/or has continuing effects on campus or in an off-campus sponsored program or activity. A substantial College interest includes:

• Any action that constitutes a criminal offense as defined by law. This includes, but is not limited to, single or repeat violations of any local, state, or federal law;
• Any situation in which it is determined that the Respondent poses an immediate threat to the physical health or safety of any student or other individual;
• Any situation that significantly impinges upon the rights, property, or achievements of oneself or others or significantly breaches the peace and/or causes social disorder; and/or
• Any situation that is detrimental to the educational interests or mission of the College.

If the Respondent is unknown or is not a member of the College community, the Title IX Coordinator will assist the Complainant in identifying appropriate campus and local resources and support options and/or, when criminal conduct is alleged, in contacting local or campus law enforcement if the individual would like to file a police report. 

In addition, the College may take other actions as appropriate to protect the Complainant against third parties, such as barring individuals from College property and/or events. All vendors serving the College through third-party contracts are subject to the policies and procedures of their employers.

When the Respondent is enrolled in or employed by another institution, the Title IX Coordinator can assist the Complainant in liaising with the appropriate individual at that institution, as it may be possible to allege violations through that institution’s policies. Similarly, the Title IX Coordinator may be able to assist and support a student or employee Complainant who experiences sexual harassment or retaliation in an externship, study abroad program, or other environment external to the College where sexual harassment policies and procedures of the facilitating or host organization may give recourse to the Complainant. 

Time Limits on Reporting

There is no time limitation on providing notice/complaints to the Title IX Coordinator. However, if the Respondent is no longer subject to the College’s jurisdiction and/or significant time has passed, the ability to investigate, respond, and provide remedies may be more limited or impossible. Acting on notice/complaints significantly impacted by the passage of time (including, but not limited to, the rescission or revision of policy) is at the discretion of the Title IX Coordinator, who may document allegations for future reference, offer supportive measures and/or remedies, and/or engage in informal or formal action, as appropriate. 

Online Sexual Harassment and/or Retaliation

The policies of College are written and interpreted broadly to include online manifestations of any of the behaviors prohibited below, when those behaviors occur in or have an effect on the College’s education program and activities or use College networks, technology, or equipment. Although the College may not control websites, social media, and other venues in which harassing communications are made, when such communications are reported to College, it will engage in a variety of means to address and mitigate the effects. Members of the community are encouraged to be good digital citizens and to refrain from online misconduct, such as feeding anonymous gossip sites, sharing inappropriate content via social media, unwelcome sexual or sex-based messaging, distributing or threatening to distribute revenge pornography, breaches of privacy, or otherwise using the ease of transmission and/or anonymity of the Internet or other technology to harm another member of the College community. 

Any online posting or other electronic communication by students, including cyber-bullying, cyber-stalking, cyber-harassment, etc., occurring completely outside of the College’s control (e.g., not on College networks, websites, or between College email accounts) will only be subject to this policy when such online conduct can be shown to cause a substantial in-program disruption or infringement on the rights of others. Otherwise, such communications are considered speech protected by the First Amendment. Supportive measures for Complainants will be provided, but protected speech cannot legally be subjected to discipline. Off-campus harassing speech by employees, whether online or in person, may be regulated by the College only when such speech is made in an employee’s official or work-related capacity.

Policy on Nondiscrimination

It is the policy of Kirtland Community College to provide equal employment opportunities, equal educational opportunities and non-discrimination in providing educational and other services to the public

Definition of Sexual Harassment

The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the State of Michigan regard Sexual Harassment as an unlawful discriminatory practice. The College has adopted the following definition of Sexual Harassment in order to address the unique environment of an academic community.

Acts of sexual harassment may be committed by any person upon any other person, regardless of the sex, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity of those involved. Sexual Harassment, as an umbrella category, includes the actual or attempted offenses of sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking, and is defined as:

Conduct on the basis of sex or that is sexual that satisfies one or more of the following:

1)Quid Pro Quo:

 an employee of the recipient, conditions^[1] the provision of an aid, benefit, or service of the recipient,

on an individual’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct.

2)      Sexual Harassment:

a.       unwelcome conduct,

b.       determined by a reasonable person,

c.       to be so severe, and

d.       pervasive, and,

e.       objectively offensive,

f.        that it effectively denies a person equal access to the College’s education program or activity.^[2]

3)      Sexual assault, defined as:

a.      Sex Offenses, Forcible:

○        Any sexual act^[1] directed against another person^[2],

○        without the consent of the Complainant,

○        including instances in which the Complainant is incapable of giving consent.^[3]

b)      Sex Offenses, Non-forcible:

○        Incest:

1)  Non-forcible sexual intercourse,

2)  between persons who are related to each other,

3)  within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by Michigan law. 

○        Statutory Rape:

1)  Non-forcible sexual intercourse,

2)  with a person who is under the statutory age of consent of 16.

4)      Dating Violence, defined as:

a.       violence,

b.   on the basis of sex,

c.       committed by a person,

d.       who is in or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the Complainant.

                                                               i.      The existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on the Complainant’s statement and with consideration of the length of the relationship, the type of relationship, and the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship. For the purposes of this definition—

                                                             ii.      Dating violence includes, but is not limited to, sexual or physical abuse or the threat of such abuse.

                                                           iii.      Dating violence does not include acts covered under the definition of domestic violence.

5)      Domestic Violence, defined as:

a.       violence,

b.       on the basis of sex,

c.       committed by a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the Complainant,

d.       by a person with whom the Complainant shares a child in common, or

e.       by a person who is cohabitating with, or has cohabitated with, the Complainant as a spouse or intimate partner, or

f.        by a person similarly situated to a spouse of the Complainant under the domestic or family violence laws of  Michigan, or

g.       by any other person against an adult or youth Complainant who is protected from that person’s acts under the domestic or family violence laws of Michigan.

6)      Stalking, defined as:

a.       engaging in a course of conduct,

b.       on the basis of sex,

c.       directed at a specific person, that

                                                               i.      would cause a reasonable person to fear for the person’s safety, or

                                                             ii.      the safety of others; or

                                                           iii.      Suffer substantial emotional distress.

                             For the purposes of this definition—

(i)                  Course of conduct means two or more acts, including, but not limited to,

acts in which the Respondent directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method, device, or means, follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or communicates to or about a person, or interferes with a person’s property.

(ii)                Reasonable person means a reasonable person under similar circumstances

and with similar identities to the Complainant.

(iii)               Substantial emotional distress means significant mental suffering or

anguish that may but does not necessarily require medical or other professional treatment or counseling.

The College reserves the right to impose any level of sanction, ranging from a reprimand up to and including suspension or expulsion/termination, for any offense under this policy.

c. Force, Coercion, Consent, and Incapacitation^[1]

As used in the offenses above, the following definitions and understandings apply:

Force: Force is the use of physical violence and/or physical imposition to gain sexual access. Force also includes threats, intimidation (implied threats), and coercion that is intended to overcome resistance or produce consent (e.g., “Have sex with me or I’ll hit you,” “Okay, don’t hit me, I’ll do what you want.”).

Sexual activity that is forced is, by definition, non-consensual, but non-consensual sexual activity is not necessarily forced. Silence or the absence of resistance alone is not consent. Consent is not demonstrated by the absence of resistance. While resistance is not required or necessary, it is a clear demonstration of non-consent.

Coercion: Coercion is unreasonable pressure for sexual activity. Coercive conduct differs from seductive conduct based on factors such as the type and/or extent of the pressure used to obtain consent. When someone makes clear that they do not want to engage in certain sexual activity, that they want to stop, or that they do not want to go past a certain point of sexual interaction, continued pressure beyond that point can be coercive.

Consent is:

●        knowing, and

●        voluntary, and

●        clear permission

●        by word or action

●        to engage in sexual activity.

Individuals may experience the same interaction in different ways. Therefore, it is the responsibility of each party to determine that the other has consented before engaging in the activity.

If consent is not clearly provided prior to engaging in the activity, consent may be ratified by word or action at some point during the interaction or thereafter, but clear communication from the outset is strongly encouraged.

For consent to be valid, there must be a clear expression in words or actions that the other individual consented to that specific sexual conduct. Reasonable reciprocation can be implied. For example, if someone kisses you, you can kiss them back (if you want to) without the need to explicitly obtain their consent to being kissed back.

Consent can also be withdrawn once given, as long as the withdrawal is reasonably and clearly communicated. If consent is withdrawn, that sexual activity should cease within a reasonable time.

Consent to some sexual contact (such as kissing or fondling) cannot be presumed to be consent for other sexual activity (such as intercourse). A current or previous intimate relationship is not sufficient to constitute consent.

Proof of consent or non-consent is not a burden placed on either party involved in an incident. Instead, the burden remains on the Recipient to determine whether its policy has been violated. The existence of consent is based on the totality of the circumstances evaluated from the perspective of a reasonable person in the same or similar circumstances, including the context in which the alleged incident occurred and any similar, previous patterns that may be evidenced.

Consent in relationships must also be considered in context. When parties consent to BDSM^[1] or other forms of kink, non-consent may be shown by the use of a safe word. Resistance, force, violence, or even saying “no” may be part of the kink and thus consensual, so Recipient’s evaluation of communication in kink situations should be guided by reasonableness, rather than strict adherence to policy that assumes non-kink relationships as a default.

Incapacitation: A person cannot consent if they are unable to understand what is happening or is disoriented, helpless, asleep, or unconscious, for any reason, including by alcohol or other drugs. As stated above, a Respondent violates this policy if they engage in sexual activity with someone who is incapable of giving consent.

It is a defense to a sexual assault policy violation that the Respondent neither knew nor should have known the Complainant to be physically or mentally incapacitated. “Should have known” is an objective, reasonable person standard that assumes that a reasonable person is both sober and exercising sound judgment.

Incapacitation occurs when someone cannot make rational, reasonable decisions because they lack the capacity to give knowing/informed consent (e.g., to understand the “who, what, when, where, why, or how” of their sexual interaction).

Incapacitation is determined through consideration of all relevant indicators of an individual’s state and is not synonymous with intoxication, impairment, blackout, and/or being drunk.

This policy also covers a person whose incapacity results from a temporary or permanent physical or mental health condition, involuntary physical restraint, and/or the consumption of incapacitating drugs.

Retaliation

Protected activity under this policy includes reporting an incident that may implicate this policy, participating in the grievance process, supporting a Complainant or Respondent, assisting in providing information relevant to an investigation, and/or acting in good faith to oppose conduct that constitutes a violation of this Policy. 

Acts of alleged retaliation should be reported immediately to the Title IX Coordinator and will be promptly investigated. Recipient will take all appropriate and available steps to protect individuals who fear that they may be subjected to retaliation.

Recipient and any member of Recipient’s community are prohibited from taking materially adverse action by intimidating, threatening, coercing, harassing, or discriminating against any individual for the purpose of interfering with any right or privilege secured by law or policy, or because the individual has made a report or complaint, testified, assisted, or participated or refused to participate in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this policy and procedure.

Filing a complaint within Process B could be considered retaliatory if those charges could be applicable under Process A, when the Process B charges are made for the purpose of interfering with or circumventing any right or privilege provided afforded within Process A that is not provided by Process B. Therefore, Recipient vets all complaints carefully to ensure this does not happen, and to assure that complaints are tracked to the appropriate process.

The exercise of rights protected under the First Amendment does not constitute retaliation.

Charging an individual with a code of conduct violation for making a materially false statement in bad faith in the course of a grievance proceeding under this policy and procedure does not constitute retaliation, provided that a determination regarding responsibility, alone, is not sufficient to conclude that any party has made a materially false statement in bad faith.

Mandated Reporting

All Recipient employees (faculty, staff, administrators) are expected to report actual or suspected sexual harassment or retaliation to appropriate officials immediately, though there are some limited exceptions.

In order to make informed choices, it is important to be aware of confidentiality and mandatory reporting requirements when consulting campus resources. On campus, some resources may maintain confidentiality and are not required to report actual or suspected sexual harassment or retaliation. They may offer options and resources without any obligation to inform an outside agency or campus official unless a Complainant has requested the information be shared.

If a Complainant expects formal action in response to their allegations, reporting to any Mandated Reporter can connect them with resources to report crimes and/or policy violations, and these employees will immediately pass reports to the Title IX Coordinator (and/or police, if desired by the Complainant), who will take action when an incident is reported to them.

The following sections describe the reporting options at Recipient for a Complainant or third-party (including parents/guardians when appropriate):

a. Confidential Resources

If a Complainant would like the details of an incident to be kept confidential, the Complainant may speak with:

●                    [On-campus licensed professional counselors and staff]

●                    On-campus health service providers and staff

●                    On-campus Victim Advocates

●                    On-campus members of the clergy/chaplains working within the scope of their

licensure or ordination

●                    Athletic trainers (if licensed and privileged under state statute, and/or working under the supervision of a health professional)

●               Off-campus (non-employees):

o   Licensed professional counselors and other medical providers

o   Local rape crisis counselors

o   Domestic violence resources

o   Local or state assistance agencies

o   Clergy/Chaplains

o   Attorneys

All of the above-listed individuals will maintain confidentiality when acting under the scope of their licensure, professional ethics, and/or professional credentials, except in extreme cases of immediacy of threat or danger or abuse of a minor/elder/individual with a disability, or when required to disclose by law or court order. 

Campus counselors are available to help free of charge and may be consulted on an emergency basis during normal business hours. 

b. Anonymous Notice to Mandated Reporters

At the request of a Complainant, notice may be given by a Mandated Reporter to the Title IX Coordinator anonymously, without identification of the Complainant. The Mandated Reporter cannot remain anonymous themselves. 

Anonymous notice will be investigated by the Recipient to the extent possible, both to assess the underlying allegation(s) and to determine if supportive measures or remedies can be provided.

However, anonymous notice typically limits the Recipient’s ability to investigate, respond, and provide remedies, depending on what information is shared.

When a Complainant has made a request for anonymity, the Complainant’s personally identifiable information may be withheld by a Mandated Reporter, but all other details must be shared with the Title IX Coordinator. [Mandated reporters may not be able to maintain requests for anonymity for Complainants who are minors, elderly, and/or disabled, depending on state reporting of abuse requirements].

Policy History

This policy was created as a stand-alone policy separate from the Sexual Misconduct policy to comply with the newly-revised requirements of 20 U.S.C. 1681 and 34 CFR part 106. ATIXA 2020 interim model sexual harassment policies and procedures use and adaptation of this model with citation to atixa is permitted through a limited license to Kirtland Community College. All other rights reserved.

©2020. Atixa

To view the policy, go to POL 2.280 Title IX Grievance Policy