Where a complaint has been filed, and in the absence of an informal resolution, the Institute will initiate an investigation. Both the Complainant and Respondent will receive a Notice of Allegations and Investigation. This Notice shall include, to the extent known:
- Notice of the College’s Sex Discrimination and Sex-Based Harassment Policy, which shall include the applicable procedures that will be used in the investigation and resolution, and a link to the relevant Policy;
- Sufficient information available at the time to allow the parties to respond to the allegations, including the identities of the parties involved in the incident(s), a description of the facts alleged to constitute Prohibited Conduct, the type of Prohibited Conduct, and the date(s) and location(s) of the alleged incident(s);
- The Policy provisions allegedly violated;
- A statement that retaliation is prohibited;
- A description of the investigation and adjudication process;
- Potential sanctions;
- A statement that the parties may have an advisor of their choice who may be, but is not required to be, an attorney;
- The parties are entitled to an equal opportunity to access the relevant and not otherwise impermissible evidence in accordance with this Policy;
- Notice that the Institute prohibits knowingly making false statements or knowingly submitting false information during resolution procedures;
- The name and contact information for the appointed Investigator(s), and an opportunity of not more than three business days after the notice to raise an objection to the investigator(s) based on any alleged conflict of interest or bias known to the party. If an objection is raised, the Title IX Coordinator will determine whether a conflict of interest in fact exists and necessitates the replacement of the investigator(s);
- Neither party is restricted from discussing the allegations or gathering and presenting evidence;
- Formal Resolution process decorum rules which shall include the following:
- Individuals participating in the formal resolution process are expected to maintain decorum and abide by any expectations detailed in this policy or provided by the Investigator, Decision Maker(s), or Title IX Coordinator. These expectations are applied equally to all parties and advisors.
- Parties and Advisors will refer to other parties, witnesses, advisors, and institutional staff using the name and gender used by the person and shall not intentionally mis-name or mis-gender that person in communication or questioning;
- No party may act abusively or disrespectfully toward any other party, witness, Investigator, or any other resolution process participant;
- No unauthorized audio or video recording of any kind is permitted during any proceeding or meeting. If the Investigator or Title IX Coordinator elects to audio and/or video record interviews, meetings, or proceedings, all involved parties must be made aware of audio and/or video recording.
- The Institute has the discretion to remove, with or without prior warning, from any meeting or proceeding a party, witness, or advisor who does not comply with the College’s rules of decorum;
- A statement that the Respondent is presumed not responsible for the alleged conduct until a determination is made at the conclusion of the resolution process. Prior to such a determination, the parties will have an opportunity to present relevant and not otherwise impermissible evidence to a trained, impartial Decision Maker(s); and
- Informs the parties that if during the investigation, the Institute decides to investigate allegations that are not included in this original notice described above, the Institute will provide notice of the additional allegations to the parties.
If, in the course of an investigation, the Institute decides to investigate allegations about the Complainant or Respondent that are not included in the Notice of Allegations and Investigation and are otherwise covered within this Policy, the Institute will notify the parties whose identities are known of the additional allegations by their institutional email accounts or other reasonable means.
