IV. Procedures for Title IX Student Discipline Cases Alleging Sexual Misconduct

The following are the procedures regarding allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment alleged to have been committed by a student.

Examples of sex discrimination under Title IX include, but are not limited to, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and failure to provide equal opportunity in education programs and activities. Students with allegations of failure to provide equal opportunity in education programs and activities must follow the procedures outlined in Internal Management Memorandum #6-17 Student Grievance Procedures. The procedures in the IMM are to be followed for allegations of sexual misconduct committed by a currently enrolled student.

DEFINITIONS:

Sexual Misconduct 

Sexual misconduct is a broad term encompassing any unwelcome behavior of a sexual nature that is committed without consent or by force, intimidation, coercion, or manipulation. Sexual misconduct can be committed by a person of any gender, and it can occur between people of the same or different gender. 

Sexual Assault 

In accordance with Board Rule 6Hx19-1.33, Sexual Assault is defined as oral, anal, or vaginal penetration of another by, or union with, the sexual organ of another or the anal or vaginal penetration of another by any object, without the consent of the other person involved in the act. This term shall not include acts performed for a bona fide medical purpose.

Consent

In accordance with Board Rule 6Hx19-1.33, consent is defined as intelligent, knowing, and voluntary consent, without coerced submission. A person who is unconscious or physically incapacitated due to alcohol or drug consumption, or asleep, or mentally incapacitated is generally deemed unable to give consent.

Sexual Harassment

In accordance with Board Rule 6H-19-2.56, sexual harassment is defined as sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term of condition of an individual's employment or educational career; submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as a basis for educational or employment decisions affecting the individual; or such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work or educational performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working or educational environment.

PROCEDURE

In all cases alleging an act of sexual assault or harassment Internal Management Memorandum 6-15 Student Disciplinary Procedures will be followed with the following exceptions to those procedures:

Complaints

In cases alleging sexual misconduct by a student, a complaint must be filed by the complaining party to the campus Assistant Dean of Student Affairs & Enrollment Management. The complaint can be verbal and does not need to be in writing. Reporting anonymously is acceptable but requires sufficient details of the wrongdoing to allow investigation.

No person filing a complaint in good faith under this section shall be subject to any adverse action. Any person acting in a manner deemed to be retaliatory for the filing of a complaint under this procedure shall be subject to appropriate student disciplinary action. Any person filing a complaint under this procedure determined to have been filed in bad faith or for purposes of harassment, embarrassment or to disrupt the orderly operation of the College may be subject to disciplinary action.

The Student Disciplinary Committee

In lieu of a Student Disciplinary Committee, a Title IX Committee will meet on all complaints of sexual assault and sexual harassment. The Title IX Committee shall not include a student and will be comprised of persons who have received appropriate training approved by the Title IX Coordinator and who have been judged to be impartial to the case. The Title IX Committee will be chaired by the Title IX Coordinator (Dean of Student Affairs) who will be non-voting. The Committee will consist of an administrator, faculty member, and an academic advisor. The Associate Dean of Education Access and Engagement will also attend the meeting as an ex officio member. The Committee will base their decision on clear and convincing evidence.

Investigation

An investigation into the report shall be conducted by an Assistant Dean of Student Affairs & Enrollment Management appointed by the Dean of Student Affairs. The Assistant Dean of Student Affairs & Enrollment Management appointed will be from a campus where the students involved in the incident are not enrolled. The investigation shall be concluded as quickly as possible within the amount of time reasonably required to complete the investigation. The investigation will be conducted in a manner so that it is adequate, reliable, and impartial. The investigation may include interviews of the parties involved, including witnesses, and the gathering of other relevant information. At any time during the investigation, the Dean of Student Affairs may recommend that interim protections or remedies for the involved parties or witnesses be provided by appropriate College officials. These protections or remedies may include: separating the parties, placing limitations on contact between the parties, temporarily suspending one or more party, and making alternative workplace arrangements. These remedies may be applied to one or more parties involved. Failure to comply with the terms of interim protections may be considered a separate violation of College policy.

Cooperation with Law Enforcement

The College will comply with law enforcement requests for cooperation, and such cooperation may require the College to temporarily suspend the fact-finding aspect of a preliminary Title IX investigation while the law enforcement agency is in the process of gathering evidence. Internal College investigation will be suspended only upon written requests from a law enforcement agency. The College will promptly resume its Title IX investigation as soon as notified by the law enforcement agency that it has completed the evidence-gathering process. The College will implement appropriate interim steps during the law enforcement agency’s investigation period to provide for the safety of the complaining party(s) and the campus community.

Reassignments

When the complaining party and the accused student participate in the same courses or participate in the same activities (e.g., clubs/organizations, sports teams), complaining parties may request that a fair and immediate way to reassign and/or move one of the persons be decided upon by the Title IX Coordinator. A College issued No Contact Order may also be enacted by the Title IX Coordinator. The No Contact Order will state the College has received a report stating that the respondent may be in violation of College policy regarding a sexual harassment or sexual assault. The No Contact Order will specify that the alleged student be prohibited from contacting the complaining party. Forms of communication include but are not limited to in person meetings, phone, text messaging, voicemail, social media, via third party emissary, notes, letters, or other written communication, email , internet messenger, or any other internet based communication.

The Dean of Student Affairs/Title IX Coordinator or designee will consult with the campus provost (in making decisions as to whether the complainant/respondent can be released from classes) and the appropriate academic dean(s) or faculty (in making a determination regarding alternative classroom assignments for the accused student and/or the complaining party). When a student employee makes an allegation of sexual misconduct and the accused student works in the same department, alternative work assignments may be made by the appropriate College official upon request.

Alternative Testimony Options

For sexual misconduct complaints, whether the complaining party is serving as the complainant or as a witness, alternative committee meeting testimony options may be given. While such options are intended to help make the complaining party more comfortable, they are not intended to work to the disadvantage of the accused student.

Immunity for Complaining Parties

The College community encourages the reporting of sex discrimination violations. Sometimes, complaining parties are hesitant to report to College officials because they fear that they themselves may be charged with policy violations at the time of the incident. It is in the best interest of this community that as many complaining parties as possible choose to report to PHSC officials. To encourage reporting, the College pursues a policy of offering complaining parties of sexual assault and harassment limited immunity from being charged with policy violations related to the particular incident. While violations to policy cannot be completely overlooked, the College may provide educational options rather than sanctions in such cases.

Appeals

A student found to have violated a student code of conduct involving sexual assault or sexual harassment may appeal a decision by the Title IX Discipline Committee in writing to the Senior Vice President of Student Affairs & Enrollment Management/Chief Student Affairs Officer within 10 days following their notification of the hearing outcome. In order for an appeal to be granted, the appeal must demonstrate one or both of the following:

• Procedural error(s) that may have prejudiced the Discipline Committee
• Evidence unavailable at the original proceeding which would likely have affected the decision

The Senior Vice President of Student Affairs & Enrollment Management/Chief Student Affairs Officer will respond to the appeal and either deny the appeal, request the discipline committee to reconvene to review new evidence, or determine that procedural errors occurred and request a new discipline committee to hear the case.

Parental Notification

The College reserves the right to notify parents/guardians of students regarding any health or safety emergency, change in student status, or conduct situation. The College also reserves the right to designate which College officials have a need to know about individual complaints pursuant to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Identification of Patterns or Systematic Problems

Committees assigned to Title IX Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Discipline Committees are to make recommendations to the Title IX Coordinator to address any patterns or systematic problems that arise during the review of such complaints.

Reports

Upon receipt of initial complaint or information regarding a potential Title IX incident, the recipient shall complete a standard PHSC Incident/Accident Report. The report shall state only that it is a possible Title IX related event and that further information is available through the Title IX Coordinator. No student or employee information shall be included on the form except for the employee submitting the form. A separate Title IX Incident Report shall be completed prior to reference to the Title IX Coordinator and should be signed by the person receiving the initial complaint or information; a copy of the standard College Incident/Accident form as filed shall be attached to the Title IX form. If the Title IX Coordinator is the original recipient of the initial complaint or information, then the Coordinator shall complete the report prior to submitting the matter to the investigator. The report (and a copy of the standard College Incident/Accident form) shall travel with the file on the matter and shall be supplemented at each phase. The Title IX Coordinator shall assign a case number which will be added to the original standard College Incident/Accident form. The case number shall be as follows: PHSCIX – 20xx-000x. The first four digits shall be the calendar year in which the complaint was initiated and the last four shall be the number of the complaint in that year in sequential order so that the first Title IX case received in a year would have a case number of PHSCIX-2016-0001.

The Committee chair shall document the final result of the investigation into the matter, including findings and any actions recommended/taken, including preventative or remedial actions to be taken by the College. In cases where the matter is closed by the Title IX Coordinator upon a determination that, even assuming all of the allegations to be true, the matter is not a Title IX incident, a final report shall be made that details the basis for the determination. This report will include what, if any, steps were taken to assist the individuals involved in the matter and, where appropriate, what training or other measures should be taken by the College to prevent future events. The final report may also recommend that the case be redirected to the traditional student disciplinary process.

All original reports shall be retained by the Title IX Coordinator in a secure location and may be scanned into an electronic format and stored in a secure electronic environment. A complete copy shall also be provided to the College Director of Safety and Security for reporting purposes.