Handbook Flip Book Update November 2016

VII. Investigation Upon report of Sexual Misconduct to the Director of Title IX Compliance, whether directly from a Complainant or from another source, such as a Responsible Employee, Title IX requires the University to and take prompt, reasonable action in response to the information received. The Director of Title IX Compliance must assess and determine whether there is sufficient basis to initiate a Title IX investigation or take other steps to address the effects of the alleged sexual misconduct on the impacted party and the University community and prevent its recurrence. The Director of Title IX Compliance or designee will meet with the impacted party, when possible, to provide information about a Title IX investigation. Before beginning an investigation, the Director of Title IX Compliance or designee will contact the impacted party and request consent from the impacted party to proceed to an investigation. The Investigation will be conducted through the use of one or more internal and/or external Investigators appointed by the Director of Title IX Compliance and trained in Sexual Misconduct investigations. The Investigation will include interviews of the Complainant, Respondent, and any witnesses by the Investigators. The Investigation will include the gathering of any physical, documentary, or other relevant and available evidence. As part of the investigation, the University will provide an opportunity for all parties to present written statements, identify witnesses and submit other evidence. Student-witnesses may be required to cooperate with the Investigation regardless of the parties’ selection of witnesses. The Investigator(s) will prepare a written report at the conclusion of an Investigation. Before the report is finalized, the Complainant and Respondent will be given the opportunity to review their own statements and, to the extent appropriate, to honor due process and privacy considerations, the Complainant and Respondent may also be provided with a written or oral summary of other information collected during the Investigation. The Complainant or Respondent must submit any comments about their own statement, or on any investigation summary that might be provided, to the Investigator(s) within five (5) business days after that statement or summary was provided.

Following the receipt of any comments submitted, or after the five (5)-day comment period has lapsed without comment, the Investigator(s) will address any identified factual inaccuracies or misunderstandings, as appropriate, and then finalize their report.

The Investigator(s) will present the written report, including a summary of the Investigation, their findings with respect to responsibility for conduct violations, and a summary of their rationale in support of the findings, to the Director of Title IX Compliance. The Investigator(s) will make a recommendation to The Director of Title IX Compliance regarding whether or not there was a policy violation. Upon review of the Investigation report and findings the Director of Title IX Compliance will determine if a violation of the Sexual Misconduct Policy has occurred and if so, the appropriate sanction(s) and remedies. Both parties will be notified in writing of the determination of the Director of Title IX Compliance. The determination of whether there is a violation and what, if any sanctions shall apply, is solely within the discretion of the Director of Title IX Compliance. The Director of Title IX Compliance reserves the right to consult with other University administrators when determining and imposing sanctions.

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