Upon receipt of a verbal or a written complaint lodged against the respondent, the Title IX Coordinator or Deputy Coordinator will meet with the complainant to determine if the complainant wishes to proceed through an informal or a formal process.
If the complainant chooses the informal process, then the Dean of Students, as the Title IX Coordinator, along with Title IX Deputies and/or Title IX Assistant Coordinators, will conduct an investigation, meeting with both parties individually, and any other individuals that either party feels is appropriate, with the intent that any substantiated inappropriate behavior be stopped.
Should the complainant wish to remain anonymous, all efforts will be taken to do the investigation anonymously.
Disciplinary actions/sanctions are not part of an informal process, but rather, that substantiated inappropriate behavior be stopped. In addition, depending on the complainant’s wishes and the determination of wrongdoing, supportive measures and/or any non-disciplinary corrective measures will be taken in accordance with stopping the alleged behaviors from ever recurring.
Both parties are also counseled that retaliatory behaviors are not condoned and that such behaviors would be subject to disciplinary actions in accordance with the Complaint/Grievance Policy set forth in the Student Judicial System section of the Student Handbook.
Although a formal hearing is not used for informal complaints, the involved student’s Academic Dean is always contacted and involved with the decision process.