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Title IX Compliance Information

Department of

Campus Safety & Security

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• Expectations for Title IX compliance training include:

• Knowing what the basic Title IX requirements are…

• Knowing who to tell…

• Knowing when to tell…

• Knowing how to tell…

• Knowing the confidentiality requirements/restrictions…

• Aims CC Title IX resources include:

• Written Policies

• Law Enforcement,

• Student Behavioral Officers [Campus Safety],

• Equal Employment Opportunity personnel [HR],

• Victims Services / Advocates,

• Counseling Services

Expectations

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• Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 is a federal

law that states:

"No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded

from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to

discrimination under any education program or activity receiving

Federal financial assistance.”

• Who does Title IX apply to?

Title IX applies to staff and students in any educational institution that

receives federal financial assistance, including local public school

districts, colleges and universities, for-profit schools, libraries,

museums, and education agencies.

Although Title IX is most famous for its effects on athletics, the law prohibits

gender discrimination in all aspects of education.

Knowing the basics…

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• Primarily, Title IX compliance deals with standards of conduct

relating to Sexual Harassment in the educational environment.

• In addition, Aims CC is held to standards of conduct relating to

discrimination, harassment, domestic or dating violence, stalking,

and hostile environment as defined by the Office of Civil Rights

(OCR), which prohibits discrimination in educational programs

or activities and protects the right of students to receive an

education free from harassment and violence, on campus and

off campus.

• It’s important to note that a Title IX inquiry, assessment or

investigation by Aims CC is not related to, nor part of any criminal

investigation; the focus is always on the educational

environment.


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Why is Title IX compliance important to Aims CC?

Reputation, Money, Safety…just listen to the news…


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Under Title IX Federal standards, Colleges/Universities are required

to develop remedies for sexual harassment that are effective in:

• ending the harassment,

• eliminating the hostile environment and

• preventing it from recurring.


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Sexual Harassment, as defined by the OCR is:

“…unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, which can include

unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other

verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature.

Sexual harassment prohibited by Title IX can include conduct such as

touching of a sexual nature; making sexual comments, jokes or

gestures; writing graffiti or displaying or distributing sexually explicit

drawings, pictures, or written materials; calling students sexually

charged names; spreading sexual rumors; rating students on sexual

activity or performance; or circulating, showing, or creating e-mails or

websites of a sexual nature.”


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Sexual Violence as defined by the OCR:

“refers to physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person’s will or where

a person is incapable of giving *consent due to the victim’s use of drugs or

alcohol. An individual also may be unable to give consent due to an

intellectual or other disability.”

A number of different acts fall into the category of sexual violence,

including rape, sexual assault, sexual battery, and sexual coercion. All

such acts of sexual violence are forms of sexual harassment.

*At the end of this presentation, we will discuss

the “Best Way to Define Consent”


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• Discrimination: Conduct that excludes an individual from participation,

denies the benefits of, treats the individual differently based upon an

individual’s race, color, religion, national origin, creed, service in the

uniformed service, veteran status, sex, age, political ideas, marital or

family status, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, genetic information,

gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation.

• Harassment: Harassing conduct may take various forms, including,

hazing, bullying, name-calling, graphic or written statements (including

the use of cell phones or the Internet), or other conduct that may be

physically threatening, harmful, or humiliating.


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• Domestic Violence

• A confrontation between family or household members involving

physical harm, sexual assault, or fear of physical harm.

• Dating Violence

• Violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social

relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim.

• Stalking

• Engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that

would cause a reasonable person to-

• Fear for his/her safety or the safety of others; or

• Suffer substantial emotional distress.


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• A hostile environment can be created by anyone involved in a

program or activity (administrators, faculty members, students,

and even campus guests).

• Mere offensiveness is not enough to create a hostile environment.

• Although repeated incidents increase the likelihood that harassment

has created a hostile environment, a serious incident, such as a

sexual assault, even if isolated, can be sufficient.


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Title IX has far reaching application and scope:

• Occurrences on Campus.

• Occurrences at College-sponsored field trips / activities.

• Occurrences off Campus.

• *Conduct that occurs off campus can be the subject of a complaint or report and will be evaluated to determine whether it violates Title IX policy e.g. if off-campus harassment has continuing effects that create a hostile environment on campus or in the classroom.

*For these reasons, allegations of off-campus sexual misconduct are of particular concern and should be brought to the Colleges’ attention.


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As stated earlier, Title IX applies to all educational institutions that

receive federal funds.

However, the compliance implications and enforcement guidelines

may be influenced by several factors:

For instance, Aims CC does not have:

• Athletic Programs

• Greek Life / Society [fraternities/sororities]

• Resident Halls / Dormitories


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Annual training should be provided to:

• All Deans, Department Heads, Faculty, Supervisors and any other employee who may witness or receive reports of sexual assault or harassment.

• OCR also says “training should be provided to all individuals who may have any responsibilities for receiving or otherwise addressing complaints.” A Responsible Employee includes any employee who:

• a student could reasonably believe the employee has this authority or responsibility,

• has the duty to report harassment or other types of misconduct to appropriate officials,

• has the authority to take action to address the harassment.


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• Students are informed of their Title IX responsibilities during orientation and/or First Year Experience (FYE) instruction.

• Title IX information is available in several locations throughout the Aims.edu website.

• Many Aims Professors include Title IX information and mandatory reporting criteria in their course syllabus.

• The Title IX Coordinator contact information is listed in the Aims Student Handbook & Planner.


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Mr. John Fults

(970) 339-6650

Office: Greeley, Westview #221

Email: [email protected]

Aims

Title IX

Coordinator

Pursuant to Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 and 34 C.F.R. Part 106,

Aims Community College’s Title IX Coordinator is the designated agent of the College

with primary responsibility for coordinating Title IX compliance efforts.

Knowing who to tell…

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Report as soon as possible:

1. When an individual chooses to open up to you about an assault or

harassment, respect the trust he or she has placed in you.

2. Your primary obligation in that moment is to believe them and help

them access appropriate resources ...give them the benefit of the

doubt.

3. It is not your responsibility to ask for specific facts.

4. Advise them that you will be required/obligated to report the

information to the Aims CC Title IX Coordinator.

Note: If an assault has occurred; you may call or have them call the Sexual

Assault Victim Advocate Center (SAVA) at 970-506-4059 or the 24hr Rape

Crisis Hotline at 970-472-4200 for additional resources.

Knowing when to tell…

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Knowing how to tell…

Several Ways to Report the information:

(1) Aims Email: [email protected]

(2) Call: Title IX Coordinators

~John Fults (Director) / 339-6650

~Erik Larson / 339-6474

~Tony Bradley / 339-6629

(3) Email OCR directly at [email protected]

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Important Notes:

1. Complaints can be made by mail, orally, in writing to the Title IX Coordinator, a Deputy Title IX Coordinator or a responsible employee.

2. When a report is made, the Title IX Coordinator will address inquiries, conduct an assessment, and, if necessary, conduct an investigation on the potential impact on our educational environment.

3. The Title IX Coordinator or designee may conduct a preliminary inquiry to determine if the allegations fall under this policy, or to otherwise determine whether a formal investigation is warranted.

Inquiry = Assessment = Investigation

Knowing how to tell…

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Confidentiality Requirements

The responsible employee should also explain to the complainant that:

• Under Title IX compliance policies, you are a mandatory reporter.

• *You cannot guarantee privacy if doing so would jeopardize the safety of the complainant or others.

• It’s better to report the incident than not at all.

*For Title IX purposes, if a student requests that his or her name not be revealed to the alleged perpetrator or asks that the school not investigate or seek action against the alleged perpetrator, the school should inform the student that honoring the request may limit its ability to respond fully to the incident, including pursuing disciplinary action against the alleged perpetrator.

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Confidentiality Requirements

There are only 2 Employees of Aims Community College that have assigned Confidentiality Rights:

• Jennifer Crandall, Counselor, Student Services

• Christopher Karl, Counselor, Student Services

Under Title IX, as a representative of Aims Community College, all other responsible employees are obligated to report all instances or alleged instances of violations.

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Aims Policy

Policy 4-902, Discriminatory Harassment may include, but is not limited to the following conduct:

a. Sexually oriented verbal “kidding”, abuse or harassment;

b. Unwelcome requests for sexual activity;

c. Remarks with sexual or demeaning implications made to another person;

d. Unwelcome touching, such as patting, pinching or intentional brushing against another person;

e. Suggesting or demanding sexual involvement accompanied by implied or explicit threats concerning one’s grades or other personal or academic concerns; or

f. Inappropriate display or transmittal of sexually suggestive or pornographic material.

APPROVED: Aims Board of Trustees Date: December 11, 2002

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Aims Policy

Additional Policy Information:

Sexual Harassment concerning student - student harassment:

Policy 5-601, Students’ Right and Responsibilities

Policy 4-902, Discriminatory Harassment

-Also covers Sexual Harassment concerning staff-student / student-staff harassment:

The student’s Sexual Assault Policy:

Policy 5-601A, Student Code of Conduct

APPROVED: Aims Board of Trustees Date: December 11, 2002

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Important Notes:

1. Any individual engaging in sexual harassment shall be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination or expulsion.

2. Individuals who knowingly file fraudulent complaints under this policy are subject to disciplinary action.

3. Individuals will not be subject to retaliation for filing legitimate complaints.

Aims Policy

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See it, Stop it, Report it…

Bottom Line: After learning what Title IX compliance is all about; and the potential implications it has on our educational environment, the one key take-away from this training we hope you leave with is…

Report, Report, Report

NOTE: Whether you be believe the incident to be major or minor; All reports will be investigated promptly and confidentiality will be maintained to the extent possible under the circumstances.

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• Expectations for Title IX compliance training include:

• Knowing what the basic Title IX requirements are…

• Knowing who to tell…

• Knowing when to tell…

• Knowing how to tell…

• Knowing the confidentiality requirements/restrictions…

• Aims CC Title IX resources include:

• Written Policies

• Law Enforcement,

• Student Behavioral Officers [Campus Safety],

• Equal Employment Opportunity personnel [HR],

• Victims Services / Advocates,

• Counseling Services

Training Summary

title ix compliance information - aims.edu › about › departments › safety › docs ›...

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