Module 12
Campus Sexual Assault: Institutional Reporting and Disciplinary Processes

What Do Schools’ Responses to Sexual Assault Look Like?

Quite simply, there is no uniform response across college and university campuses to complaints of sexual assault.

Policies

A school’s policy must be accessible to the student body. It is generally posted somewhere on the school’s website. Advocates working with student victims should review the policies of the victim’s school.

Reporting

There must be at least one responsible employee to whom students can make a complaint of sexual assault. Generally, students can make a complaint to the Title IX Coordinator and/or campus security to trigger the Title IX complaint process. Note that some staff will be designated as “responsible employees” meaning that if they receive information about a sexual assault they must report it to the university to begin the Title IX complaint process, similar to mandated reporters in the criminal justice context. This should be laid out in the school’s policy.

Investigations

Investigations may be carried out by school employees or by outside investigators hired by the school. Generally, the investigations related to a Title IX complaint will, at a minimum, involve an interview of the victim and the accused student (referred to as the “respondent” in the campus setting). The investigator usually prepares a report detailing their investigation.

Hearings

Some schools utilize a hearing process to adjudicate complaints of sexual assault. Depending on the school’s policy, the hearing panel may be made up of administrators, professors, staff, and sometimes other students. Some schools’ hearing processes employ an adversarial process which, though not a courtroom or presided over by a judge or anyone with legal training, mimic a courtroom.

Discipline

Students found “responsible” for violating a school’s student conduct code by perpetrating sexual assault will be subject to discipline determined by school administrators. This can range from an apology to the victim to suspension or expulsion and anything in between. Unlike the criminal justice system, the parameters of applicable discipline are not defined by law.

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