St. Andrews provides members of the academic community prompt, equitable, and reliable mechanisms for reporting incidents of sexual discrimination, including sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, sexual violence, harassment based on a protected category, retaliation, dating violence, domestic violence, stalking, and false accusations. A sexual discrimination report does not have to result in filing charges. However, a report or complaint of sexual discrimination must be investigated.
A report or complaint about sexual discrimination can be made to any St. Andrews employee. The employee who receives the report or complaint is then required, unless he or she is a designated Confidential Employee, to inform the Title IX Coordinator (see below, Duty to Report and Privacy Statement). Additionally, students, staff, and faculty, who are concerned they may be named as a Responding Party in a sexual discrimination report are also encouraged to contact the Title IX Coordinator.
Facilitated by the Title IX Coordinator, the university will promptly, equitably, and reliably support the rights of all St. Andrews community members-Reporting Party’s, Complainant’s, Responding Party’s, and witnesses. Reports and Complaints about acts of sexual discrimination, including sexual harassment, misconduct, violence, or acts of retaliation that are in violation of the Anti-Discrimination/Anti-Harassment policy will be taken seriously, will be investigated, and will be treated in a compassionate and discreet manner.
All St. Andrews employees not designated as Confidential Employees, including faculty, staff, Resident Directors, and Resident Assistants are obligated to respond to reports and complaints of sexual discrimination, including sexual harassment, sexual violence, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking, even if the individual reporting the incident requests that no action be taken. It is essential that employees make clear to those who may want to confide in them that they have a legal obligation to report anything they learn about potential sexual harassment to the Title IX Coordinator for investigation. They should tell a person who is looking for confidential advice to contact one of the designated Confidential Employees of the University.
St. Andrews understands that prompt, equitable, and reliable responses to Title IX and Campus SaVE harassment and discrimination reports often require obtaining sensitive information about members of the campus community. The privacy of reports will be strictly kept when possible, or tightly maintained among persons who have a need to know to keep the community safe when strict privacy is not possible. The identity of the Reporting Party, Complainant and/or the Responding Party will be disclosed only on a need-to-know basis to the extent feasible in light of the need to conduct an investigation and to promote community safety. Persons with whom St. Andrews may share investigation-related information include, but are not be limited to:
Reporting persons may decline to name themselves and St. Andrews will investigate the report, establish Interim Measures, refer any named parties to resources, and take other actions as possible. Anonymous reporters must realize St. Andrews will be limited in its ability to respond or investigate in such cases, but will do all it can with limited information to promptly investigate the report of sexual discrimination, stop the reported discrimination, and prevent its recurrence
St. Andrews seeks to adequately protect confidential Student Education Records while also conducting a prompt, equitable, and effective investigation. Determining which campus officials, Reporting Party, Complainant, Responding Party, witnesses, and other parties need to know about Title IX investigations, interim measures, final investigation outcomes, sanctions, remedial actions, and other details shall be decided in compliance with FERPA requirements.
Every effort will be made to adhere strictly to the timetables in this document. However, if investigations extend to when school is out for prolonged periods or if there are unavoidable challenges in communications or evidence-collection with the Complainant and Responding Party, or others involved in an investigation, the University may require extensions to the below timetables.
Immediately upon notification (orally or in writing) of a report or complaint of Sexual Discrimination or Harassment, the Title IX Coordinator will determine whether further action is required. An investigation will be initiated, if the report or complaint conforms with the following criteria:
As soon as reasonably practicable, and no longer than forty-eight hours, after receiving a credible report of sexual discrimination or harassment and determining that the allegation is within the jurisdiction of the university, the Title IX Coordinator will initiate an investigation in the following manner:
Upon receipt of the request from the Title IX Coordinator, the Investigator will initiate an investigation, working diligently to complete it and write a report within ten days. If the investigation is taking longer, the Investigator will inform the Title IX Coordinator of the reason for the delay and propose an alternative completion date. The Title IX Coordinator will inform the parties involved of the delay, the reason, and the likely completion date.
The investigation will include steps such as:
Throughout the investigation the Investigator will remain neutral and unbiased.
The University will not restrict the ability of the Complainant or Respondent to submit inculpatory and exculpatory evidence to the investigators, including from fact and expert witnesses of their own choosing.
The University will take reasonable steps to protect the privacy of the parties and witnesses during the investigation, resolution process, and afterwards. The safety of the campus, the well-being of the parties, and the integrity of due process may, however, sometimes make absolute protection of privacy impossible.
The Investigator will not allow submission of, rely on questions about, or seek disclosure of, information protected by a legally recognized privilege, unless the holder of such privilege voluntarily waived the privilege. The Investigator cannot access, consider, disclose, or otherwise use a party’s records that are made or maintained in treatment by a physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist, without the voluntary, written consent of the party in question.
The Investigator will submit a written, signed report that includes a summary of the evidence, an assessment of the strength and trustworthiness of the evidence, an analysis of discrepancies in the various witness reports and evidence, and factual claims for which there is no evidence or insufficient evidence. Throughout the Investigator Report, the Investigator will remain neutral and unbiased with regard to responsibility and appropriate remedy.
Upon receiving a report of alleged sexual discrimination or harassment or an oral or written complaint of the same, the Title IX Coordinator will, as soon as practicable, meet with the Complainant in person (or virtually, if necessary) to discuss the report or complaint, the investigative process is being initiated, interim supportive measure that are available, and possible avenues for resolution. If the investigation was provoked by a third-party reporter, the Title IX Coordinator will have an initial discuss about whether the Complainant wants to file a formal Complaint, which can be done at any time in the investigative process.
Upon completion of the Investigative Report, the Title IX Coordinator will meet with the Complainant again to review the report, determine whether the Complainant wants to lodge a formal Complaint, and, if so, the preferred avenue for resolution. If the Complainant declines to make a formal written complaint, the respondent and the relevant campus officials will be informed of the decision, and the Investigative Report will be filed in the Office of the Title IX Coordinator with no further action.
If the Complainant declines to make a Formal Complaint or withdrawals a Formal Complaint prior to a resolution of the complaint, the Title IX Coordinator may initiate a Formal Complaint on behalf of the University if warranted. In determining whether such a complain is warranted, the Title IX Coordinator will consider, at minimum, the following:
The Complainant has the right to choose either a formal or informal resolution process. An informal resolution process is the equivalent of mediation and requires the two parties to work together with a mediator to come to a mutually agreeable resolution to the matter. If the parties cannot come to a mutually agreeable resolution, the complainant always reserves the right to initiate the formal, judicial process.
The formal process requires a written complaint, a formal investigation, a Title IX Hearing with both the complainant and respondent present, and a decision by the Title IX Hearing committee concerning responsibility and appropriate sanctions regarding the complaint.
The Complainant also always retains the right, at any time, to report the complaint to the local police and seek a legal resolution to the problem. If and when the legal process is initiated, the university process can continue side by side with it or be put on hold until the legal process is completed depending on the situation. The university will always continue to provide the necessary interim support services whether the university’s resolution process is continuing or on hold.
When the Complainant selects a formal resolution process and the investigative report has been received by the Title IX Coordinator, a Title IX Hearing will be scheduled. The purpose of a Title IX Hearing is to put the formal resolution of the Title IX complaint in the hands of a neutral committee of faculty and staff who will hear the evidence, deliberate regarding the complaint, and make a final decision concerning its resolution.
Their standard of evidence will be the preponderance of evidence, namely that the evidence points to it being more likely than not that the complaint is true and accurate. They will also decide on appropriate sanctions based on the guidelines in the Saltire and their knowledge of the situation. After receiving the completed Investigative Report (including written responses from the Complainant and Respondent, if they wish) and the Formal Complaint, the Title IX Coordinator will schedule a Title IX Hearing and communicate the date and time to the members of the Title IX Hearing Committee, the Complainant and the Respondent not less than one week from the date of the hearing. Both the Complainant and the Respondent will have access to the Investigative Report at least five days before the hearing. The report, however, must remain confidential and not be provided to any parties not involved in the Hearing process. If the Title IX Coordinator is concerned that one or both of the parties may not abide by the confidentiality requirement, access to the Investigative Reports may be limited to physical copies kept in the Title IX Coordinators’ office.
Both the Complainant and the Respondent are allowed and encouraged to have an Advisor (who may be a lawyer but need not be a lawyer) present during the Hearing to offer advice and provide support. The Complainant and Respondent must inform the Title IX Coordinator about who will serve as their Advisor at least two days before Hearing. The Title IX Coordinator will serve as the Moderator of the Title IX Hearing, supervising the process and adjudicating any disputes about the process. At the Hearing, each party, the Complainant and Respondent, with have an opportunity for an Opening Statement and a Closing Statement. The Title IX Hearing Committee will have the right to ask questions of both the Complainant and the Respondent relevant to the case at hand. In case of a dispute concerning whether the question is relevant, the Title IX Coordinator will decide.
The Complainant and Respondent will have the opportunity to ask questions of one another themselves or through their Advisors, that are relevant to the case at hand. In case of a dispute concerning whether the question is relevant, the Title IX Coordinator will decide. Both the Complainant and the Respondent have the right to dispute witness statements in the investigative report through in-person cross-examination conducted by their Advisors. However, in order to have witnesses present at the Hearing, the Complainant and Respondent must provide a list of any witnesses they would like present at the Hearing to the Title IX Coordinator at least five dates before the Hearing itself. The Title IX Coordinator will invite the witnesses to attend the Hearing and coordinate their presence at the Hearing.
Title IX Hearing will normally take place in person, with both the complainant and respondent present in the same room at the same time. However, the Title IX coordinator may determine that it would be better to conduct the Hearing remotely for the Hearing Committee, the Complainant, the Respondent, or the integrity of the process. At the end of the Hearing, the Complainant and Respondent (as well as their advisors) will be placed in separate, private rooms, while they await the Title IX Hearing Committee’s decision.
The Title IX Committee must determine if the Respondent is responsible or not responsible. Once the Title IX Hearing Committee has made a determination, the Title IX Coordinator will invite both the Complainant and Respondent back into the room and communicate the decision and inform them of the appeal process. Immediately after the end of the Hearing, the Title IX Hearing’s decision will be written up, signed by the Title IX Coordinator, and sent to members of the Title IX Hearing Committee, the Complainant, the Respondent, and any additional campus personnel who are responsible for enforcing any sanction(s) that may have been determined.
Sanctions are issued based upon the St. Andrews University Saltire. Individuals found to have engaged in illegal sexual activity or behavior constituting sexual discrimination (including sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, sexual violence, retaliation, dating violence, domestic violence, or stalking) based on a preponderance of the evidence¨ standard (i.e., it is more likely than not that sexual discrimination occurred) as defined in this policy, will be disciplined, up to and including discharge, removal, suspension, or expulsion from the University. The range of possible sanctions includes, but would not be limited to, the following:
Appropriate student sanctions will be a unanimous determination by the Dean of Students and Title IX Coordinator.
Both the Compliant and the Responding Party have the right to appeal the decision of the Title IX Hearing outcome within ten (10) business days, in writing, to the St. Andrews University Campus President. There are two grounds upon which to base an appeal
Both the Complainant and the Respondent will be notified of the decision of the Campus President regarding the appeal within 30 days.
1700 Dogwood Mile | Laurinburg, NC 28352 | (910) 277-5555
Copyright © 2024 St. Andrews University, a branch of Webber International University. All Rights Reserved.
