Policy Definitions
Actual Knowledge means notice of sexual harassment or allegations of sexual harassment delivered to Illinois College’s Title IX Coordinator. Such notice includes reports sent to the Title IX Coordinator in person, by mail, by telephone, by email, telephone call, in-person, or by using the College online report form which can be found here.
Administrative Process (Process B) means a process of resolution designated by Illinois College to address conduct that falls within the policies included below and is dismissed under the provisions in Title IX thus not needing to comply with requirements of the Title IX regulations (34 CFR Part 106.45).
Advisor means a person chosen by a party or appointed by the institution to accompany the party to meetings related to the Resolution Process, to advise the party on that process, and to conduct questioning for the party at the hearing, if any.
Business Day means a day when Illinois College is in normal business operation.
Calendar Day means day on the calendar including weekends and holidays.
Complainant means an individual who is alleged to be the victim of conduct that could constitute harassment or discrimination based on a protected class; or retaliation for engaging in a protected activity.
Confidential Resource means an employee who is not a Mandated Reporter of notice of harassment, discrimination, and/or retaliation (irrespective of Clery Act Campus Security Authority status).
Education Program or Activity means locations, events, or circumstances where Illinois College exercises substantial control over both the Respondent and the context in which the sexual harassment or discrimination occurs and also includes any building owned or controlled by a student organization that is officially recognized by the Illinois College.
The College’s education program or activity also extends to operations which include computer and internet networks, digital platforms, and computer hardware or software owned or operated by, or used in the operations of the College.
Final Determination means a conclusion by the preponderance of evidence that the alleged conduct occurred and whether it did or did not violate policy.
Finding means a conclusion by the preponderance of evidence that the conduct did or did not occur as alleged.
Formal Complaint means a document filed/signed by a Complainant or signed by the Title IX Coordinator alleging gender based, sexual or interpersonal violence or retaliation against a Respondent and requesting that the College investigate the allegation. At the time of filing a Formal Complaint, the Complainant must be participating in or attempting to participate in an education program or activity at the College.
Formal Grievance Process (Process A) means a method of formal resolution designated by Illinois College to address conduct that falls within the policies included below, and which complies with the requirements of the Title IX regulations (34 CFR Part 106.45).
Grievance Process Pool includes any Investigators, Hearing Decision-makers, Appeal Decision-makers, and College-appointed Advisors who may perform any or all of these roles (though not at the same time or with respect to the same case).
Hearing Panel refers to those who have decision-making and sanctioning authority within Illinois College’s Formal Grievance process.
Informal Resolution means a complaint resolution agreed to by the Parties and approved by the Title IX Coordinator that occurs prior to a Final Determination being reached. Informal resolution is not available for employee on student complaints.
Investigator means the person or persons charged by Illinois College with gathering facts about an alleged violation of this Policy, assessing relevance and credibility, synthesizing the evidence, and compiling this information into an investigation report and file of directly related evidence.
Mandated Reporter means an employee of Illinois College who is obligated by policy to share knowledge, notice, and/or reports of harassment, discrimination, and/or retaliation with the Title IX Coordinator and/or the Executive Director of Residence Life & Campus Safety.
Notice means that an employee, student, or third-party informs (reports)the Title IX Coordinator or other Official with Authority of the alleged occurrence of harassing, discriminatory, and/or retaliatory conduct.
Official with Authority (OWA) means an employee of the College explicitly vested with the responsibility to implement corrective measures for harassment, discrimination, and/or retaliation on behalf of the College.
Parties include the Complainant(s) and Respondent(s), collectively.
Recipient means Illinois College as a postsecondary education program that is a recipient of federal funding.
Remedies are post-final determination actions directed to the Complainant and/or the community as mechanisms to address safety, prevent recurrence, and restore access to the College’s educational program.
Respondent means an individual who has been reported to be the perpetrator of conduct that could constitute harassment or discrimination based on a protected class; or retaliation for engaging in a protected activity under this Policy.
Resolution means the result of an Informal Resolution or Formal Grievance Process.
Sanction means a consequence imposed by the College on a Respondent who is found to have violated this policy.
Sexual Harassment is the umbrella category including the offenses of sexual harassment, sexual assault, stalking, dating violence, and domestic violence.
Standard of Evidence means the standard used to determine if a policy violation occurred. The College uses a “preponderance of evidence” standard, which means that the evidence demonstrates that it is more likely than not that the alleged conduct or policy violation occurred.
Student means any individual who has accepted an offer of admission, or who is registered or enrolled for credit or non-credit bearing coursework, and who maintains an ongoing educational relationship with Illinois College.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (29 USC 1681-1688) provides, “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 educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”
Essentially, Title IX provides that no person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any academic, extracurricular, research, occupational training or other education program or activity operated by Illinois College. Title IX also provides that no person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination in employment, or recruitment, consideration, or selection therefore, whether full-time or part- time, under any education program or activity operated by the College. Illinois College acknowledges its obligations under Title IX and is committed to complying with all Title IX requirements.
Title IX Coordinator is the official designated by Illinois College to ensure compliance with Title IX and Title IX program. References to the Coordinator throughout this policy may also encompass a designee of the Coordinator for specific tasks.
VAWA: Violence Against Women Act classifies dating violence, domestic violence and stalking as crimes. The VAWA reauthorization of 2013 amended the Clery Act to require institutions to compile statistics for incidents of dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking and to include certain policies, procedures, and programs pertaining to these incidents in their annual security reports.