The process begins when you disclose your experience of sexual assault, relationship violence or stalking to a Responsible Employee. At UConn, virtually all employees (except Confidential and Exempt Employees, see below) are Responsible Employees and are required to share your disclosure with OIE—that includes your professors, university staff members, school administrators, and Resident Assistants (RA).

What are the confidential and exempt resources available?

Confidential Employees:

Confidential Employees are empowered by law to maintain confidentiality. The only employees who can keep your disclosure confidential are the care providers at  Student Health and Wellness – Medical Care and the care providers at Student Health and Wellness – Mental Health. This includes the counselors that facilitate survivor support groups.

Exempt Employees:

An Exempt Employee is neither a Confidential Employee nor a Responsible Employee.  Exempt Employees will only report the information shared with them to the University if the student and/or employee requests that the information be shared (unless someone is in imminent risk of serious harm or a minor).

Exempt Employees include the Chief Diversity Officer and professional staff within the Office for Diversity and Inclusion, as well as staff within the University’s  African American Cultural Center, Asian American Cultural Center, Puerto Rican and Latin American Cultural Center, Women’s Center, Rainbow Center, and Ombuds Office. Exempt Employees will offer students and employees information about resources, support and how to report incidents of Prohibited Conduct to law enforcement and the University. While Exempt Employees do not have the ability to implement supportive measures in response to a disclosure, they can provide information about how students and employees may receive such measures.

Why do most employees, including RA’s, share my disclosure with OIE?

When you disclose to a Responsible Employee or an RA, they will pass along relevant information to OIE. This is to ensure you receive timely and accurate information about on- and off-campus resources, supportive measures, and reporting options should you wish to file a formal complaint. Additionally, this information sharing helps OIE identify and respond to systematic patterns and trends with the goal of making campus a more safe, equitable, and inclusive environment. There’s a lot that UConn can do to provide you with support and assistance. Part of OIE’s role is to ensure you are connected with the people and offices that are best equipped to respond to your unique needs.

Will I be contacted by someone from the University?

Yes, by a University investigator and/or by the Assistant Dean of Students for Victim Support Services. You can respond to either of them, both of them, or neither. It’s your choice.

What if I don’t want to report because alcohol and/or drugs were involved?

As stated in the Policy Against Discrimination, Harassment, and Related Interpersonal Violence, the University will not pursue disciplinary action against Complainants or witnesses for disclosure of illegal personal consumption of drugs or alcohol where such disclosures are made in connection with a good faith report or investigation of Prohibited Conduct.

If an incident involved alcohol and/or drugs, UConn’s Good Samaritan Statement will explain the University’s expectations of students seeking immediate medical assistance for themselves or others when necessary.

What happens if I choose to meet with a University Investigator from either the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) or the Office of Community Standards?

The University investigator will give you an overview of the investigation process, enact supportive measures or interim actions (if applicable), and discuss your options within the investigation.

What are Supportive Measures and Interim Actions?

Supportive Measures are individualized services designed to restore or preserve equal access to education and/or the work environment, protect safety, and remedy the harmful effects of what you have experienced. Examples include, but are not limited to: medical and counseling services; academic support; leaves of absence; modifications to working/living situations and class schedules; assistance with transportation, financial aid, visa, and immigration issues; enacting mutual University no contact letters; and referrals to legal and advocacy services.

For students, Interim Actions may be imposed on a student prior to a student conduct resolution on the student’s alleged violation. Such action may be taken when, in the professional judgment of a University official, a threat of imminent harm to persons or property exists.

Interim administrative action is not a sanction. It is taken in an effort to protect the safety and well-being of the Complainant, of the Respondent, of others, of the University, or of property. Interim administrative action is preliminary in nature; it is in effect only until there is a resolution of the student conduct matter.

Do I have to meet with OIE or Community Standards alone?

No. You can have a support person of your choosing during any meeting with OIE or Community Standards.

My guardians have questions that they want to ask you. Can they speak with you?

Yes, but you need to make sure that you give us permission to speak to them—you have privacy rights under FERPA, so you need to fill out a form that allows OIE and/or Community Standards to speak with your guardians. The Investigator will give you a form that you can sign in the initial meeting, or you can email the Investigator from your @uconn.edu address and give the Investigator permission. You can waive FERPA for anyone that you want OIE or Community Standards to speak with: your parents or other family members, an attorney, a faculty member who you are turning to for support.

If you don’t waive your FERPA rights, OIE and/or Community Standards will provide only general information related to our investigation process.

Would the University investigate even if I didn’t want them to go forward?

In most situations, the University will be able to respect your choice and will not proceed with an investigation. Know, though, that you can come back at any time to begin an investigation; as long as the person you are naming as a respondent is a student or employee at UConn, the University can begin an investigation at any time.

However, there are times where you might choose not to participate in an investigation, but the University will still move forward. These are limited circumstances, like if the accused student had been alleged to have committed sexual violence previously, your report stated that a weapon was used or that there were threats of future sexual violence against you or others. If the University needs to move forward, you will be notified about that choice. From there, you can choose not to participate at all, or you can choose to participate at a later point in the investigation.

So I can choose whether or not I want to participate?

Yes, you can. If you choose not to participate (and there are none of the circumstances discussed above), the investigation process ends here. But if you do choose to participate in an investigation, what you can expect next is explained below.

The first thing to expect are some terms and words used by the Investigator: you are the complainant and the accused student is the respondent/responding student (because they are responding to the report you made). The second thing to expect is that you continue to have choices in this process: you can choose to stop participating at any time. Also, at no point in this process will you be asked to appear for any meeting at which the respondent is present. Although the investigation is not confidential, it is treated in a private and discreet manner.

What happens first?

In an investigation, the investigator’s focus is to gather as much information as possible: from you, from the respondent, and from any other individual who might have relevant information. The Investigator will ask you for as much information as you feel comfortable sharing about the incident. You will be asked to provide information through a written statement or an in-person interview. If you participate in an in-person interview, you will sign off on your statement to ensure accuracy.

What about the respondent?

Community Standards will notify the respondent that a report was made and that an investigation has been initiated. The respondent will meet with the Investigator and learn about the investigation process, their options, and the nature of allegations. The respondent will also have the option to submit a written statement or participate in an in-person interview to respond to the allegation. If the respondent participates in an in-person interview, they will sign off on their statement to ensure accuracy.

What other information is the Investigator gathering?

The Investigator will identify and speak with other people, either those people that you or the respondent named as being important for the investigator to speak with, or people that we learn about during the course of our investigation. At all times, the Investigator is gathering as much information as possible about the incident(s). This includes relevant text messages, phone logs, social media exchanges, emails, Investigator visits to the location where the incident(s) occurred and more – whatever you or anyone else involved is able to share and whatever the Investigator independently is able to gather.

As the Investigator is collecting all of this information, he or she may need to return to you, the respondent, or a witness to ask follow-up questions. The Investigator will try to minimize the number of times they need you to speak about your experience, but in the course of the investigation, certain moments or details become very important and additional information may be needed.

Because the investigation process can be stressful, the Investigator will continue to refer you to support resources on campus and in the community.

How does the Investigator make a finding? And how will I find out about it?

The Investigator will review all of the information gathered during the investigation and determine if there are any behaviors that would violate The Student Code.

The Investigator will make findings on whether there is a preponderance of evidence—whether it is more likely than not—that the respondent committed an act of sexual harassment, sexual violence, relationship violence or stalking in violation of The Student Code. When the findings are complete, you will be contacted and given the outcome. Community Standards will separately contact the respondent and separately provide them with the outcome. If a violation finding is made, Community Standards will determine and issue the sanction. Please read Sexual Misconduct Cases Involving a Student Respondent or Title IX Sexual Harassment Cases involving Students as Respondents New Procedures for more information regarding the investigation process.

What does the Community Standards process look like after a violation finding? How long does it take?

Community Standards will determine the appropriate method of resolution. If an administrative hearing is required, it is typically conducted within (15) business days of the accused party being notified of the hearing and allegations. The hearing will be conducted in private, and neither party is required to attend. If both parties wish to attend, arrangements can be made so that the reporting student is not required to be in the same room as the respondent during the hearing.

The Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) is responsible for investigating complaints of discrimination or harassment made against employees. This includes complaints filed by both students and employees. However, the process, while similar, looks a little different than what you can expect when making a report about a UConn student.

How does an investigation about an employee having engaged in discrimination or harassment begin?

OIE’s investigation can be initiated by a written complaint (please see OIE’s Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment Complaint Form) or a more informal report (i.e. via telephone, email, walk-in visitor, etc.). Please know that a complainant, who is the person raising the concerns, is not required to fill out a formal complaint form to initiate an investigation. A verbal report alone is enough.

As with complaints against students, OIE also will be alerted to any report of sexual violence by an employee. That is because all employees are required to share your disclosure with OIE, and supervising employees are required to share all reports of discrimination and harassment with OIE. The only employees who can keep your disclosure confidential are the care providers at Student Health and Wellness – Mental Health and the care providers at Student Health and Wellness. This includes the STRONGER Support Group, too.

Also, please know that by making a complaint and/or participating in an OIE investigation, you are protected by the University’s Non-Retaliation Policy, which prohibits any retaliation against you for disclosing your experience.

Will I be contacted by someone from the University?

Yes. Following receipt of a verbal or written report, you will be contacted by an OIE Investigator who will explain OIE’s process and learn more about your situation. If you are a student, you also will be contacted by the Assistant Dean of Students for Victim Support Services. Both OIE and the Assistant Dean of Students can discuss the implementation of interim measures (like changes in classes, work study, residence halls, and more). You can respond to either of them, both of them, or neither. It’s your choice. Please know that all individuals that participate in OIE’s investigation may bring a support person of their choosing to their meetings with OIE.

What happens during the investigation?

The Investigator’s focus is to gather as much information as possible: from you, from the respondent, and from any other individual who might have relevant information. The Investigator will identify and speak with other people, either those people that you or the respondent named as being important for OIE to speak to or people that we learn about during the course of our investigation. At all times, the Investigator is gathering as much relevant information as possible, including text messages, phone logs, social media exchanges, emails, and whatever you or anyone else involved is able to share. The complainant and the respondent will not be asked to appear for any of these meetings with witnesses, and the witnesses’ participation in the investigation is voluntary. Additional information about the investigation process, as well as the Complaint Procedures may be found at equity.uconn.edu/discrimination.

How does the Investigator make a finding? And how will I find out about it?

The Investigator will review all of the information gathered and determine whether there are any violations of any University Policies regarding discrimination and harassment. OIE will prepare and issue a written memorandum (Findings and Recommendations) that will describe the allegations that were reviewed and what was done to investigate the concerns, identify all of the facts that are material to the investigation, explain which facts were not disputed, explain and resolve the facts that were disputed, and conclude whether there is a preponderance of evidence—whether it is more likely than not—that the respondent engaged in discrimination or harassment in violation of University policy. You and the respondent will receive a copy of the entire report and the supporting documents at that time. Student names are redacted (removed) from final reports.

If OIE does not find a violation of University policy, the process ends. If there is a violation, OIE will send the information to the respondent’s supervisor and the Office of Faculty and Staff Labor Relations (Labor Relations) for appropriate next steps. . If a violation has been found, the Investigator will make recommendations as to disciplinary and remedial measures, which may include disciplinary action against the employee(s) in consultation with the respondent’s manager(s).

Besides the complainant and respondent, who else receives a copy of OIE’s Findings and Recommendations?

OIE’s Findings and Recommendations in employee cases are shared with a limited group of recipients. The recipients generally will include the President, the Provost, the complainant, the respondent, the respondent’s manager(s) and, where a violation is found or OIE has recommended a management response, Labor Relations. The report generally is not provided to witnesses.

Although the investigation process is not confidential, your privacy is treated with discretion. Student names, including the complainant’s, are redacted (removed) from the Findings and Recommendations.

What if the complainant or respondent disagrees with OIE’s decision?

Persons dissatisfied with OIE’s investigation can file an appeal alleging that new evidence is available that was not accessible during the investigation or that OIE violated its complaint procedures. Parties may also provide OIE with a written response to the findings which will be added to OIE’s file on the matter.

Where else can I file a complaint about discrimination or harassment other than OIE?

You also have the right to file a complaint with agencies external to the University, including the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and/or the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO). Please note carefully: OIE’s investigation does not “stop the clock” on filing discrimination or harassment complaints with these external agencies. Specifically, the OCR and CHRO both require that a formal written complaint be filed with them within 180 days of the date when the alleged discriminatory act occurred. The EEOC requires a complaint to be filed with it within 300 days of the date when the alleged discriminatory act occurred.

A No Contact Letter is an administrative directive that the University can initiate, usually at the request of a reporting student. It instructs a student not to have any contact, either direct or indirect, with another student.

Direct contact is direct communication, whether in-person or through things like telephone calls, texts, emails, social media messages. Indirect contact is broader: these are communications that aren’t person-to-person but are meant to communicate nonetheless. It can look like telling a friend to convey a message to the other person, or it could be a Tweet or a Facebook post about that other person.

A No Contact Letter creates space between people. It can be necessary because there are concerns about security, and well-being. It doesn’t mean that you can’t be in the same spaces—cafeterias, classrooms, even parties—but that if you see the other person, treat them like any other stranger that you wouldn’t engage. That can be difficult, and resources on campus like the Dean of Students Office and Student Health and Wellness – Mental Health can help you with planning ahead for these situations. The Dean of Students office can also assist you if you and the other person do share a class, residence hall, student group or a work location and need help in ensuring those spaces are respected as well.

A No Contact Letter is not a disciplinary action, and not a criminal order. It is a directive from UConn, and both students are expected to comply with it. If any student is alleged to have violated a No Contact Letter, that may be considered a violation of The Student Code, and the student violating the order may face additional investigation and disciplinary action as a result.