Revision Date: August 2020
FCSON firmly believes that all of its students, faculty, staff, and visitors on its premises should be free to pursue their academic studies or business activity without being subject- ed to the crimes and offenses of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking.
Members of the College community, visitors and guests have the right to be free from all forms of sex/gender harassment, discrimination, and misconduct. Examples of these include acts of sexual violence, sexual harassment, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. All members of the college community are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that does not infringe upon the rights of others. The College believes in a zero tolerance for sex/gender- based misconduct. Zero tolerance means that when an allegation of misconduct is brought to an appropriate College Administrator’s attention, protective and other remedial measures will be used to reasonably ensure that such conduct ends, is not repeated and the effects on the victim and community are remedied, including serious sanctions when a responding party is found to have violated this policy. This policy is intended to define community expectations and to establish a mechanism for determining when those expectations have been violated. This policy is in congruence with the Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA).
The Title IX final rule defines “complainant” as an individual who is alleged to be the victim of conduct that could constitute sexual harassment. This rule expressively recognizes the legal rights of parents and guardians to act on behalf of parties (including filing formal complaints) in Title IX matters.
The final rule defines “respondent” as an individual who has been reported to be the perpetrator of conduct that could constitute sexual harassment.
The final rule defines “formal complaint” as a document filed by a complainant or signed by the Title IX Coordinator alleging sexual harassment against a respondent and requesting that the school investigate the allegation of sexual harassment. At the time of filing a formal complaint, a complainant must be participating in or attempting to participate in the education program or activity of the school with which the formal complaint is filed.
The College’s sex/gender harassment, discrimination and misconduct policies are not meant to inhibit or prohibit educational content or discussions inside or outside of the classroom that include controversial or sensitive subject matters protected by academic freedom Academic freedom extends to topics that are pedagogically appropriate and germane to the subject matter of courses or that touch on academic exploration of matters of public concern.
The College uses the preponderance of the evidence (also known as “more likely than not”) as a standard for proof of whether a violation occurred. In campus resolution proceedings, legal terms like “guilt, “innocence” and “burdens of proof” are not applicable, but the College never assumes a responding party is in violation of College policy. Campus resolution proceedings are conducted to take into account the totality of all evidence available, from all relevant sources.
TITLE IX COORDINATOR
The College Title IX Coordinator oversees compliance with all aspects of the sex/gender harassment, discrimination, and misconduct policy. The coordinator reports directly to the CEO of the College. Questions about this policy should be directed to the Title IX Coordinator. Anyone wishing to make a report relating to discrimination or harassment may do so by reporting the concern to the College Title IX Coordinator:
Name: Vanessa Stafford Title: Title IX Coordinator
Location/Address: Felbry College-School of Nursing 6055 Cleveland Avenue Columbus Ohio 43231 Phone: 614-781-1085, ext102 Email: leadership@felbrycollege.edu
Where the Title IX Coordinator signs a formal complaint, the Title IX Coordinator is not a complainant or a party during a grievance process and must comply with requirements for Title IX personnel to be free from conflicts and bias.
Individuals experiencing harassment or discrimination also always have the right to file a formal grievance with government authorities:
Regional Office for Civil Rights Ohio Civil Rights Commission Location:
30 East Broad Street, Fifth Floor, Columbus OH, 43215
Phone: 614-466-2785
1-888-278-7101
https://www.crc.ohio.gov/Home.aspx
In the event that an incident involves alleged misconduct by the Title IX Coordinator, reports should be made directly to the CEO of the College.
SEXUAL MISCONDUCT OFFENSES INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:
1. Sexual Harassment
2. Non-Consensual Sexual Contact (or attempts to commit same)
3. Non-Consensual Sexual Inter course (or attempts to commit same)
4. Sexual Exploitation
DEFINITIONS
1. SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Sexual harassment is:
■ unwelcome,
■ sexual, sex-based and/or gender-based verbal, written, online and/or physical conduct.
Sexual harassment is defined as three types of misconduct on the basis of sex: 1) Any instance of quid pro quo harassment by a school’s employee; 2) Any unwelcome conduct that a reasonable person would find so severe, pervasive and objectionably offensive that it denies a person equal educational access; 3) Any instance of sexual assault (as defined in the Clery Act), dating violence, domestic violence, or stalking (as defined in the Violence Against Women Act).
Anyone experiencing sexual harassment in any College program is encouraged to report it immediately to the Title IX Coordinator. Remedies, education and/ or training (supportive measures) will be provided in response or whenever respondent is found responsible. Supportive measures are defined as individualized services reasonably available that are nonpunitive, non-disciplinary, and not unreasonably burdensome to the other party while designed to ensure equal educational access, protect safety, or deter sexual harassment.
Sexual harassment may be disciplined when it takes the form of quid pro quo harassment, retaliatory harassment and/or creates a hostile environment.
A hostile environment is created when sexual harassment is:
■ sufficiently severe, or
■ persistent or pervasive, and
■ objectively offensive that it: unreasonably interferes with, denies or limits someone’s ability to participate in or benefit from the College’s educational [and/or employment], social and/ or residential program.
QUID PRO QUO HARRASSMENT is:
■ Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature
■ By a person having power or authority over another constitutes sexual harassment when
■ Submission to such sexual conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of rating or evaluating an individual’s educational or employment progress, development, or performance.
■ This includes when submission to such conduct would be a condition for access to receiving the benefits of any educational or employment program.
2. NON-CONSENSUAL SEXUAL CONTACT
Non-Consensual Sexual Contact is:
■ any intentional sexual touching,
■ however slight,
■ with any object,
■ by a person upon another person,
■ that is without consent and/or by force.
■ Sexual Contact includes:
■ Intentional contact with the breasts, buttock, groin, or genitals, or touching another with any of these body parts, or making another touch you or themselves with or on any of these body parts; or
■ Any other intentional bodily contact in a sexual manner.
NON-CONSENSUAL SEXUAL INTERCOURSE
Non-Consensual Sexual Intercourse is:
■ any sexual intercourse
Intercourse includes:
■ vaginal or anal penetration by a penis, object, tongue or finger, and oral copulation (mouth to genital contact), no matter how slight the penetration or contact.
3. SEXUAL EXPLOITATION
Occurs when one person takes non-con- sensual or abusive sexual advantage of another for his/her own advantage or benefit, or to benefit or advantage any- one other than the one being exploited, and that behavior does not otherwise constitute one of other sexual misconduct offenses. Examples of sexual exploitation include, but are not limited to:
■ Invasion of sexual privacy;
■ Prostituting another person;
■ Non-consensual digital, video or audio recording of nudity or sexual activity;
■ Unauthorized sharing or distribution of digital, video or audio recording of nudity or sexual activity;
Engaging in voyeurism;
Going beyond the boundaries of con- sent (such as letting your friend hide in the closet to watch you having con- sensual sex);
■ Knowingly exposing someone to or transmitting an STI, STD or HIV to another person;
■ Intentionally or recklessly exposing one’s genitals in non-consensual circumstances; inducing another to expose their genitals;
■ Sexually based stalking and/ or bullying may also be forms of sexual exploitation
ADDITIONAL APPLICABLE DEFINITIONS:
CONSENT is
1. clear, and
2. knowing, and
3. voluntary (affirmative, conscious and voluntary),
4. words or actions,
5. that give permission for specific sexual activity.
■ Consent is active, not passive.
■ Silence, in and of itself, cannot be interpreted as consent.
■ Consent can be given by words or actions, as long as those words or actions create mutually understandable permission regarding willingness to engage in (and the conditions of) sexual activity.
■ Consent to any one form of sexual activity cannot automatically imply consent to any other forms of sexual activity.
■ Previous relationships or prior consent cannot imply consent to future sexual acts.
■ Consent can be withdrawn once given, as long as that withdrawal is clearly communicated.
■ In order to give consent, one must be of legal age.
■ Sexual activity with someone you know to be or should know to be incapacitated constitutes a violation of this policy.
■ Incapacitation can occur mentally or physically, from developmental disability, by alcohol or other drug use, or blackout.
■ The question of what the responding party should have known is objectively based on what a reasonable person in the place of the responding party, sober and exercising good judgment, would have known about the condition of the reporting party.
Incapacitation is a state where someone cannot make rational, reasonable decisions because they lack the capacity to give knowing consent (e.g., to understand the “who, what,
when, where, why or how” of their sexual interaction).
This policy also covers a person whose incapacity results from mental disability, sleep, unconsciousness, involuntary physical restraint, or from the taking of rape drugs. [Pos- session, use and/or distribution of any of these substances, including Rohypnol, Ketamine, GHB, Burundanga, etc. is prohibited, and administering one of these drugs to another student is a violation of this policy.
FORCE
Force is the use of physical violence and/or imposing on someone physically to gain sexual access. Force also includes threats, intimidation (implied threats) and coercion that over- comes free will or resistance or that produces consent (“Have sex with me or I’ll hit you. Okay, don’t hit me, I’ll do what you want.”).
Coercion is unreasonable pressure for sexual activity. When someone makes clear to you that they do not want sex, that they want to stop, or that they do not want to go past a certain point of sexual interaction, continued pressure beyond that point can be coercive.
NOTE: There is no requirement for a party to resist the sexual advance or request, but resistance is a clear demonstration of non-consent. The presence of force is not demonstrated by the absence of resistance. Sexual activity that is forced is by definition non-consensual, but non-consensual sexual activity is not by definition forced.
■ Use of alcohol or other drugs will never function to excuse any behavior that violates this policy.
■ This policy is applicable regardless of the sexual orientation and/or gender identity of individuals engaging in sexual activity.
■ For reference to the Ohio state statutes on sex offenses, please see ORC 2907. http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/2907.
OTHER MISCONDUCT OFFENSES (WILL FALL UNDER TITLE IX WHEN SEX OR GENDER-BASED)
Threatening or causing physical harm, extreme verbal abuse, or other conduct which threatens or endangers the health or safety of any person;
■ Discrimination, defined as actions that deprive other members of the community of educational or employment access, benefits or opportunities on the basis of sex or gender;
■ Intimidation, defined as implied threats or acts that cause an unreasonable fear of harm in another;
■ Hazing, defined as acts likely to cause physical or psychological harm or social ostracism to any person within the College community, when related to the admission, initiation, pledging, joining, or any other group-affiliation activity (as defined further in the Hazing Policy);
■ Bullying, defined as
■ Intimate Partner Violence, defined as violence or abuse between those in an intimate relationship to each other.
STALKING
Stalking 1:
■ A course of conduct
■ Directed at a specific person
■ On the basis of actual or perceived membership in a protected class
■ That is unwelcome, AND
■ Would cause a reasonable person to feel fear
Stalking 2:
■ Repetitive and Menacing
■ Pursuit, following, harassing and/or interfering with the peace and/or safety of another
Any other College policies may fall within this section when a violation is motivated by the actual or perceived member- ship of the reporting party’s sex or gender.
RETALIATION
Retaliation is defined as any adverse action taken against a person participating in a protected activity because of their participation in that protected activity [subject to limitations imposed by the 1st Amendment and/or Academic Freedom]. Retaliation against an individual for an allegation, for sup- porting a reporting party or for assisting in providing information relevant to an allegation is a serious violation of College policy.
SANCTIONS
Appropriate measures will be taken by the college’s Disciplinary Committee to investigate a complaint or allegation of any sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking crime committed against a student or employee. The investigation will include written notices to both parties (complainants and respondents) of the allegations upon receipt of a formal complaint. The committee will initiate a hearing with both the victim and the alleged aggressor present, and, depending on the outcome of that hearing, take appropriate disciplinary action against the aggressor.
Both parties may choose to have an attorney or other representative present at any hearing. At the request of either party, the hearing can occur with the parties located in separate rooms with technology enabling the parties to see and hear each other. If, for reasons of personal safety or incapacity, the alleged victim cannot be present, the committee will arrange to have that person’s deposition taken and shared with the respondent prior to the disciplinary hearing. Both parties to the hearing will be informed of the committee’s final decision and of the sanction to be applied, if any. A determination by the committee that the offense or crime did occur will result in the respondent, if a student, being permanently expelled from the college or, if the respondent is a faculty member or other employee, will result in the person being terminated for cause.
In the case of reportable crimes, where the disciplinary committee found the respondent to be in violation of its policy on the crime, the final results of the disciplinary hearing against the alleged perpetrator will be shared with appropriate law enforcement personnel and will be open to anyone who requests information on the matter. The committee will base its final determination on a preponderance of the evidence and testimony presented during the hearing.
The Disciplinary Committee will consist of a Felbry College administrator, one faculty member, the Dean of Nursing or Assistant Provost, one advisory board member, and a professional counsel from the community who specializes in the area of the alleged offense. Each member of the committee will be polled by the CEO to ensure that there is no conflict of interest between the member and either of the parties.
Before hearing any case, each member will have completed annual training on how to conduct an investigation and on the proper procedures to conduct a fair and impartial hearing, respecting the rights of each party to the hearing and protecting the safety of the alleged victim. The committee must conduct itself and the hearing in such a way as to justify its final decision. Justification for the final decision will be committed to writing and incorporated as a part of the hearing record.
A hearing will be convened within 30 days of the date that the allegation was made. If, for any reason, the college must delay the start of the hearing, it will notify both parties in writing, informing them of the reason(s) for the delay and the rescheduled hearing date. The college anticipates that a hearing will typically last about a week but whatever time is needed to conduct a fair and comprehensive hearing will be taken. It also anticipates that the final, written determination of the committee will be completed within one week of the hearing’s end date. Copies of the final determination and its rationale will be given to both parties at the same time.
The following sanctions may be imposed upon any member of the community found to have violated the Sex/Gender Harassment, Discrimination and Misconduct Policy. Factors considered in sanctioning are defined in the College Catalog, and employee handbook. The following are the typical sanctions that may be imposed upon students or organizations singly or in combination:
Student Sanctions
• Warning
• Probation
• Suspension
• Expulsion
• Withholding Diploma
• Revocation of Degree
• Transcript Notation
• Organizational Sanctions
• Other Actions
Employee Sanctions
• Warning – Written or Verbal
• Performance Improvement Plan
• Required Counseling
• Required Training or Education
• Demotion
• Loss of Annual Pay Increase
• Suspension without Pay
• Suspension with Pay
• Revocation of Tenure
• Termination
SANCTIONING FOR SEXUAL MISCONDUCT
■ Any person found responsible for violating the Non- Consensual Sexual Contact policy (where no intercourse has occurred) will likely receive a sanction ranging from probation to expulsion, depending on the severity of the incident, and taking into account any previous disciplinary violations.
■ Any person found responsible for violating the Non- Consensual Sexual Intercourse policy will likely face a recommended sanction of suspension or expulsion (student) or suspension or termination (employee).
■ Any person found responsible for violating the Sexual Exploitation or Sexual Harassment policies will likely receive a recommended sanction ranging from warning to expulsion or termination, depending on the severity of the incident, and taking into account any previous disciplinary violations.
The decision-making body reserves the right to broaden or lessen any range of recommended sanctions in the case of serious mitigating circumstances or egregiously offensive behavior. Neither the initial hearing officers nor any appeals body or officer will deviate from the range of recommended sanctions unless compelling justification exists to do so.
The sanction(s) become effective immediately upon the committee’s release of its final determination. These sanctions are only appealable if procedural irregularity that affected the outcome of the matter, and/or Title IX personnel had a conflict of interest or bias, that affected the outcome of the matter, or additional evidence comes to light that the respondent did not commit the crime or if, in a court of law, the respondent was found not guilty of the crime.
Regardless of the outcome of any committee hearing or whether or not a complainant filed a formal charge against an alleged aggressor, absolutely no officer, employee, agent of the college or the college itself may retaliate, intimidate, threaten, coerce, or otherwise discriminate against any individual for exercising their rights or responsibilities under any provision in this section.
All violations of the policy and all allegations of violations of the policy will be included in FCSON’s annual crime report. For additional information on our campus security and crime report, please visit our website at www.felbrycollege.edu.
MODEL CONFIDENTIALITY, PRIVACY AND REPORTING POLICY
Confidentiality and Reporting of Offenses Under This Policy All College employees (faculty, staff, administrators) are expected to immediately report actual or suspected discrimination or harassment to appropriate officials, though there are some limited exceptions. In order to make informed choices, it is important to be aware of confidentiality and mandatory reporting requirements when consulting campus resources. On campus, some resources may maintain confidentiality – meaning they are not required to report actual or suspected discrimination or harassment to appropriate College officials – thereby offering options and advice with- out any obligation to inform an outside agency or individual unless a victim has requested information to be shared. Other resources exist for a victim to report crimes and policy violations and these resources will take action when an incident is reported to them.
The following describes the two reporting options at College:
CONFIDENTIAL REPORTING
If a reporting party would like the details of an incident to be kept confidential, the reporting party may speak with:
Off-campus:
Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Prevention Program
Ohio Department of Health Columbus, OH 43215 (Franklin) (614) 782-2144
www.odh.ohio.gov/odhPrograms/hprr
BRAVO (Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization)
870 North Pearl Street Columbus, OH 43215 (Franklin) (614) 268-9622
www.bravo-ohio.org
SARNCO (Sexual Assault Response Network of Central Ohio)
1299 Olentangy River Road Columbus, OH 43212 (Franklin) (614) 566-4770
www.ohiohealth.com
Licking County Rape Crisis Center
155 McMillen Drive
Newark, OH 43055 (Licking) (740) 344-9291
Family Health Services of East Central Ohio
Newark, OH (Licking) (740) 366-3372
SARN of Delaware County
11 North Franklin County Delaware, OH 43015 (Delaware) (740) 363-1835
All above will maintain confidentiality except in extreme cases of immediate threat or danger, or abuse of a minor. These employees will submit anonymous, aggregate statistical information for Clery Act purposes unless they believe it would be harmful to a specific client, patient, or parishioner.
FORMAL REPORTING OPTIONS
All College employees have a duty to report, unless they fall under the “Confidential Reporting” section above. Reporting parties may want to consider carefully whether they share personally identifiable details with non-confidential employees, as those details must be shared by the employee with the Title IX Coordinator and/or Deputy Coordinators. Employees must share all details of the reports they receive. Generally, climate surveys, classroom writing assignments, human subjects research, or events such as Take Back the Night marches or speak-outs do not provide notice that must be reported to the Coordinator by employees. Remedial actions may result without formal College action.
If a victim does not wish for their name to be shared, does not wish for an investigation to take place, or does not want a formal resolution to be pursued, the victim may make such a request to the Title IX Coordinator or Deputy Coordinators, who will evaluate that request in light of the duty to ensure the safety of the campus and comply with federal law. In cases indicating pattern, predation, threat, weapons and/or violence, the College will likely be unable to honor a request for confidentiality. In cases where the victim requests confidentiality and the circumstances allow the College to honor that request, the College will offer interim supports and remedies to the victim and the community but will not otherwise pursue formal action. A reporting party has the right, and can expect, to have reports taken seriously by the College when formally reported, and to have those incidents investigated and properly resolved through these procedures.
Formal reporting still affords privacy to the reporter, and only a small group of officials who need to know will be told. Information will be shared as necessary with investigators, witnesses and the responding party. The circle of people with this knowledge will be kept as tight as possible to preserve a reporting party’s rights and privacy.
Reports to the Title IX Coordinator can be made via email, phone or in person at the contact information below:
Name: Vanessa Stafford
Location/Address: Felbry College-School of Nursing 6055 Cleveland Avenue, Columbus Ohio 43231
Phone: 614-781-1085
Email: leadership@felbrycollege.edu
Failure of a non-confidential employee, as described in this section, to report an incident or incidents of sex or gender harassment or discrimination of which they become aware, is a violation of College policy and can be subject to disciplinary action for failure to comply with College policies.
FEDERAL STATISTICAL REPORTING OBLIGATIONS
Certain campus officials have a duty to report sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking for federal statistical reporting purposes (Clery Act). All personally identifiable information is kept confidential, but statistical information must be passed along to campus law enforcement regarding the type of incident and its general location (on or off-campus, in the surrounding area, but no addresses are given) for publication in the Annual Security Report. This report helps to provide the community with a clear picture of the extent and nature of campus crime, to ensure greater community safety. Mandated federal reporters include: student/conduct affairs, campus law enforcement, local police, coaches, athletic directors, residence life staff, student activities staff, human resources staff, advisors to student organizations and any other official with significant responsibility for student and cam- pus activities. The information to be shared includes the date, the location of the incident (using Clery location categories) and the Clery crime category. This reporting protects the identity of the victim and may be done anonymously.
FEDERAL TIMELY WARNING REPORTING OBLIGATIONS
Victims of sexual misconduct should also be aware that College administrators must issue immediate timely warnings for incidents reported to them that are confirmed to pose a substantial threat of bodily harm or danger to members of the campus community. The College will ensure that a victim’s name and other identifying information is not disclosed, while still providing enough information for community members to make safety decisions in light of the danger.
ADDITIONAL POLICY PROVISIONS ATTEMPTED VIOLATIONS
In most circumstances, The College will treat attempts to commit any of the violations listed in the Gender-Misconduct Policy as if those attempts had been completed.
FALSE REPORTS
The College will not tolerate intentional false reporting of incidents. It is a violation of the [Student Code of Conduct] to make an intentionally false report of any policy violation, and it may also violate state criminal statutes and civil defamation laws.
AMNESTY FOR VICTIMS AND WITNESESS
The College encourages the reporting of misconduct and crimes by victims and witnesses. Sometimes, victims or witnesses are hesitant to report to College officials or participate in resolution processes because they fear that they themselves may be respondent of policy violations, such as underage drinking at the time of the incident. It is in the best interests of this community that as many victims as possible choose to report to College officials, and that witnesses come forward to share what they know. To encourage reporting, College pursues a policy of offering victims of misconduct and witnesses amnesty from minor policy violations related to the incident.
Sometimes, students are hesitant to offer assistance to others for fear that they may get themselves in trouble (for example, as student who has been drinking underage might hesitate to help take a sexual misconduct victim to the Campus Police). The College pursues a policy of amnesty for students who offer help to others in need. [While policy violations cannot be over- looked, the College will provide educational options, rather than punishment, to those who offer their assistance to others in need.
PARENTAL NOTIFICATION
The College reserves the right to notify parents/guardians of dependent students regarding any health or safety risk, change in student status or conduct situation, particularly alcohol and other drug violations. The College may also notify parents/ guardians of non-dependent students who are under age 21 of alcohol and/or drug policy violations. Where a student is non-dependent, the College will contact parents/guardians to inform them of situations in which there is a significant and articulable health and/or safety risk. The College also reserves the right to designate which College officials have a need to know about individual conduct reports pursuant to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
