Postsecondary Education Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence Policy

POLICY STATEMENT

It is the policy of the Council on Postsecondary Education ("CPE"), its constituent institutions of higher education (specifically, the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and the Community College of Rhode Island) and the Office of Postsecondary Commissioner (collectively referred to as the "Covered Entities") to prohibit all forms of unlawful sexual harassment and sexual violence, as those terms are defined herein.

PURPOSE AND GOALS OF POLICY

• Defines the types of conduct that will be considered to be prohibited sexual harassment, sexual        

               assault and sexual violence at the Covered Entities; 

• Provides examples of such prohibited conduct;
• Sets forth the mandatory and discretionary reporting obligations and procedures

pertaining to such conduct that is witnessed, experienced or learned about by, or reported to, employees of the Covered Entities.

• Provides a list of contacts, and internal and external resources, available to individuals who experience or witness acts of sexual harassment, sexual assault and sexual violence or who have questions relating to those subjects.

BACKGROUND

Sexual harassment, as defined herein, is prohibited in employment by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Rhode Island Fair Employment Practices Act, and in education programs, activities and benefits by Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 and Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Sexual violence (as defined herein) is prohibited in both the employment context, as well as in the educational programs, activities and benefits context, under Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 ("Title IX") and the Violence Against Woman Reauthorization Act of 2013 ("VAWA").

APPLICABILITY

All faculty, staff, and students at all Covered Entities must comply with this policy in an effort to foster an inclusive and safe academic and work environment. This policy applies to the perpetration of sexual harassment, sexual assault or sexual violence by one member of the Covered Entity's community (faculty, staff, student, or volunteer) against another. Depending on the context, the policy may also apply where one of the involved or affected parties is a visitor or a contractor performing work on behalf of the Covered Entity. The policy applies to all such behavior occurring on campus, and to behavior occurring off campus when the behavior arises in the context of a Covered Entity event or otherwise has a significant relation to, or could have a significant impact on, the Covered Entity's living, learning or employment environments.

RETALIATION

Retaliation against any complainant or witness is prohibited and shall be treated as a separate violation under this policy as well as any of the Covered Entity's community standards and Non-Discrimination Policy.

Furthermore, no officer, employee, student or agent of any of the Covered Entities shall retaliate, intimidate, threaten, coerce, or otherwise discriminate against any individual for exercising their rights or responsibilities under any provision of law, or any of the Covered Entity's policies or procedures, relating to campus security or campus crime reporting, including any laws and policies relating to the reporting of, and required responses to, allegations of sexual violence.

The full document and Title IX policies at the Community College of Rhode Island can be found at:

http://www.ccri.edu/titleix/index.html

Any person who feels that they may have been the target of or witness to sexual harassment, including sexual violence or sexual assault is encouraged to seek redress through the following:

1. Student-to student complaint- Dean of Students, Title IX Coordinator or Campus Police
2. Student-to-faculty complaint- Title IX Coordinator, Office of Human Resources, Director of Affirmative Action, Dean of Students or Campus Police
3. Student-to-staff complaint- Title IX Coordinator, Office of Human Resources, Director of Affirmative Action, Dean of Students or Campus Police
4. Staff-to-staff or faculty-to-faculty or faculty-to-staff complaint or faculty/staff to student complaint- Title IX Coordinator, Office of Human Resources, Director of Affirmative Action or Campus Police
5. Non-credit/CWCE student complaint- Title IX Coordinator, Office of Human Resources, Director of Affirmative Action, Director of Community Services or Campus Police
6. Vendors, Sub-Contractors, Visitors or Members of the public whose complaints are based on actions that happened within the college's jurisdiction- Title IX Coordinator, Office of Human Resources or Campus Police

COLLEGE POLICE

• Warwick      401-825-2109
• Lincoln      401-333-7035
• Providence  401-455-6050
• Newport   401-851-1620

The following individuals shall be considered "responsible employees" at CCRI for purposes of reporting complaints and incidents of sexual harassment and sexual violence under the CPE's Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence Policy: All College Officials and Administrators; All full Time and Part Time Faculty; All Academic Deans, Associate and Assistant Deans, and Department Chairs; All Student Services Deans, Associate and Assistant Deans, Directors, Associate and Assistant Directors; All Student Services Advisors, Coordinators and other professional staff; All employees who are responsible supervisors for one or more employees; All Athletic Coaches and Trainers; All Student Organization Advisors; and All other individuals designated as "Campus Security Authorities," as listed in the college's Annual Crime Statistics and Fire Safety Report ("Clery Report"). All such "responsible employees" are obligated to report all actual, suspected or alleged incidents of sexual harassment and sexual violence which are reported to them, or of which they become aware to the Office of Human Resources at 401-825-2311. The list above does not imply that others should not or cannot report sexual harassment and sexual violence or that they do not have an ethical or moral responsibility to do so. Notwithstanding the foregoing, pastoral and professional counselors providing counseling services as part of their duties are exempt from mandated reporting. A pastoral counselor is defined as an employee of an institution, who is associated with a religious order or denomination, recognized by that religious order or denomination as someone who provides confidential counseling and who is functioning within the scope of that recognition as a pastoral counselor. A professional counselor is defined as an employee of an institution whose official responsibilities include providing psychological counseling to members of the institution's community and who is functioning within the scope of his or her license or certification.