Formal Complaint
Any student or employee filing a formal complaint must be participating in, or attempting to participate in one of the University’s education programs or activities when the formal complaint is filed. Under the U.S. Department of Education’s Title IX Regulations, “program or activity” means “all of the operations” of a university. Education programs or activities include locations, events or circumstances where the University exercised substantial control over the respondent, the context in which the sexual harassment occurs, and includes any building owned or controlled by a student organization that is officially recognized by the University. Formal complaints must be in writing and:
- be a document or electronic submission;
- contain the complainant’s physical or digital signature;
- allege a violation that falls under the university’s Title IX Sexual Misconduct policy;
- state the name of the alleged respondent (if known) and describe the incident(s) as clearly as possible, including the date and place where the incident(s) occurred.
- should include as much available information as possible such as the names and contact information for witnesses, any available witness statements, copies of correspondence (i.e. text messages, social media posts, photographs, audio or video recordings, etc.) that may be relevant to the investigation.