POWER-BASED VIOLENCE/SEXUAL MISCONDUCT  

INVESTIGATION AND DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS (UNIVERSITY) 

 

INVESTIGATION  

NOTICE  

Upon receipt of a Formal Complaint, the institution must provide written notice of the following to known parties:  
 
The investigation and adjudication process, including any informal processes;  
  1. Allegations of sexual harassment, including sufficient details known at the time. Sufficient details include the identities of the parties involved in the incident, if known, the conduct allegedly constituting sexual harassment, and the date and location of the alleged incident, if known;  
  2. A statement that the Respondent is presumed not responsible for the alleged conduct and that a determination regarding responsibility is made at the conclusion of  the grievance process;  
  3. The parties may have an advisor of their choice, who may be, but is not required to be, an attorney;  
  4. The parties may inspect and review evidence;  
  5. The parties are prohibited from knowingly making false statements or knowingly submitting false information during the investigation and adjudication process; and  
  6. If the institution decides to investigate additional allegations not included in the original notice, it must provide notice of the additional allegations to the parties whose identities are known.  
 

INVESTIGATION PROCEDURE

The Title IX Coordinator shall appoint an Investigator to investigate the allegations documented in the Formal Complaint. The investigation may include, among other steps, interviewing the Complainant, the Respondent, and any witnesses; reviewing law enforcement investigation documents if applicable; reviewing relevant student or employment files; and gathering and examining other relevant documents, social media posts, and other evidence.  
 
The Investigator will attempt to collect all relevant information and evidence. Following the investigation, the Investigator will draft an investigation report succinctly describing all collected information. The Investigator will not make any determination as to whether a policy violation has occurred or recommend potential sanctions.  
 
While investigating the allegations of any Formal Complaint of sexual harassment, the Investigator will conduct an objective evaluation of all relevant evidence. Relevant evidence is any evidence that may tend to make the allegations at issue more or less likely to be true. (See §106.45(b)(1)(ii).)  
 
In assessing allegations of sexual harassment, institution’s policies must state whether the standard of evidence to be used to determine responsibility is the preponderance of the evidence standard or the clear and convincing evidence standard, apply the same standard of evidence for Formal Complaints against students as for Formal Complaints against employees, including faculty, and apply the same standard of evidence to all Formal Complaints of sexual harassment.  
 
When investigating a Formal Complaint and throughout the investigation and adjudication process, the university must:  
 
  1. Ensure that the burden of proof and the burden of gathering evidence sufficient to reach a determination regarding responsibility rest on the institution and not on the parties;  
  2. Provide an equal opportunity for the parties to present witnesses, including fact and expert witnesses, and other inculpatory and exculpatory evidence;  
  3. Not restrict the ability of either party to discuss the allegations under investigation or to gather and present relevant evidence;  
  4. Provide the parties with the same opportunities to have others present during any investigation or adjudication proceeding, including the opportunity to be accompanied to any related meeting or proceeding by the advisor of their choice, who may be, but is not required to be, an attorney, and not limit the choice or presence of advisor for either the Complainant or Respondent in any meeting or grievance proceeding; however, the institution may establish restrictions regarding the extent to which an advisor may participate in the proceedings, as long as the restrictions apply equally to both parties’ advisors;  
  5. Provide written notice to each party of the date, time, location, participants, and purposes of each Formal Grievance Process meeting in which they are invited to participate, with sufficient time for the party to prepare to participate;  
  6. Provide both parties an equal opportunity to inspect and review any evidence obtained as part of the investigation that is directly related to the allegations raised in a Formal Complaint, including the evidence upon which the institution does not intend to rely in reaching a determination regarding responsibility and inculpatory or exculpatory evidence whether obtained from a party or other source, so that each party can meaningfully respond to the evidence prior to the conclusion of the investigation.  
  7. Prior to completion of the investigative report, the institution must send the report to each party and the party’s advisor, if any, the evidence subject to inspection and review in an electronic format or a hard copy, and the parties must have at least 10 days to submit a written response, which the investigator will consider prior to completion of the investigative report.  
  8. The institution must make available at any hearing all such evidence subject to the parties’ inspection and review, to give each party equal opportunity to refer to such evidence during the hearing, including for purposes of cross-examination; and  
  9. Create an investigative report that fairly summarizes relevant evidence and, at least 10 days prior to the hearing, send to each party and each party’s advisor, if any, the investigative report in an electronic format or a hard copy, for their review and written response.  
 

HEARINGS

The university must provide for a live hearing. An Adjudicator will consider all the evidence presented and determine whether a Respondent is responsible for a violation of this protocol. The Adjudicator will not be the same person as the Title IX Coordinator or the investigator. Cases will be adjudicated by a trained third-party Adjudicator.  
 
At the request of either party, an institution must provide for the live hearing to occur with the parties located in separate rooms, with technology enabling the Adjudicator and parties to simultaneously see and hear the party or the witness answering questions. The university will create a transcript or recording (audio or audiovisual) of any adjudicative hearing to be made available to the parties for inspection and review pursuant to FERPA (Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act).  
 
At the live hearing, the Adjudicator must permit each party's advisor to ask the other party and any witnesses all relevant questions and follow-up questions, including those challenging credibility. Cross-examination at the live hearing must be conducted directly, orally, and in real time by the party’s advisor of choice and never by a party personally. (106.45(b)(6)(i).) Only relevant cross-examination and other questions may be asked of a party or witness. Advisors may be present solely to advise or support the party and are prohibited from speaking directly to the Investigator, Adjudicator, other parties, or witnesses during the hearing, except for conducting cross examination.  
 
Before a Complainant, Respondent, or witness answers a cross-examination or other question, the decision maker(s) must first determine whether the question is relevant and explain any decision to exclude a question as not relevant. If a party does not have an advisor present at the live hearing, the institution must provide, without fee or charge to that party, an advisor of the institution’s choice, who may be, but is not required to be, an attorney, to conduct cross-examination on behalf of that party.  
 
Questions and evidence about the Complainant’s sexual predisposition or prior sexual behavior are not relevant, unless such questions and evidence about the Complainant’s prior sexual behavior are offered to prove that someone other than the Respondent committed the conduct alleged by the Complainant, or if the questions and evidence concern specific incidents of the Complainant’s prior sexual behavior with respect to the Respondent and are offered to prove consent.  
 
If a party or witness does not submit to cross-examination at the live hearing, the decision maker(s) must not rely on any statement of that party or witness in reaching a determination regarding responsibility provided, however, that the decision-maker(s) cannot draw an inference about the determination regarding responsibility based solely on a party's or witness's absence from the live hearing or refusal to answer cross-examination or other questions.  
 
Live hearings may be conducted with all parties physically present in the same geographic location or, at the institution’s discretion, any or all parties, witnesses, and other participants appearing at the live hearing virtually, with technology enabling participants simultaneously to see and hear each other.  
 
The university must create an audio or audiovisual recording, or transcript, of any live hearing and make it available to the parties for inspection and review.  
 

DETERMINATION REGARDING RESPONSIBILITY

The Adjudicator, must issue, simultaneously to both parties, a written determination regarding responsibility, which must include:  

 
  1. Identification of the allegations potentially constituting sexual harassment; 
  2. A description of the procedural steps taken from receipt of the Formal Complaint through the determination, including any notifications to the parties, interviews with parties and witnesses, site visits, methods used to gather other evidence, and hearings held; 
  3. Findings of fact supporting the determination; 
  4. Conclusions regarding the application of the institution’s policy to the facts; 
  5. A statement of, and rationale for, the result as to each allegation, including a determination regarding responsibility, any sanctions the institution will impose on the Respondent, and whether remedies designed to restore or preserve equal access to the education program or activity will be provided to the Complainant; and 
  6. Procedures and permissible bases for parties to appeal.  
The determination regarding responsibility becomes final either on the date that the recipient provides the parties with the written determination of the result of the appeal, if an appeal is filed or, if an appeal is not filed, the date on which an appeal would no longer be considered timely.  

SANCTIONS

Description in range of sanctions for employees and students.   

 
Factors considered when determining a sanction/responsive action may include, but are not limited to:  
  1. The nature, severity of, and circumstances surrounding the violation(s) 
  2. The Respondent’s disciplinary history 
  3. Previous allegations or allegations involving similar conduct 
  4. The need for sanctions/responsive actions to bring an end to the discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation 
  5. The need for sanctions/responsive actions to prevent the future recurrence of discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation 
  6. The need to remedy the effects of discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation on the Complainant and the community 
  7. The impact on the parties 
  8. Any other information deemed relevant by the Decision Makers  
 
Sanctions will be implemented as soon as is possible, either upon the outcome of any appeal or the expiration of the window to appeal without an appeal being requested.  
The sanctions described in these procedures are not exclusive of, and may be in addition to, other actions taken, or sanctions imposed by external authorities.  
 
Student Sanctions 
The following are the usual sanctions that may be imposed upon students singly or in combination: See the Grambling State University (GSU) Student Handbook for a complete listing and more detailed description of all possible sanctions.  
 
  1. Reprimand: A written letter/expression or oral expression statement that the conduct was unacceptable and a warning that further violation of any University policy, procedure, or directive will result in more severe sanctions/responsive actions. 
  2. Discretionary Censures: Censures that may include but are not limited to parental notification, letter of apology, conflict resolution sessions, and university programming. 
  3. Required Education Counseling: A mandate to meet with and engage in either University-sponsored or external counseling to better comprehend the misconduct and its effects. 
  4. Suspension: This suspension is for a specified period of time, and the student or the student organization may apply for readmission to the University after expiration of the specified period. During this period of suspension, the student is banned from the University. A notation will be placed on the student’s transcript “Student is eligible to return (semester) (year)” when a student is suspended for disciplinary reasons for a specified period of time. The transcript indicates which semester the student will be eligible to return. 
  5. Permanent Dismissal from the University and Banned from the University. A notation will be placed on a student’s transcript “Student is ineligible to enroll,” when the student is permanently dismissed from the university for disciplinary reasons.  
 
 Employee Sanctions  
 
  1. Responsive actions for an employee who has engaged in harassment, discrimination, and/or retaliation include:  
  2. Warning – Verbal or Written  
  3. Performance Improvement/Management Process  
  4. Required Counseling  
  5. Required Training or Education  
  6. Probation  
  7. Loss of Annual Pay Increase  
  8. Loss of Oversight or Supervisory Responsibility  
  9. Demotion  
  10. Suspension with Pay  
  11. Suspension Without Pay  
  12. Termination 
  13. Other Actions: In addition to or in place of the above sanctions, the University may assign any other sanctions as deemed appropriate.