If a member of the community wishes to make a complaint against an employee who is not a faculty member* of a violation of the College's sexual harassment or assault policy, the following procedures will apply:

* The term faculty includes both teaching and administrative faculty

1. The process begins with a meeting between the potential complainant and an appropriate administrator assigned to serve in these cases. Those administrators are as follows:
   1. Students who have a complaint should meet with the Dean of Studies and Student Life.
   2. Faculty complainants should meet with either the Dean of the College, in the case of undergraduate faculty complainants, or the Dean of Graduate Studies, in the case of graduate faculty complainants
   3. Administrative and staff complainants should meet with the Director of Human Resources

   If the complainant so desires, he/she may be accompanied by a member of the community acting as an advisor. In that meeting the complainant will be informed about the options available to him/her. The complainant and respondent may agree to an informal discussion and possible resolution of the complaint, facilitated by the administrator with whom the complainant is meeting. (The four administrators will all receive appropriate training in preparation for these meetings)

   If any of the above administrators is the potential respondent or complainant, the initial meeting will be with the reporting officer for that person (i.e., the President for the Dean of the College and the Dean of Studies, the Dean of the College for the Dean of Graduate Studies, and the Vice President for Finance for the Director of Human Resources).

2. The use of informal resolution does not preclude the filing of a formal complaint, if the matter cannot be resolved informally. Should the individual decide to file a formal complaint, she/he will meet with the Director of Human Resources to discuss the procedure for hearing the complaint. She/he will then file a written statement with the Director, describing the circumstances of the alleged harassing incident or behavior. This statement will constitute the grounds for the complaint. The Director will then meet with the respondent to discuss the complaint. The complainant's statement will be sent to the respondent, who will be given an opportunity to write a response to the complaint within one week, unless the time is extended because of unusual circumstances as determined by the college. This will in turn be given to the complainant. Any subsequent submissions by the complainant or respondent to the panel or to the Director will be shared with the other.

3. Formal complaints must be filed within 180 days of the alleged incident of sexual harassment or assault.  Requests for an extension of that time must be approved by the Director of Human Resources. Students may not file complaints after they have graduated from the College.

4. Upon receipt of the complaint, the Director will establish a panel to hear the complaint. The procedure for forming this panel shall be as follows:

   1. Each year a pool of eight non-faculty employees shall be constituted, on the recommendations of the Dean of Studies and Student Life to the Director of Human Resources. The pool members will serve for a three-year term, or until they serve on a case, whichever comes first. They will be available for service on panels adjudicating complaints of sexual harassment/assault against non-faculty employees.

      All members of the pool will be full time regular employees.  The College will strive for gender balance in the pool, to the extent practicable.  All members of the pool will receive training for service on the panels.  Each time members of the pool complete their service (either by completing a three-year term or by serving on a panel), members will be chosen by the Dean of Studies and Student Life to replace them.

   2. The panel for a specific case will be chosen from that pool through the following procedures:
      1. Individuals in the pool may recuse themselves in particular cases if there are factors that make objectivity impossible, such as a close friendship with the respondent or a present or previous academic or professional relationship with the complainant. The Director will give the list of members in the pool to the complainant and to the respondent. Each may eliminate one name from this list of potential panelists. The Director, reviewing the eligible pool members, will choose three to serve as the panel for that particular case.
      2. In the event that a panel member resigns or is otherwise unable to serve the Director will appoint a replacement from the pool. If the pool does not yield three acceptable members of the panel, the Director will appoint an employee who has already gone through the training as a substitute.

5. In cases involving an accusation of sexual assault, the college may place the respondent on leave with pay until the case is decided.

6. Hearing panel procedures

   1. In preparation for the hearing, the Director will gather information to be brought to the panel. This will include (but not be limited to) the statements of the complainant and respondent, a list of witnesses who may have relevant information and other information related to the charges. The initial list of witnesses will be provided by both the complainant and respondent.

   2. Witnesses identified at this stage will be required to submit a written statement describing their knowledge of the case. The Director will determine an appropriate deadline for these statements to be submitted, typically a week to ten days before the hearing. The witness’s statements will be made available to the complainant, the respondent, and their respective advisers. If a witness fails to submit a timely statement the chair of the panel may exclude any testimony by that witness.

   3. The panel will receive and review the complaint, the response, and all other witness statements and documents provided by the Director. The panel will then identify a list of witnesses to meet with the panel. The selection of that list will be based on the relevance of the witness’ information (i.e. direct knowledge of the complaint and its alleged consequences). The panel need not call witnesses whose testimony is merely cumulative. The panel may call witnesses who were not suggested by either the complainant or respondent. In that case the witnesses will not be required to submit written statements.

   4. The panel will choose a chair from among the three members. The panel will meet with the complainant and respondent together. In unusually sensitive cases, particularly those involving charges of sexual assault, a room with double entrance and with a partition will be provided to ensure that complainant and respondent are not in visual contact or physical proximity to one another.

   5. Both the complainant and respondent will have the option of having a personal adviser who is a member of the SLC community present when they appear before the panel. The chair of the panel will provide the adviser(s) with a copy of the procedures of the panel and will give them instructions about confidentiality (i.e., that they are expected to preserve in confidence all information they acquire in connection with their role as advisers). The adviser(s) may not serve as witnesses.

   6. Both complainant and respondent will be required to attend all hearings of the case. If the respondent refuses to do so, she or he will be informed of the possibly damaging consequences to his/her case, especially in the giving up of direct access to testimony and evidence, and the hearings will proceed in his or her absence. If the complainant refuses to do so without good cause, as determined by the panel, the panel may dismiss the complaint.

   7. Persons called as witnesses shall be in the hearing room only during the time they are speaking. If the witness is no longer available to attend the hearing, as determined by the panel, his or her witness statement will be accepted in lieu of the interview.

   8. The complainant, the respondent, and their advisers have the right to be present to hear all of the testimony presented to the panel. The meeting shall be closed to all but the Panel Chair, the panel, the complainant, the respondent, their advisors, and the witnesses during their interview.

   9. All speakers must be recognized by the Panel Chair.  No interruptions will be tolerated, upon penalty of being excluded from the meeting.

   10. The sole role of the advisors is to provide advice and support to the complainant and the respondent.  The advisors may not ask any questions. Only the complainant and the respondent and the members of the hearing panel may ask questions of the principals in the case and of any witnesses. The Panel Chair will determine whether questions are irrelevant or otherwise inappropriate and his/her decisions will be final.

   11. When the panel completes its review of information and its consideration of the complaint it will report its findings of fact and its conclusions in a written report to the Director of Human Resources. The Director will  review the findings and conclusions of the panel and will determine any penalties to be imposed, except as provided below. Those penalties include:

       1. Warning
       2. Formal reprimand
       3. Suspension without pay

       In addition, in cases where the offense is so serious that the possibility of termination of employment arises, the Director may recommend termination of employment to the President.

       In the case of a warning, a record will be kept by the college, but it will not become part of the employee’s permanent record unless the employee is subject to further disciplinary action. A formal reprimand, suspension without pay, and termination of employment will become part of the employee’s permanent record.

       The Director also has the option of asking the panel to consider the matter further and submit a supplementary report

   12. The Director will report the resolution to both the complainant and respondent. This report will include the conclusions of the panel and, where appropriate, any actions taken or penalties imposed. The facts about individual cases and their disposition are confidential. This means that such information is shared by the college only on a bona fide need to know basis. The college reserves the right to correct misinformation that becomes public.

   13. The college will strive to complete the investigation and hearing in a prompt manner, consistent with fairness

7. If a complaint is made against the Director of Human Resources, the President will take on the roles normally played by the Director. The Chairperson of the Board of Trustees or his/her delegate will serve as the point of appeal. If a complaint is made against the President, the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees will be in charge of the process.

8. Appeals—The complainant and the respondent have the right to appeal any action taken or penalty imposed to the President. The appeal must be filed within ten working days of receiving the decision. An appeal does not provide a rehearing of the case by the President.

   An appeal may be made on one of three grounds only:

   1. Newly discovered evidence that was not available at the time of the hearing.
   2. An error in procedure sufficient to warrant an overturn of the panel’s conclusion or a new hearing.
   3. Inappropriate application of College rules, regulations or policies to the facts (This may include an appeal of the penalty imposed).

   The President’s response to an appeal may include without limitation one or more of the following: sending the case back to the panel for further review; ordering a new hearing; revising the penalty; setting aside the decision of the panel.

   The decision of the President is final.

9. Use of the internal procedure outlined above does not foreclose subsequent legal action. Complainants and respondents may wish to obtain legal advice as they consider the course of action open to them. However, the proceedings described above are not those of a court of law and legal counsel will not be permitted to attend or participate in the process. The hearings will not be tape recorded, although members of the panel may take written notes.

10. Record keeping: A permanent written record of the formal complaint process and its outcome will be retained by the Director of Human Resources. The Director will prepare an annual report for the Administrative Staff Committee on the number and type of complaints and, in general terms, on their disposition.

    It is expected that the Administrative Staff Committee will review these procedures within three years. Nevertheless, this procedure will remain in place unless and until it is revised,  terminated, or replaced by the Administrative Staff Committee, in consultation with all members of the administration and staff.

    The following section, Order of Business, will not be part of the procedures but will be presented as a set of guidelines for the panel:

    Order of Business:

    1. Introductions
    2. Panel Chair explains the process
    3. Opening statement by complainant, which may be read by her/his advisor
    4. Opening statement by the respondent, which may be read by her/his advisor
    5. Panel questions the complainant
    6. Panel questions the respondent
    7. Complainant and respondent may ask questions of each other, but they must be directed  through the Panel Chair. If, prior to asking questions, the complainant and respondent request a brief (up to ten minutes) recess to consult with their advisors, this may be granted by the Panel Chair.
    8. Witnesses speak
    9. Questions from the parties and further questions from the panel
    10. Final statement by complainant
    11. Final statement by respondent
    12. Optional closing statements by complainant advisor and respondent advisor
    13. Dismissal of complainant, respondent, and advisors
    14. Deliberation by the panel

April 2002: Approved by the Administrative Staff Committee