Equal Opportunity Policy

Equal Opportunity and Nondiscrimination Policy

Otis College of Art and Design is an equal opportunity employer and educator, firmly committed to providing an environment in which people respect the rights of others to live, work, and learn in peace and dignity, and to have equal opportunity to realize their full potential as individuals and members of society. Otis College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, family care status, veteran status, age, disability, medical condition, national or ethnic origin, or any other protected category under state or federal law in the administration of its student admissions, employment, access to programs, or administration of educational policies. The College prohibits harassment, discrimination and/or retaliation based on the perception that anyone has any of these characteristics or is associated with a person who has or is perceived as having any of these characteristics.

Otis College will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so would result in an undue hardship or fundamentally alter the nature of the service, program, or activity.

This prohibition against discrimination, harassment and/or retaliation includes engaging in behavior that may:

• Threaten the physical safety of any member of the community;
• Create an educational environment hostile to any member;
• Discriminate against another person or persons; or
• Inflict physical, emotional, or mental injury to, or provoke a violent response from, a reasonable person.

Students with questions regarding this policy or believed instances of discrimination or harassment on the basis of any of these criteria should be brought to any of the following individuals: Dean of Student Affairs or designee, Title IX Coordinator, or file a formal student grievance at www.otis.edu/complaint-procedure. The College will not retaliate against anyone for filing a complaint made in good faith and will not knowingly permit retaliation by management, faculty, staff, or students.

Otis’s Ten Points: Standing Up For Equity

1. We do not tolerate racism or any other form of violence or discrimination from anyone. 
2. We expect all Otis community members to work toward dismantling systems of oppression.
3. We recognize the College’s historical struggles around equity and the ways those reflect struggles in U.S. culture and beyond.
4. We recognize diversity as a reality, a responsibility, and a resource.
5. We commit to treating every person’s identity with dignity and respect.
6. We commit to practicing institutional responsibility to redress unjust histories.
7. We commit to an ongoing systemic and structural approach in correcting inequities: this work is collective, not individual.
8. We commit to hold ourselves and one another accountable to our collective effort to create an inclusive campus invigorated by difference.
9. We commit to honesty, vulnerability, and openness as we dialogue across differences. 
10. We commit to an intersectional and justice-oriented approach.

Review the full DEIB Statement at www.otis.edu/dei-statement 

Academic Freedom Statement

The College is committed to creating an atmosphere of freedom for faculty and students to pursue and advance truth. Accordingly, the Executive Committee of the Otis College Board of Trustees has affirmed the general principles of academic freedom in teaching and research expressed in the 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP).

Educational Philosophy

An Otis College education is both rigorous and rewarding. Students are welcomed into a warm, collegial community that supports and promotes their development as artists and designers. Through curricular and co-curricular development, students are empowered to live a fulfilling life at Otis College and beyond. The College inspires students to become lifelong learners, to sustain lifelong friendships, and to change the world through their lives as artists and designers.