Title Ix Sexual Misconduct Policy
The College is committed to complying with all requirements as set forth by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”) and subsequent revisions. As such, the College does not discriminate on the basis of sex and prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity that it operates, as required by Title IX, including in admission and employment. Such discrimination includes, but is not limited to, the following: sexual harassment; sexual violence; stalking; relationship violence; and failure to provide equal opportunity in admissions, activities, or employment. Student workers will be covered by this policy, and may also fall under the jurisdiction of Human Resources and Development, which will jointly resolve all complaints with the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs.
Title IX’s prohibition on discrimination in admission applies to institutions of vocational education, professional education, graduate higher education, and public institutions of undergraduate higher education. § 106.15(d). (https://www2.ed.gov/policy/rights/reg/ocr/edlite-34cfr106.html#S15)
Please note: The 2024 amendments which take effect on August 1, 2024, and obligate recipients to apply the requirements set forth therein to complaints of sex discrimination regarding alleged conduct that occurs on or after that date.
Title IX sexual harassment pertains to the following three categories of conduct, when they occur on the basis of sex, or are sexual in nature:
- A College employee explicitly or implicitly conditioning the provision of an aid, benefit, or service of the College on an individual’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct (quid pro quo);
- Unwelcome conduct on the basis of sex determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the College’s education programs or activities; or
- “Sexual assault” as defined in 20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(6)(A)(v), “dating violence” as defined in 34 U.S.C. 12291(a)(10), “domestic violence” as defined in 34 U.S.C. 12291(a)(8), or “stalking” as defined in 34 U.S.C. 12291(a)(30). Definitions of these terms are provided below.
Jurisdiction*
This Policy applies to the College’s education program and activities,** to conduct that takes place on property owned or controlled by the College, and at college-sponsored events. The Respondent must be a member of Otis College’s community in order for this Policy to apply.
This Policy is also applicable to the effects of off-campus misconduct that effectively deprives a person of access to Otis College’s education program or activities. The College will extend jurisdiction to off-campus and/or to online conduct when the Title IX Coordinator determines that the conduct affects a substantial College interest.
Regardless of where the conduct occurred, the College will address notice/complaints to determine whether the conduct occurred in the context of its employment or education program or activity and/or has continuing effects on campus (including virtual learning and employment environments) or in an off campus sponsored program or activity. A substantial College interest includes:
- Any action that constitutes a criminal offense as defined by law. This includes, but is not limited to, single or repeat violations of any local, state, or federal law.
- Any situation in which it is determined that the Respondent poses an immediate threat to the physical health or safety of any student, employee, or other individual.
- Any situation that significantly impinges upon the rights, property, or achievements of others, significantly breaches the peace, and/or causes social disorder.
- Any situation that substantially interferes with the educational interests or mission of the College.
If the Respondent is unknown or is not a member of the Otis College community, the Title IX Coordinator, or designee, will assist the Complainant in identifying appropriate institutional and local resources and support options. If criminal conduct is alleged, the College can assist in contacting local or institutional law enforcement if the individual would like to file a police report.
Further, even when the Respondent is not a member of the College’s community, supportive measures, remedies, and resources may be provided to the Complainant by contacting the Title IX Coordinator.
In addition, the College may take other actions as appropriate to protect the Complainant against third parties, such as barring individuals from Otis College property and/or events.
All vendors serving the College through third-party contracts are subject to the policies and procedures of their employers and/or to these Policies and procedures to which their employer has agreed to be bound by their contracts.
When the Respondent is enrolled in or employed by another institution, the Title IX Coordinator can assist the Complainant in liaising with the appropriate individual at that institution, as it may be possible to pursue action under that institution’s policies.
Similarly, the Title IX Coordinator may be able to assist and support a student or employee Complainant who experiences discrimination in an internship, travel study program, or other environment external to the College where sexual harassment or nondiscrimination policies and procedures of the facilitating or host organization may give the Complainant recourse.
You may file a formal complaint at any time by using the online Title IX Reporting Form. You may also file a complaint by email, or in person.
Online Harassment and Misconduct
Otis College policies are written and interpreted broadly to include online manifestations
of any of the behaviors prohibited below, when those behaviors occur in or have an
effect on the College’s education program and activities or when they involve the
use of College networks, technology, or equipment.
Although Otis College may not control websites, social media, and other venues through
which harassing communications are made, when such communications are reported to
the College, it will engage in a variety of means to address and mitigate the effects.
Members of the community are encouraged to be good digital citizens and to refrain from online misconduct, such as feeding anonymous gossip sites; sharing inappropriate content via social media; unwelcome sexual or sex-based messaging; distributing, or threatening to distribute, nude or semi-nude photos or recordings; breaches of privacy; or otherwise using the ease of transmission and/or anonymity of the Internet or other technology to harm another member of the Otis College community.
Any online posting or other electronic communication by students, including cyber-bullying,
cyber-stalking, cyber-harassment, etc., occurring completely outside of the College’s
control (e.g., not on College networks, websites, or between Otis College email accounts)
will only be subject to this Policy when such online conduct can be shown to cause
a substantial in-program disruption or infringement on the rights of others.
Otherwise, such communications are considered speech protected by the First Amendment.
Supportive measures for Complainants will be provided, but legally protected speech
cannot be subjected to discipline.
Off-campus harassing speech by employees, whether online or in person, may be regulated by the College only when such speech is made in an employee’s official or work-related capacity.
Time Limits on Reporting
There is no time limitation on providing notice/complaints to the Title IX Coordinator. However, if the Respondent is no longer subject to the College’s jurisdiction and/or significant time has passed, the ability to investigate, respond, and/or provide remedies may be more limited or impossible.
Acting on notice/complaints significantly impacted by the passage of time (including, but not limited to, the revocation or revision of policy) is at the discretion of the Title IX Coordinator, who may document allegations for future reference, offer supportive measures and/or remedies, and/or engage in informal or formal action, as appropriate.
Note: When notice/complaint is affected by significant time delay, the College will typically apply the policy in place at the time of the alleged misconduct and the procedures in place at the time of notice/complaint. Typically, this Policy is only applied to alleged incidents that occurred after August 14, 2020. For alleged incidents that occurred prior to August 14, 2020, previous versions of this Policy will apply. Those versions are available from the Title IX Coordinator.
*CA Educ. Code, Section 66281.1 requires institutions take reasonable steps to respond to each incident of sexual harassment. The institution shall take reasonable steps to respond to each incident of sexual harassment involving individuals subject to the institution’s policies that occur in connection with any educational activity or other program of the institution, as well as incidents that occurred outside of those educational programs or activities, whether they occurred on or off campus, if, based on the allegations, there is any reason to believe that the incident could contribute to a hostile educational environment or otherwise interfere with a student’s access to education.
** Which includes the Recipient’s employees’ work environment.