The Title IX Coordinator will provide written Notice of the Investigation and Allegations (the “NOIA”) to the Respondent upon commencement of the Formal Grievance Process. This facilitates the Respondent’s ability to prepare for the interview and to identify and choose an Advisor to accompany them. The NOIA is also copied to the Complainant, who will be given advance notice of when the NOIA will be delivered to the Respondent.
The NOIA will include:
- A meaningful summary of all allegations
- The identity of the involved parties (if known)
- The precise misconduct being alleged
- The date and location of the alleged incident(s) (if known)
- The specific policies implicated
- A description of the applicable procedures
- A statement of the potential sanctions/responsive actions that could result
- A statement that the Otis College presumes the Respondent is not responsible for the reported misconduct unless and until the evidence supports a different determination
- A statement that determinations of responsibility are made at the conclusion of the process and that the parties will be given an opportunity during the review and comment period to inspect and review all directly related and/or relevant evidence obtained
- A statement about the Otis College’s policy on retaliation
- Information about the confidentiality of the process
- Information on the need for each party to have an Advisor of their choosing and suggestions for ways to identify an Advisor
- A statement informing the parties that the Otis College’s policy prohibits knowingly making false statements, including knowingly submitting false information during the Resolution Process
- Detail on how the party may request disability accommodations during the Resolution Process
- The name(s) of the Investigator(s), along with a process to identify to the Title IX Coordinator, in advance of the interview process, any conflict of interest that the Investigator(s) may have
- An instruction to preserve any evidence that is directly related to the allegations
Amendments and updates to the NOIA may be made as the investigation progresses and more information becomes available regarding the addition or dismissal of various allegations.
Notice will be made in writing and may be delivered by one or more of the following methods: in person, [mailed to the local or permanent address(es) of the parties as indicated in official Otis College
records],[1] or emailed to the parties’ Otis College-issued email or designated accounts. Once mailed, emailed, and/or received in-person, notice will be presumptively delivered.
Resolution Timeline
Otis College will make a good faith effort to complete the Resolution Process within
a sixty to ninety (60-90) business-day time period, including appeal if any, which
can be extended as necessary for appropriate cause by the Title IX Coordinator, who
will provide notice and rationale for any extensions or delays to the parties as appropriate,
as well as an estimate of how much additional time will be needed to complete the
process.