Sexual Harassment Prevention Policy

I. Statement of Policy

Keuka College views sexual harassment as seriously offensive behavior, which will not be tolerated in the college community. An individual who thinks he/she is a victim of sexual harassment should follow the procedure outlined herein. Remember: “Harassment is in the eyes of the recipient.”

As part of its sexual harassment policy, Keuka College commits itself to informing all members of the college community of its sexual harassment policy and procedure. This will be accomplished through annual meetings of personnel including faculty, administrators and support staff, and through meetings at new student orientations. In addition, posters and brochures explaining the policy and procedure, with examples, will be regularly distributed. All members of the college community will be informed that disciplinary consequences, up to and including dismissal, may result from substantiated complaints of sexual harassment.

A. Definition

Sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other conduct of a sexual nature, either physical or verbal, constitute sexual harassment when:

1. Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment or academic advancement, or

2. Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment or academic advancement decisions affecting such individual, or

3. Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work or academic performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working, learning or living environment.

B. Keuka College Sexual Harassment Panel

Initial responsibility for determining the merit of unresolved sexual harassment allegations or complaints at Keuka College shall be vested in a panel of three members: the Dean of Students, the Human Resources Coordinator and a tenured faculty member appointed by the Professional Standards Committee. The faculty member shall serve a term of three years. The panel will elect its presiding officer annually. Primary responsibility for insuring that educational programming is offered shall reside with the Sexual Harassment Panel.

II. Procedures

A. Any Member of the college community who believes that he or she has been/is the victim of sexual harassment as defined above should immediately bring the matter to the attention of his/her supervisor, or to any Sexual Harassment Panel member, who will seek to resolve the matter as quickly and directly as possible. Under these procedures, the Associate Dean of Students is considered to be a student’s supervisor. Any student wishing to make a complaint may report it to the Associate Dean of Students, or any panel member.

B. The complainant should present the complaint as promptly as possible after the alleged harassment occurs. Consequences of failing to present a complaint promptly are that:

1. Persons who were involved or have first-hand information may not remember the events clearly,

2. Rumors may have begun and thus limited the College’s ability to keep the matter confidential and

3. The motives of the complainant and the gravity of the damages become more difficult to measure.

C. Details of the initial discussion between a complainant and a supervisor or panel member will be kept confidential, except for a required report to the chair of the panel. This report must be made immediately upon receipt of a complaint. The only information in that report will be the names of the complainant, the alleged offender, the supervisor or the panel member making the report, and a brief, general description of the complaint. The chair of the panel will note this information in a file established for purposes of follow-up only; no record of the complaint will be entered in any other file.

D. After receiving a complaint, the supervisor or panel member should meet with the alleged offender within two working days to discuss the allegation. The goal of the initial discussion is to resolve the allegation. The supervisor or panel member should make clear to both parties the need for confidentiality. Retaliation against either party will not be tolerated and, as would be appropriate, parties should act to assure that the problem will not reoccur.

E. If a resolution that is mutually agreed to by both parties is negotiated, the supervisor or panel member should tell each party to contact him/her if the resolution is violated, or if any retaliation is made. If the supervisor or panel member does not receive any further report from either party, the parties should be contacted one month after the settlement to verify that the problem has been solved, and should notify the chair of the panel of the results of that inquiry. If no further complaint is made, the chair of the panel will note on the original complaint record that the complaint was resolved, and no further action will be required. The record of the complaint should be kept on file for one year. If, during that time, no further complaints have been filed against the alleged offender, all files related to the allegation will be removed from the active file and transferred to a secured storage location, where they will remain for nine years. At the conclusion of this period, they will be destroyed, if no other complaint has been alleged against this person.

F. If the complaint is not resolved through mediation or if a further complaint is received, the supervisor or panel member will make a written report of the complaint and the action he/she has taken to this point, to the sexual harassment panel. The panel will meet separately with the complainant and the accused; and if appropriate, review written statements from the complainant, the alleged offender and any witnesses who may be able to provide pertinent information about the facts of the case.

Both the accused and the complainant shall have the opportunity to have a private advisor present throughout the proceedings. A transcript of the hearing shall be kept and be made available for both parties at the college’s expense. The burden of proof against the accused shall remain with the complainant and the standard of proof shall be that of clear and convincing evidence. Both the accused and the complainant shall be afforded an opportunity to obtain necessary witnesses and documentary or other evidence; and the administration shall cooperate in securing witnesses and making available documentary and other evidence. Both the accused and the complainant shall have the right to confront and question all witnesses. Where the witnesses cannot or will not appear, but the panel determines that the interest of justice require admission of their statements, the panel will identify the witnesses and make their statement(s) available. The panel will not be bound by strict rules of legal evidence and may admit any evidence, which is of probative value in determining the issues involved. Every possible effort will be made by the panel to obtain the most reliable evidence available and the panel’s determination shall be based solely on the evidence produced at the various hearings. The panel will bring the two parties together to clarify the facts of the harassment complaint and the alleged offender’s response. All efforts to obtain evidence and proceed toward resolution will be as swift and as confidential as possible. Any requests for additional time or witnesses, will be weighed carefully by the panel against the need for swift resolution.

Written records will be kept of all meetings and / or hearings, and shall include a summary of all evidence introduced. These records will be incorporated into a Summary of Evidence summarizing the panel’s proceedings to date, and signed by all panel members.

G. After gathering the required information, the Sexual Harassment Panel will confer and decide on the merits of the complaint. The role of the Panel shall be to review the evidence in order to arrive at a Proposed Determination regarding whether the alleged conduct occurred and if so, whether it constitutes sexual harassment, as defined in this policy. The Panel shall then incorporate its findings into a Proposed Determination Memorandum.

If the Panel finds the complaint is unfounded, the Panel will send its Proposed Determination and a copy of its Summary of Evidence to the President of the college (or to the Chair of the Board of Trustees, if the President of the college is one of the parties involved in the complaint), who will respond within five working days. Copies of the Summary of Evidence and the Proposed Determination will be given to both the complainant and the alleged offender. If the President (or Board Chair) had no objections to the procedure followed by the Panel in arriving at their decision, their Determination will be adopted and the complaint will be regarded as resolved. If the procedures set forth herein have been followed, the Panel’s Determination will be presumed reliable. If the President, the complainant or the alleged offender has any objection, the objections will be submitted to the Panel in writing, within one week. The Panel will consider those objections and respond within two working days to the President (or Chair of the Board of Trustees) and concerned parties. Only after considering the Panel’s response and rationale may the President (or Chair of the Board) overrule the Panel’s findings.

If the Panel determines the complaint is unfounded, the record of the complaint shall be kept in an active file for one year. If, during that time, there are no further complaints against the alleged offender, all records relating to the allegation will be removed from the active file and transferred to a secure off-site location, where they will remain for nine years. At the conclusion of this period, they will be destroyed if no other complaint has been alleged against this person. If the Panel determines, based upon clear and convincing evidence, that the conduct of the alleged accuser fits within the definition of sexual harassment, then the Panel shall so inform both parties and convene a meeting to discuss with both parties the opportunities available for mediation, counseling, and negotiated resolution. If the parties are both amenable to a resolution without recourse to a disciplinary body, the Panel and the two parties shall create an action plan setting forth a specific timetable and means of resolution to be implemented and overseen by the Panel. This plan shall be signed by both parties and all members of the Sexual Harassment Panel, and forwarded to the President for his/her approval. The plan shall be designed to be affected within thirty days and be sent for report back to the Panel at the end of that time. If after thirty days there is not a determination as to a course of action which resolves the issue to the satisfaction of both parties, then the matter shall be referred to a disciplinary body as set forth below. The Panel shall have discretion as to whether to extend this time; upon the approval of the President (Chair of Board).

If the Panel’s Proposed Determination is that the allegation is substantiated by the evidence, and, in the Panel’s sole discretion it is not appropriate for disposition through a mediated resolution, or if the complaint has been submitted for mediated resolution without success, or if the President (Chair of Board) overrules the Panel’s determination that the complaint is unfounded, then the Proposed Determination and the Summary of Evidence shall be forwarded to the appropriate disciplinary body immediately for review and determination of appropriate sanctions, if any.

H. Whenever the Panel’s Proposed Determination is that a faculty member’s conduct constitutes sexual harassment, it shall send its Summary of Evidence and written conclusion to the Faculty Liaison Committee. The Faculty Liaison Committee shall immediately appoint a hearing committee, which shall consist of five tenured faculty members as set forth in regulation 5C of the faculty handbook. The committee so appointed shall be charged with the duty of reviewing the Proposed Determination and the Summary of Evidence to ensure that the findings are consistent with the evidence presented. Unless the committee determines that the findings are inconsistent with the evidence presented, then the sole charge of the faculty committee in this instance shall be to recommend an appropriate sanction and/or remedy. It shall be within the discretion of the committee to determine that no sanction or remedy is appropriate. The committee shall forward its recommendation and the rationale thereof to the President (Chair of Board) and the President (Chair of Board) shall confirm or reject the recommendation within three business days, in writing.

If the alleged offender is a member of the Administration or staff, the Panel’s decision, Summary of Evidence, and Memorandum of Findings, shall be forwarded to the Human Resources Coordinator and he/she shall review the findings of fact and make a recommendation to the President as to the appropriate remedy or sanction in the same manner as set forth above.

In those cases where the alleged offender is a student the Panel shall forward its Decision, Summary of Evidence and Memorandum of Findings to the Dean of Students, who shall hold a hearing pursuant to the student grievance procedure and forward his/her findings to the President in the same manner as set forth above.

In all cases, after deciding on an appropriate remedy, the recommendations shall be forwarded to the President, and the President shall respond within five working days. Unless the President has any objection to the procedure set forth herein having been followed, the Panel findings and recommendations of the disciplinary bodies shall be presumed reliable. If the President has objections to the procedural safeguards or process utilized by either of the bodies, he/she shall submit them to the appropriate body in writing. The panel or disciplinary body shall consider the objections and respond within five working days. Only after considering a response and rationale may the President overrule the Panel’s findings and/or the disciplinary body’s recommendation as to the remedy.

III. Remedies

This policy recognizes that remedies or sanctions will reflect the variety of relationships to the institution held by individuals in different roles. Within this context, a range of remedies may be appropriate, including the following:

A. If it is determined that sexual harassment has occurred:

1. It may be determined that there be no penalty. It may be decided after discussion with the parties to the complaint that the issue has been resolved and that no penalty is required. A follow-up discussion with the complainant should be conducted by the Sexual Harassment Panel a month later to be certain that the problem has not reoccurred and that there has been no retaliation.

2. It may be decided that the offender be moved to a living area (if the offender is a student) or work area away from the complainant and directed to refrain from contact with the complainant.

3. It may be decided that the complainant is entitled to a leave of absence (with pay, if an employee) to recover from the effects of harassment.

4. It may be decided that the offender is to be placed on probation for a period at the disciplinary body’s discretion.

5. It may be decided that the offender is to be suspended for a period at the disciplinary body’s discretion.

6. It may be decided that the offender is to be demoted, if he/she is an employee.

7. It may be decided that the offender is to be dismissed.

B. If it is determined that no sexual harassment has occurred:

1. If the Panel determines that the complaint is unfounded, it will inform the complainant that he/she may be subject to disciplinary action if he/she makes unfounded reports.

2. The disciplinary remedies for unfounded complaints will be the same as those listed above for substantiated complaints of sexual harassment.

C. Nothing in this policy precludes the College President or Chair of the Board from exercising his/her responsibilities to act appropriately to protect the health, safety and welfare of the college community and its members.