Discrimination and Harassment Policy

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Bellin College’s policies and procedures are intended to afford a prompt response to reports of non-sexual harassment and discrimination, to maintain confidentiality and fairness consistent with applicable legal requirements, and to impose appropriate sanctions on violators of College policy. Bellin College promptly and thoroughly investigates and resolves complaints alleging non-sexual harassment and discrimination.

To communicate the mechanisms for investigating complaints in a manner that reasonably protects the privacy of individuals involved in situations of alleged non-sexual harassment and/or non-sexual discrimination.
To ensure the provision of equal employment and educational opportunities to faculty, staff, students, and applicants for such opportunities without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, veteran status, and any other groups protected by federal, state or local statutes.
To protect all those involved who report or provide information related to harassment and/or discrimination from retaliation of any kind.
To set forth guidance for preventing harassment and/or discrimination.
To take timely corrective action when harassment and/or discrimination is alleged to have occurred.
To establish a consistent process for resolving complaints of harassment and/or discrimination in a fair and just manner.

ONLINE DISCRIMINATION/HARASSMENT COMPLAINT FORM

Anti-Discrimination Statement:

Bellin College believes that everyone should be treated with respect and dignity and that any form of harassment and/or discrimination is a violation of human dignity. The College condemns harassment and discrimination and maintains a “zero-tolerance” for it. Students, faculty, and staff have the right to work and learn free of harassment and discrimination. The College will take all reasonable efforts to prevent and promptly correct instances of harassment and/or discrimination. Additionally, students, faculty, and staff have the right to a structured process for resolving problems, complaints or grievances relating to the execution of institutional policies.

POLICY:

Bellin College offers resources and support to all College community members experiencing concerns of harassment and discrimination misconduct. We encourage individuals to make the college aware of these concerns so that support and resources may be offered. The Discrimination/Harassment Complaint Form can be used to report a concern of misconduct. This form is located at https://www.bellincollege.edu/campus-life/student-services/policies-and-procedures/. Once the form is filled out it must be emailed or given in person to the Title IX coordinator. In an emergency, please always call 911.

This policy applies to all College community members. Vendors, independent contractors, and other outside parties who conduct business with the College through affiliation and other agreements will be expected to comply with this policy as well, as specified by the terms of any contract or agreement between the College and such third party.

It is the policy of the College to provide equal employment and educational opportunities to students, faculty, staff, and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, veteran status, and any other groups protected by federal, state or local statutes. In addition, it is the policy of the College to comply with applicable state statutes and local ordinances governing nondiscrimination in employment and educational activities.

Acts of harassment, and discrimination are considered serious violations of this College policy. Because of the seriousness of these actions, the full range of institutional sanctions, including probation, termination, suspension, and dismissal may be imposed.

A College community member who believes they are to be victim of harassment and/or discrimination is encouraged to report the information to the Vice President of Student Affairs, Enrollment, and Belonging or College administration. The College requires all faculty and all staff with supervisory or leadership responsibilities or responsibilities related to student welfare to report any information they learn about nonsexual harassment and/or nonsexual discrimination to the Vice President of Student Affairs, Enrollment, and Belonging or College administration. Upon notification, the Vice President of Student Affairs, Enrollment, and Belonging and/or administration will determine if an investigation is warranted, enabling the College to investigate and to take corrective action where appropriate.

The College encourages students, faculty, and staff to report all instances of harassment and/or discrimination.

The College will broadly disseminate this policy and distribute a list of resources available to respond to concerns of harassment, and/or discrimination. The College will develop and present appropriate education programs for student, faculty, and staff. Bellin College will make every effort to prevent harassment and/or discrimination before such incidents rise to the level of a violation of federal law. Additionally, this policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment including, but not limited to, hiring, placement, benefits, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Administrative Review- In the absence of a formal complaint, the President’s Cabinet has the authority to initiate an administrative review at the request of a department, program, or area when in the requested by a supervisor when in the judgment of the President’s Cabinet a review is necessary. As necessary the College reserves the right to serve as complainant and to initiate an investigation without a formal complaint. The College encourages any member of the College community who feels he or she has been subjected to harassment or discrimination to use the complaint procedure outlined in this policy. Additionally, an individual has the right to ﬁle a complaint with outside enforcement agencies including the United States Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), or state or local law enforcement or prosecution authorities.
Annual Report- The Vice President of Student Affairs, Enrollment, and Belonging shall provide a statement documenting the number of complaints received pursuant to this policy, the categories of those involved in the allegations, the number of violations found, and examples of sanctions/corrective actions imposed for policy violations that is in conjunction with the College’s Annual Security Report.
Anti-Retaliation- The College expressly prohibits any form of retaliatory action against any individual for ﬁling a complaint under this Policy or for assisting in a complaint investigation.
Bellin Human Resources- should be contacted prior to any attempt to resolve a complaint.
Complainant- An individual who is subject to alleged discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or unfair treatment regarding the interpretation or application of an existing College policy.
Complaint Resolution- The investigation of any complaint of harassment and/or discrimination will determine if this policy was violated. Additionally, the investigative report may address other serious issues disclosed during the course of the investigation and make recommendations to the appropriate College Administrator for resolution.
Conﬂict of Interest- In the formal resolution process, if the person investigating or a College authority has an actual or perceived conﬂict of interest, the investigator or appropriate College authority may be asked to excuse himself/herself from the process. The excused individual shall not have access to any of the materials from the case from which the individual is excused.
Discrimination- Any distinction, preference, advantage for or detriment to an individual compared to others that is based upon an individual’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, veteran status, and any other groups protected by federal, state or local statutes. The conduct must be so egregious as to alter the conditions of the individual’s employment or educational experience.
Discriminatory Harassment- Detrimental action based on an individual’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, age, disability, citizenship, sexual orientation, veteran status, and any other groups protected by federal, state, or local statutes that is so severe, persistent, or pervasive that it unreasonably interferes with or limits an individual’s ability to participate in or beneﬁt from the work or educational environment. Examples of harassment include, but are not limited to, intimidation and humiliation as expressed by communications, threats, acts of violence, hatred, abuse of authority, or ill-will that assault an individual’s self-worth. Harassment of a non-sexual nature can include slurs, comments, rumors, jokes, innuendoes, cartoons, pranks and other verbal or physical conduct, frequent, derogatory remarks even if the remarks are not sexual in nature and any other conduct or behavior deemed inappropriate by Bellin College.
Education- The College will broadly disseminate this policy and distribute a list of resources available to respond to concerns of harassment and/or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, and any other groups protected by federal, state, or local statutes. Additionally, the College will implement appropriate educational programs for students, faculty, and staff.
False Information- Anyone interviewed as part of an investigation into a possible violation of this policy who intentionally furnished false information may be subject to corrective/disciplinary action.
False Reporting- The College encourages anyone who believes that s/he has been the victim of harassment or discrimination to report her/his concerns but will not tolerate intentional false reporting of incidents.
Hostile Environment- An occurrence where harassment is sufficiently serious to deny or alter the conditions of employment or the educational environment and create an abusive environment in which to work or study. The person alleging a hostile environment must show a pattern or practice of harassment against him or her; a single incident or isolated incidents generally will not be sufficient. In determining whether a reasonable person in the individual’s circumstances would ﬁnd the work or educational environment to be hostile, the totality of the circumstances must be considered.
Inquiries- For obtaining information about reporting any instance of non-sexual harassment and/or discrimination, any individual may consult with the Vice President of Student Affairs, Enrollment, and Belonging.
Retention of Records- All records of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation reports and investigations will be private and conﬁdential to the greatest extent possible and will not be publicly disclosed except to the extent required by law. However, no member of the College’s staff or faculty, or any student is promised strict or absolute conﬁdentiality. Additionally, all records will be retained for a minimum of seven (7) years.
Retaliation- Intentional action taken by an individual or allied third party that harms a complainant, witness, reporter, or any other individual for ﬁling or participating in a College investigation.
Supportive Measures- Once the college has actual knowledge of potential non-sexual and/or non-sexual discrimination and the Discrimination/Harassment Complaint has been ﬁled, immediate steps should be taken to provide the complainant and respondent supportive measures that will preserve equal access to education and safety.
Third Party Assistance- If an individual seeking an Alternative Resolution desires the assistance of a third party to attempt to resolve the situation informally, the individual seeking an Alternative Resolution may approach any one of the following resources:
- Vice President of Student Affairs, Enrollment, and Belonging
- College Administration
- Bellin Human Resources (faculty and staff)
- The individual seeking an Alternative Resolution’s supervisor or the supervisor’s supervisor (faculty, staff & student employees)

Alternative Resolution

Alternative Resolution is an option available to students, faculty, and staff is to seek resolution informally. The College does not require an individual to contact the person directly whose behavior is having been harassing or discriminatory.

If an individual seeking an Alternative Resolution is comfortable dealing with the situation without direct involvement of a third party, the individual seeking an information resolution can communicate directly with the person whose behavior is discriminatory or harassing.
It is appropriate to use face-to-face communication only when the individual seeking an Alternative Resolution does not feel threatened, there is no risk of physical harm and the individual seeking an Alternative Resolution believe the other person will be receptive.
Email/written correspondence is the preferred method of communication. If the individual seeking an Alternative Resolution chooses to communicate face-to-face, she/he should also send an email summarizing the face-to-face interaction. Keep copies of any written communication.
A factual description of the incident(s) including a description of the unwelcome behavior, date, time, place, and the names of any witnesses.
A description of any consequences that the individual seeking an Alternative Resolution has experienced.
A request for the discriminatory or harassing behavior to cease.
If the individual seeking an Alternative Resolution does not feel comfortable with the one-on- one communication or if the individual seeking an Alternative Resolution believes that the communication was not successful, the individual should consider other informal or formal procedures.

If the situation is not able to be resolved informally or if the individual seeking an Alternative Resolution chooses not to engage in an Alternative Resolution, the individual seeking an Alternative Resolution may initiate a formal complaint.

Formal Resolution

In all cases of an allegation of non-sexual harassment and/or non-sexual discrimination the individual(s) making the allegation may choose to bypass the Alternative Resolution options and to proceed to a formal resolution. In the event that an Alternative Resolution of the allegation is not resolved to the satisfaction of the individual(s) making the allegation, the person(s) alleging such harassment, discrimination may submit a formal written complaint to the Vice President of Student Affairs, Enrollment, and Belonging.

The written complaint shall set forth in reasonably sufficient detail the nature of the alleged harassment and/or discrimination, the individual(s) against whom the complaint is made, the name(s) of any witnesses, and any available evidence or sources of evidence.
Upon receipt of a written complaint, the Vice President of Student Affairs, Enrollment, and Belonging shall ﬁrst determine if the complaint states facts sufficient to believe that a potential violation of College policies or a potential violation of federal and/or state laws has occurred. The Vice President of Student Affairs, Enrollment, and Belonging will notify the complainant in writing of its decision within ﬁve working days.
If there is the potential of a violation of the Discrimination and/or Harassment Policy or federal and state laws, a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation will be conducted.
The Vice President of Student Affairs, Enrollment, and Belonging and members of the investigative team will objectively gather and consider relevant facts. They will ensure that statements of the complainant, the respondent, and all witnesses are documented, and that the investigation is conducted in a thorough, objective manner and is considerate of all the parties involved.
The investigation will normally be concluded within 30 working days. The complainant and respondent will be notiﬁed in writing of any reasonable delays.
The investigation will be private and conﬁdential to the greatest extent possible. However, no member of the College’s staff or faculty, or any student is promised strict or absolute conﬁdentiality. The investigative team will write an investigative report, including the ﬁndings of the investigation and a recommendation for action, based on a preponderance of evidence.
In consultation with the appropriate College Administrators, the Vice President of Student Affairs, Enrollment, and Belonging will decide on the action, if any, to be taken.
In all cases of formal allegations of harassment and/or discrimination, a summary of the ﬁndings and recommendations shall be available for review by the complainant, the respondent, and to the appropriate College authority.
The Vice President of Student Affairs, Enrollment, and Belonging will communicate the decision to the complainant, to the respondent, and to the appropriate College authority within ﬁve working days of conclusion of the investigation. The College will take immediate and corrective action if appropriate.

Appeal

The complainant or respondent may appeal the decision made by the Vice President of Student Affairs, Enrollment, and Belonging for one or more of the following grounds: (1) The decision made is arbitrary or capricious, (2) If the decision is clearly unsubstantiated by the evidence, or (3) If new information is presented that was not available during the course of the investigation.
The written appeal must be ﬁled within ﬁve working days after receiving the written decision with the President/CEO of the College.
The ﬁnal determination will be made by the President/CEO, using a preponderance of evidence standard within ﬁve working days upon receiving the written appeal.
The decision will be communicated to the complainant, respondent, and the Vice President of Student Affairs, Enrollment, and Belonging and shall be considered ﬁnal.

Bellin College reserves the right to modify, amend, or terminate this policy at any time.

DISCRIMINATION/HARASSMENT COMPLAINT FORM

03/17, 02/22, 01/24, 08/24

Bellin College has responsibilities to report issues related to employee and student welfare, such as harassment and discrimination, to the Vice President of Student Affairs, Enrollment, and Belonging.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Please complete this form to the best of your ability. Report only one incident per form. By disclosing this information, you (the complainant) are submitting a formal report to the Vice President of Student Affairs, Enrollment, and Belonging. Please send electronically to benjamin.rieth@bellincolleg.edu or print and deliver a hard copy to Dr. Benjamin Rieth. This report may warrant a formal investigation.

If this is an emergency, please call 911.

Please enter your contact information below:

Name
Phone Number
Email Address
Are you a student?
Are you an employee?

How did you become aware of this incident of situation?

☐   This is a self-report (the situation I’m reporting happened to me).
☐   It was reported to me by the victim
☐   I was a witness to the incident or situation (I saw or heard the situation).
☐   It was reported to me by a third party.
☐   Anonymous (I received the information anonymously)

When did you become aware of the incident (the day and time you received the information)?

Date (MM/DD/YYYY)
Approximate Time (AM/PM)

If you know when the incident occurred, please list the date/time below.

Date (MM/DD/YYYY)
Approximate Time (AM/PM)

Please indicate the general location where the incident occurred:

☐   Campus building (within the building)
☐   Campus grounds (in a parking lot, near the building, etc.)
☐   Off campus
☐   Other (please specify)
☐   Unknown

If known, please indicate the speciﬁc location where the incident occurred (i.e.: room number):

Please describe the incident in as much detail as possible:

Was a weapon or weapons, drugs, or alcohol involved in the incident?

☐   Yes (please explain)
☐   No
☐   Unsure (please explain)

Please provide the name(s) of the individual(s) accused of committing the act of discrimination or harassment in this situation:

How is the accused individual(s) affiliated with Bellin College? (For example: student, employee, visitor/guest, no campus role, or unknown).

Was there any evidence that this incident was motivated by the complainant’s status with regard to any of the following? (Select all that apply).

☐   Race
☐   Ethnicity
☐   Age
☐   Gender
☐   Sexual Orientation
☐   Religion
☐   Disability
☐   National Origin
☐   Veteran Status

Are there any other individuals to whom the complainant has reported the incident? If so, please list the names of those individuals below:

Does the complainant understand that this information is being reported to the Vice President of Student Affairs, Enrollment, and Belonging?

☐ Yes
☐ No

Does the complainant understand what it means to ﬁle a complaint?

☐ Yes, I am choosing to go forward with an investigation
☐ No, I am choosing not to go forward with an investigation

I understand that Bellin College is obligated under federal law to investigate all complaints related to discrimination and harassment and other misconduct. I understand and agree that the information I provide on this form and the information provided to the investigator may need to be shared with the respondent and other witnesses. The information may also be shared with the appropriate Bellin College administrators. Any information that is shared will be done in a way that protects and respects the privacy of those involved as much as possible.

Complainant Signature
Date

If someone assisted you with filling out this form, please provide their name.