Overview

Central Michigan University (the “University”) is an affirmative action/equal opportunity (AA/EO) institution, providing equal opportunity to all persons, including minorities, females, veterans and individuals with disabilities. The University strongly and actively strives to increase diversity and provide equal opportunity within its community. The University encourages diversity and provides equal opportunity in education, employment, all of its programs, and the use of its facilities. The University is committed to protecting the constitutional and statutory civil rights of persons connected with the University.

The Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity coordinates and monitors the University’s AA/EO efforts and programs to assure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Titles VI and VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Executive Order 11246, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013, the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act and other relevant state and federal statutes. The Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity also supervises the maintenance of related reports and records, provides and develops related educational programs and materials, offers guidance and advice to all community members on the University’s nondiscrimination and affirmative action polices and procedures, and assists departments with recruitment and retention activities.

The Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity also receives and resolves complaints of discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct from students, employees, and others. To file a complaint of discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct, contact the Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity. Contact Information for the Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity can be found at the end of this page, or on the Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity’s webpage at http://www.cmich.edu/office_president/OCRIE/Pages/Contact_Information.aspx.

Nondiscrimination Policy

CMU’s Nondiscrimination Policy prohibits unlawful acts of discrimination and harassment by members of the campus community. Furthermore, even if these acts are not illegal, conduct is prohibited if it discriminates against any University community members through inappropriate limitations of access to, or participation in, educational, employment, athletic, social, cultural, or other University activities on the basis of the University community member’s protected class status.

The following class statuses are protected under the University’s Nondiscrimination Policy:
  • ​Age​
  • Color
  • Disability
  • Ethnicity
  • Gender
  • Gender Expression
  • Gender Identity
  • Genetic Information
  • Height
  • Marital Status
  • National Origin
  • Political Persuasion
  • Pregnancy, Childbirth, or Related Medical Conditions
  • Race
  • Religion
  • Sex
  • Sex-based Stereotypes
  • Sexual Orientation
  • Transgender Status
  • Veteran Status
  • Weight

Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Protocol

The University’s Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Protocol (the “Protocol”) effectuates the University’s Nondiscrimination Policy. The Protocol outlines the manner in which allegations of discrimination and harassment are addressed, as well as the specific conduct that would violate the University’s Nondiscrimination Policy and/or the Protocol. The University interprets and applies the Protocol in a manner that is consistent with relevant constitutions, statutes, regulations, and guidelines of the United States and the State of Michigan.

The following conduct is prohibited under the Protocol:

A.  Discrimination

Discrimination is unfavorable treatment of an individual because of their protected class status (e.g. age, color, disability, familial status, etc.). Discrimination can also include failing to provide an individual with a reasonable accommodation for a disability.

B.   Harassment
Harassment is subjectively unwelcome conduct or communication regarding, or on the basis of, a protected class status (e.g. age, color, disability, familial status, etc.) that creates an objectively intimidating, hostile, or abusive environment with respect to an individual's education, employment, housing, access to public accommodations, public services, or telecommunications. In considering whether or not actions created an objectively hostile environment, the severity and pervasiveness of the actions are considered.

C.   Threats
Threats or abusive statements made by a member of the University Community in that individual's role as a member of the University Community directed toward another individual based upon that other individual's actual or perceived protected class status.

D.   Intimidation
Conduct by a member of the University Community which maliciously and with specific intent to intimidate or harass another person because of that person's protected class status and which:

  1. Makes physical contact with another person; or
  2. Damages or defaces any property of another person; or
  3. Threatens by word or act to do one of the above if there is a reasonable cause to believe that such an act will occur

Sexual Misconduct Policy

The University’s Sexual Misconduct Policy outlines the manner in which allegations of sexual misconduct are addressed, including the provision of interim measures and accommodations available to those individuals affected by acts of alleged sexual misconduct. The most common interim measures and accommodations available are no contact orders on campus and modifications of work or class assignments. An individual does not need to file a complaint with the University or law enforcement to receive a reasonably available accommodation.

The following conduct is prohibited under the Sexual Misconduct Policy (As used in these definitions, the term “Complainant” means a person allegedly subjected to either Sexual Misconduct or Retaliation in violation of the Sexual Misconduct Policy.):

A.   Dating Violence
Dating violence means violence by a person who has been in a romantic or intimate relationship with the Complainant. Whether there was such relationship will be gauged by the length, type, and frequency of interaction.

B.   Domestic Violence or Intimate Partner Violence
Domestic Violence or Intimate Partner Violence means a felony or misdemeanor crime of violence committed by a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the Complainant, by a person with whom the Complainant shares a child in common, by a person who is cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the Complainant as a spouse, by a person similarly situated to a spouse of the Complainant under the domestic or family violence laws of the applicable jurisdiction, or by any other person against a Complainant who is protected from that person's acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the applicable jurisdiction.

C.   Sexual Assault
Sexual Assault means touching of a sexual nature without consent, including, but not limited to, any of the following acts:

  • penetration, no matter how slight, of a person's vagina or anus with any body part or object without the Complainant's consent;
  • penetration, no matter how slight, of a person's mouth by another person's sex organ without the Complainant's consent;
  • intentional touching, without the Complainant's consent, of a person's intimate body parts, or any materials, such as clothing, covering the immediate area of a person's intimate body parts, including, but not limited to, that person's breasts, buttocks, groin, or mouth, for the purposes of sexual arousal or gratification, a sexual purpose, or in a sexual manner for revenge, to inflict humiliation, or out of anger;
  • sexual intercourse between people where the sexual intercourse would constitute incest under the applicable jurisdiction's law; or
  • sexual intercourse with a Complainant who is under the statutory age of consent.

D.   Sexual Exploitation
Sexual Exploitation means conduct involving a person taking, or attempting to take, non-consensual or abusive sexual advantage of a Complainant when such conduct would not otherwise be defined as sexual harassment or sexual assault including, but not limited to, prostitution, sexual voyeurism, or taking pictures of a sexual nature without the Complainant's consent or exceeding the boundaries of that consent.

E.   Sexual Harassment
Sexual Harassment means nonconsensual sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature where:

  • submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a condition of a Complainant’s employment or academic standing;
  • submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as the basis for employment decisions or for academic evaluation, grades, or advancement; or
  • such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with a Complainant's work or academic performance, or creating an intimidating or hostile environment regarding education, employment, housing, or participation in CMU activities.

F.   Stalking
Stalking means a course of conduct directed at a specific Complainant that would cause a reasonable person to fear for that person's own or someone else's safety, or to suffer substantial emotional distress. Substantial emotional distress means significant mental suffering or anguish that may, but does not necessarily, require medical or other professional treatment or counseling

Retaliation

Both the Protocol and the University's Sexual Misconduct Policy prohibit retaliation. Retaliation is an adverse action taken against a covered individual because they: complained of discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct; cooperated in an investigation; or participated in proceedings brought under these policies. Adverse actions may include:  lowering grades; bad letter of recommendation; discipline; salary reduction; negative performance appraisal; or change in job duties.

Responsible Employees & Mandatory Reporting

All University employees, including Graduate Assistants, except those named as a confidential resource in, or otherwise excepted by, the Sexual Misconduct policy, are "Responsible Employees." Responsible Employees are required to share information regarding the alleged sexual misconduct known to them, including the names of the individuals involved in the alleged Sexual Misconduct, if known, with the Title IX Coordinator, or designee. Contact Information for the University's Title IX Coordinator and the Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity can be found at the end of this page, or on the Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity's webpage at http://www.cmich.edu/office_president/OCRIE/Pages/Contact_Information.aspx.

Responsible Employees are not required to report allegations of sexual misconduct to the Title IX Coordinator, or designee, when the Responsible Employee learns about the allegation during a public awareness or activism event, or other public forum at which University Community Members disclose experiences with sexual misconduct. Examples of these types of events or forums include, but are not limited to, Take Back the Night and protests.

Individuals that are unsure if they need to report a concern to the Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity should contact the University's Title IX Coordinator for further discussion.

Complaint/Concern Resolution

The Protocol and the Sexual Misconduct Policy establish procedures for the resolution of complaints and concerns arising under those policies. Although the complaint resolution processes under these policies are not identical, they are similar in many ways. Under these complaint resolution processes, an investigation is commenced with the filing of a formal written complaint. Informal resolution (e.g. mediation) may be available under certain circumstances; however, there may be situations where informal resolution is inappropriate (e.g. allegations of sexual assault). Attempts at informal resolution are not required before the filing of a formal written complaint and the commencement of a formal investigation.

A formal investigation is carried out by a trained investigator from the Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity. The investigator will interview the parties and any witnesses. Prior to interviewing the responding, or accused, party, they are provided notice of the complaint filed against them, including a copy of the written complaint. The parties may submit written statements or other physical evidence to the investigator. The investigator may also independently secure evidence. After the completion of the

investigation, the investigator prepares a written report, referred to as a Determination, that includes a summary of the evidence reviewed, a statement of the applicable University policies, an analysis of the evidence as it relates to those policies, findings of fact related to the evidence, and, ultimately, a conclusion as to whether or not a policy violation occurred.

Under the complaint resolution procedures of the University, it is the individual filing the complaint's burden to prove by a "preponderance of the evidence" that a policy violation has occurred. As such, the evidence must show that "it is more likely that a violation did occur than that a violation did not occur."

In the event a policy violation is found to have occurred, the investigator will forward the Determination to the appropriate University official for discipline or sanctioning. The Office of Civil Rights does not have the authority to discipline individuals; however, as part of the investigative report, the investigator will make recommendations as to appropriate discipline and interventions as to stop the discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct, address its affects, and prevent its reoccurrence.

All complaint resolution and sanctioning processes are also carried out in accordance with the applicable collective bargaining agreements or employee handbooks.

Privacy & Confidentiality

    Under the Protocol and the Sexual Misconduct Policy, the private nature of information provided to the Title IX Coordinator and the Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity will be accorded the utmost respect. However, there may be times where information received by the Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity may be disclosed at OCRIE's discretion. These circumstances are outlined in both policies, and include, but are not limited to the following situations:

  • to the extent necessary to eliminate the alleged discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct;
  • to the extent necessary to remedy the effects of the alleged discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct;
  • to the extent necessary to complete an investigation in to the alleged discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct;
  • to the extent necessary to complete any disciplinary processes related to an investigation carried out by the Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity; or
  • to the extent required by law (e.g. the Michigan Freedom of Information Act; the Michigan Bullard-Plawecki Employee Right to Know Act; the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (i.e. "FERPA"); a valid subpoena, search warrant or other lawfully-issued court order; a valid order to respond to any inquiry or complaint from, or filed with, a governmental administrative agency, etc.).

Resource Information

In addition to the Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity, there are other resources available to individuals subject to discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct both on campus and in the local community. The following list contains contact information for these resources. Although an agency or entity may be listed under one type of resource, many agencies provide assistance in multiple areas. Confidential resources are denoted with an '*' after their name. Confidential Resources are those people or entities that are not required, either by law or by policy, to report an allegation of sexual misconduct to the Title IX Coordinator and that also provide confidential counseling and support services to people impacted by alleged acts of sexual misconduct, whether or not that person chooses to file a complaint or file criminal charges. There is no expectation that a concern or allegation brought to a confidential resource will be reported to the Title IX Coordinator.

The list below contains contact information for entities providing confidential counseling, advocacy, physical health, mental health, legal, or immigration services on and off campus in the Mount Pleasant area. The University makes no warranties, either express or implied, regarding confidentiality or with respect to any other aspect of services offered by resources off campus.

A.   Counseling & Victim Advocacy Resources

Central Michigan University Counseling Center*
Foust Hall 102
Mount Pleasant, Michigan 48859
(989) 774-3381
https://www.cmich.edu/ess/StudentAffairs/CounselingCenter/Pages/default.aspx

Sexual Aggression Peer Advocates (SAPA)*
Foust Hall 150
Mount Pleasant, Michigan 48859
(989) 774-2255
https://www.cmich.edu/ess/studentaffairs/SAPA/Pages/default.aspx

Employee Assistance Program*
(800) 788-8630
https://www.cmich.edu/fas/hr/HRCentralHealthImprovement/Pages/Employee_Assistance_Program.aspx

Listening Ear Crisis Hotline*
(989) 772-2918 – Phone
(989) 775-0480 – TTY
http://www.listeningear.com/

Women's Aid Service*
(989) 772-9168

B.   Medical Resources

CMU Student Health Services*
Foust Hall
Mount Pleasant, Michigan 48859
(989) 774-5693
https://www.cmich.edu/colleges/cmed/CMUHealth/CMUHealthMP/UHS/Pages/default.aspx

McLaren Central Michigan*
NOTE: a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner available or on-call at this location.
1221 South Drive
Mount Pleasant, Michigan 48858
(989) 772-6700
http://www.mclaren.org/centralmichigan/centralmichigan.aspx

MidMichigan Health – Midland*
4000 Wellness Drive
Midland, Michigan 48670
(989) 839-3000
https://www.midmichigan.org

C.   Legal & Immigration Assistance

Legal Services of Eastern Michigan – Saginaw Office*
320 South Washington Avenue, Third Floor
Saginaw, Michigan 48607
(800) 322-4512 – Phone
(989) 755-2161 – Fax
www.lsem-mi.org

Michigan State University College of Law Immigration Law Clinic*
610 Abbot Road
East Lansing, Michigan 48823
(517) 336-8088 – Phone
(517) 336-8089 – Fax
http://www.law.msu.edu/clinics/immigration/index.html

D.   State & Federal Regulatory Agencies

In addition to having the right to file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity, faculty, staff and students may have the right to file a complaint with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights or other federal agencies. A list of the most commonly contacted federal and state agencies (with relevant contact information) is available on OCRIE's website under the "Notice of Rights" tab.

Office Contact

To report an allegation of discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct to the Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity, please contact:

Katherine M. Lasher, J.D.
Title IX Coordinator
Executive Director, Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity
Central Michigan University
Bovee University Center Suite 306
Mount Pleasant, Michigan 48859
(989) 774-3253
lashe1km@cmich.edu
https://www.cmich.edu/office_president/OCRIE/Pages/default.aspx

Additional Training Opportunities

The Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity offers training opportunities throughout the year. Additionally, representatives from OCRIE are willing to speak at your Department meeting or other organizational event.

As a Graduate Assistant, you will also strongly encouraged to take the online trainings Think About It, Graduate Students and Bridges and offered by the University's partner, Campus Clarity. This course covers all aspects of promoting a workplace free from discrimination and harassment, including information regarding your obligations under Title IX and the University's Sexual Misconduct Policy.

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