Title IX Resources and Campus Climate Survey
April 22, 2015
Dear Colleagues,
Over the course of the last year, we as a community have made substantial efforts to raise awareness of student sexual misconduct. Nearly all staff and faculty have completed on-line Title IX training and many have followed up with in-person training. Feedback from these training experiences indicated the need for additional written materials on what happens after a Title IX report is filed. In addition, there were requests for examples of actions faculty and staff should take in their role as mandatory reporters when a student discloses an instance of sexual misconduct. In response to these requests, the campus-wide Title IX Task Force for sexual assault response, services, and prevention developed the attached written materials. The information on the process includes a detailed chart of what happens when a staff or faculty member reports a complaint of sexual misconduct between students. Given the gravity of these allegations and the requirements of Title IX, the chart is necessarily complex, but we hope it gives you a clearer sense of the many steps in these critical processes. The Survivor’s Resource Guide for students who are victim/survivors of sexual assault is also attached as an additional resource for you.
The Title IX Task Force has also developed a campus climate survey on sexual violence that will be administered to all Brandeis students during the week of April 23rd. The campus climate survey will provide us with information about community perceptions, knowledge, and attitudes relevant to sexual violence. The survey was developed with guidance from the First Report of the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault issued in April 2014 and is consistent with best practice for assessment in this area. Individual survey responses are entirely confidential, and it is a valuable tool to help us assess the extent of sexual misconduct at Brandeis. The aggregate results of the survey will be shared with our community and used to tailor prevention and response efforts. Similar surveys have been administered by MIT, Harvard, Yale, and Boston University.
As members of the Brandeis community, we all share a responsibility in seeking to prevent sexual violence from occurring. When it does occur, we want to do all we can to support those who have experienced it. We hope that the attached materials and the campus climate survey will contribute to making Brandeis a safe and respectful educational environment for all students.
Sincerely,
Lisa M. Lynch, PhD
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and
Maurice B. Hexter Professor of Social and Economic Policy
Andrew Flagel, PhD
Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment