Step 1 – Informal Process

Any individual believing he or she has been a victim of discrimination or harassment the Affirmative Action Officer. The notification shall be made no more than thirty (30) days after the alleged discrimination or harassment. Notification shall be in writing and may include email communication. The Affirmative Action Officer shall make an effort to resolve the matter informally within ten (10) days of the complaint. At no point in the informal resolution process shall an individual be encouraged to resolve the alleged discrimination or harassment directly with the accused. All proposed resolutions during the informal process shall be accepted or rejected by the complainant within five (5) days of the Affirmative Action Officer’s proposed resolution. The complainant may terminate the informal resolution process at any time by completing the complaint form required by Step 2 below.

Complaints involving alleged sexual harassment should be made through the TITLE IX SEXUAL HARASSMENT GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE AND COMPLAINT FORM

Step 2 – Formal Complaint Process

If the matter cannot be satisfactorily resolved at Step 1, the individual shall file a formal written complaint with the Affirmative Action Officer. All formal complaints shall be submitted on the Discrimination and Harassment Complaint Form available from the the Affirmative Action Officer or through the South Suburban College website. All formal complaints must be signed and dated by the complaining individual. The signed Complaint Form may be submitted in person, by email or by mailing to the address listed above for the Affirmative Action Officer. If the Complaint Form is not filed within five (5) days of the proposed informal resolution, South Suburban College will consider the matter resolved and the investigation shall be closed.

The Complaint Form shall be filed within forty-five (45) days of the alleged incident of discrimination or harassment. The Affirmative Action Officer shall notify the accused of the complaint and will conduct a thorough investigation through interviews with all relevant individuals, and by other appropriate and necessary means, within thirty (30) days of receipt of the Complaint Form. The investigatory time period may be extended by the Affirmative Action Officer for justifiable reasons or by mutual consent of all involved parties. The complainant and the accused shall be informed in writing of any time extensions beyond the thirty (30) day period.

During the investigation of the complaint, the complainant may request the implementation of interim remedial measures or the Affirmative Action Officer may invoke them as appropriate and necessary. Interim measures may include, but are not limited to, the following: a no contact order between the parties, changes to academic situations that impose a minimum burden on the student, counseling or mental health through the Employee Assistance Program or Student Assistance Program, job transfer, or academic support. The Affirmative Action Officer shall make all necessary arrangements to implement interim measures, including coordinating with multiple College departments, as appropriate. The College shall make every reasonable effort to minimize the burden of interim measures on the complainant.

Throughout the investigation, the parties shall have the following rights: the complainant shall not be required to appear in the same room as the accused, both parties will have equal and timely access to relevant information, both parties will have an equal opportunity to present evidence, past relationships with individuals other than the complainant and respondent will be disallowed and not investigated or considered, periodic status updates, to the extent permitted by applicable privacy laws, shall be given by the Affirmative Action Officer, assurance that if the College chooses to permit lawyers or other representatives at hearings, equal opportunity for representation shall occur, assurance that if the College chooses to permit cross-examination of the parties at a hearing, it will do so in a way that does not allow the parties to personally question or cross-examine each other directly, but will allow both parties to equally exercise this right through their lawyers or representatives.

Step 3 – Written Findings

Upon completion of the investigation, the Affirmative Action Officer shall issue a written statement of the final outcome of the investigation to both the complainant and the accused. The Written Findings shall consider the alleged behavior from both a subjective and objective perspective and be determined based upon a preponderance of the evidence presented. The Written Findings shall consider whether the alleged behavior was an act of discrimination or harassment in the context of providing aid, benefits, or services of the academic or employment environment. The Written Findings shall include a recommendation of a reasonable and appropriate remedy for the complaining party, if the Complaint is sustained. Remedies shall include specific recommendations for the complaining party, which may include, but are not limited to, counseling through the South Suburban College Employee Assistance Program or Student Assistance Program, academic support, and reassignment.

The Written Findings may also include, if appropriate, but not limited to, discipline, up to and including suspension or termination of a College employee, and discipline, up to and including suspension or dismissal, of a College student. When deemed appropriate and necessary, South Suburban College may take additional corrective action to remedy any instances upon a finding of discrimination or harassment.

Step 4 – Right to Appeal

If the complainant or the accused is not satisfied with the Written Findings, he or she shall request, in writing addressed to the Affirmative Action Officer, that the College President, or his or her designee, review the matter on appeal. The written request must be made within ten (10) days of the Step 3 Affirmative Action Officer’s Written Findings. If no Step 4 written request to appeal is received within the ten (10) days, the College will deem the investigation and case concluded and shall implement any recommendations or corrective actions.

Appeals by College employees shall be reviewed by the College President, who will review all materials generated through the investigation, and who will provide his/her recommendation to sustain or deny the appeal, or for any further action, to the Board of Trustees within thirty (30) days of the President’s receipt of the written request for appeal. At its next regularly scheduled meeting following receipt of the recommendation of the President, the Board of Trustees may review materials generated through the investigation of the Affirmative Action Officer, if appropriate, and arrange to meet with the complainant or accused, or their attorneys or representatives, in closed session, if deemed appropriate by the Board of Trustees, said meeting to be recorded as required of all closed Board meetings, and shall issue a final and binding decision. The President shall communicate the decision of the Board to the Affirmative Action Officer, who shall promptly notify the parties of the final decision on appeal.

Appeals by students shall be reviewed by an impartial three person panel. Student appeals shall be forwarded to the College President, who shall tender the names of three (3) administrators to the appealing party. The appealing party shall select, within three (3) days, one of these administrators to serve on the panel. The College President shall appoint one other College administrator to serve on the panel, and shall solicit the name of one member of the South Suburban College Faculty Association, said member to be chosen by the Association, to complete the three person panel. The panel will review the materials generated through the investigation of the Affirmative Action Officer and, if necessary as determined by the panel, arrange to meet with the complainant and accused or their attorneys or representatives, said meeting to be recorded by the panel. The final and binding decision of the panel shall be submitted to the President within thirty (30) days from the date the panel was fully formed. The President shall communicate the decision of the panel to the Affirmative Action Officer, who shall promptly notify the parties of the final decision on appeal.