Rights of Parties Involved

Statement of the Rights of the Involved Parties

1. The right to investigation and appropriate resolution of all credible allegations of sexual misconduct or discrimination made in good faith to Geneva College officials;
2. The right to be notified, in writing, of all alleged violations of this Policy, including the identity of the parties, the nature of the violation, the applicable policies and procedures, the precise conduct alleged to have violated the Policy, and the date and location of the alleged violation of the Policy;
3. The right to be informed in advance of any public release of information regarding the incident;
4. The right not to have any personally identifiable information released to the public, without their consent;
5. The right to be treated with respect by College officials;
6. The right to have College policies and procedures followed without material deviation;
7. The right not to be pressured to mediate or otherwise informally resolve any reported misconduct involving violence, including sexual violence;
8. The right not to be discouraged by Geneva College officials from reporting sexual misconduct or discrimination to both on-campus and off-campus authorities;
9. The right to be informed by College officials of options to notify proper law enforcement authorities, including local police, and the option to be assisted by campus authorities in notifying such authorities, if the reporting party so chooses. This also includes the right not to be pressured to report, as well;
10. The right to have reports of sexual misconduct responded to promptly and with sensitivity by campus Security and other campus officials;
11. The right to be notified of available counseling, mental health, victim advocacy, health, legal assistance, student financial aid, visa and immigration assistance, or other student services, both on campus and in the community;
12. The right to a campus no contact order (or a trespass order against a non-affiliated third party) when someone has engaged in or threatens to engage in stalking, threatening, harassing or other improper behavior that presents a danger to the welfare of the reporting party, the responding party, or others;
13. The right to notification of and options for, and available assistance in, changing academic and living situations after an alleged sexual misconduct incident, if so requested by either party and if such changes are reasonably available (no formal report, or investigation, campus or criminal, need occur before this option is available). Accommodations may include:
    1. Change of an on-campus student’s housing to a different on-campus location;
    2. Assistance from College support staff in completing the relocation;
    3. Transportation accommodations;
    4. Arranging to dissolve a housing contract and pro-rating a refund;
    5. Exam (paper, assignment) rescheduling;
    6. Taking an incomplete in a class;
    7. Transferring class sections;
    8. Temporary withdrawal;
    9. Alternative course completion options.
14. The right to have the College maintain such accommodations for as long as is necessary, and for protective measures to remain confidential, provided confidentiality does not impair the institution’s ability to provide the accommodations or protective measures;
15. The right to be fully informed of campus policies and procedures as well as the nature and extent of all alleged violations contained within the report;
16. The right to ask the investigators to identify and question relevant witnesses, including expert witnesses;
17. The right to be informed of the names of all witnesses whose information will be used to render a finding, in advance of that finding, except in cases where a witness’s identity will not be revealed for compelling safety reasons (this does not include the name of the reporting party, which will always be revealed);
18. The right not to have irrelevant prior sexual history admitted as evidence;
19. The right to regular updates on the status of the investigation and/or resolution;
20. The right to have reports addressed by investigators who have received annual sexual misconduct training;
21. The right to preservation of privacy, to the extent possible and permitted by law;
22. The right to meetings and/or interviews that are closed to the public;
23. The right to petition that any College representative in the process be recused on the basis of demonstrated bias or conflict-of-interest;
24. The right to bring a victim advocate or advisor of the party’s choosing to all phases of the investigation and resolution proceeding;
25. The right to have the College compel the participation of student, faculty and staff witnesses, and the opportunity (if desired) to provide the investigators with a list of potential questions to ask of witnesses, and the right to challenge documentary evidence;
26. The right to review the investigation report and all evidence that will be used in considering the allegations prior to Geneva’s consideration of the matter for disciplinary purposes;
27. The right, after reviewing the investigation report and all evidence that will be used in considering the allegations, to submit a written statement to the investigators/decision-makers;
28. The right to a fundamentally fair resolution, as defined in these procedures;
29. The right to a decision based solely on evidence presented during the resolution process. Such evidence shall be credible, relevant, based in fact and without prejudice;
30. The right to have the investigator consider and report both inculpatory and exculpatory evidence;
31. The right to be promptly informed of the outcome and sanction of the resolution process in writing, without undue delay between the notifications to the parties;
32. The right to be informed in writing of when a decision by the College is considered final, any changes to the sanction to occur before the decision is finalized, to be informed of the right to request an appeal of the finding and sanction of the resolution process, and the procedures for doing so in accordance with the standards for appeal established by the College.

(Adapted from ATIXA, 2016)