When appropriate, community members are encouraged to speak directly with the parties involved to work together toward a mutually agreed resolution of the incident. Informal mediation could be one-on-one conversations with the individual(s) involved, or mediated by a ºìÌÒÊÓƵ faculty or staff member between individuals involved.
Reporting Process
Individuals who are in immediate danger or threat should contact the ºìÌÒÊÓƵ Office of Community Safety for immediate assistance. Community Safety Officers (CSOs) are trained for bias incidents, which they report to the dean of students. The dean of students serves as the liaison between community safety and the Bias Education & Response Team (BERT).
Making a Report
Who can report?
- Someone who directly experienced a biased incident
- Someone who witnessed an incident
- Someone who was told about an incident (i.e., a third party reporter). For example, a student may report a bias incident to their House Advisor, who may then report it to a BERT member. The HA in this scenario is considered a third-party reporter.
All members of the community are encouraged to make reports when they have concerns. Please note that while a community member may share information with a trusted friend, faculty member, or colleague, this does not constitute an official report. An official report occurs when a report is made to a BERT member or through the .
How do I report?
There are two primary ways to make an official report of a possible bias incident:
- Complete the .
- Contact a member of the Bias Education & Response Team (BERT) by email, phone call, or a scheduled in-person meeting.
Bias incidents may be reported at any time, regardless of when the incident occurred. However, reports submitted within the same academic year may allow for the most effective response. Reports of an incident that occurred outside of the same academic year will be reviewed but response may be limited.
It is the goal of the BERT to capture all reports though an online system. In certain situations—in which a third-party or offended target(s) are unable to make a report through the online form—BERT members will enter information through the online form for data collection purposes.
Can I remain anonymous when reporting?
Anonymous reporting is an option. An anonymous report may be submitted by someone who was told about an incident. The ability to thoroughly respond to an incident is limited when a report is submitted anonymously; it can be challenging to gather additional information, verify details, and follow up with individuals for further support.
Does a report equal a formal complaint?
- Reporting a bias incident is not the same as filing a formal complaint through an institutional grievance process (though, for some incidents, a formal complaint may function both as a bias incident and a formal complaint).
- Reporting to the college does not constitute a report to law enforcement, although the college can assist the offended target(s) in reporting to law enforcement, if requested, and at times may contact law enforcement without the consent of the offended target(s) if it is necessary to protect the safety of the community.
Confirmation from the Bias Education & Response Team
Reporters will receive an immediate confirmation letter once a report has been made. After an initial intake by members of BERT, the reporter can expect to receive an intake letter, which will include the designated BERT date of review. Reporters can expect to receive the intake letter within three days of submitting the report.
Date of Review
BERT meets weekly to ensure that reports are reviewed, assigned, responded to, resolved, and recorded in a timely manner.
- The BERT Date of Review is the designated meeting date on which the report undergoes official review by BERT.
- The BERT Date of Review will always be the next available meeting date, which is not always the next meeting date.
- In instances of high volume of reports, BERT’s capacity may limit the ability to provide an immediate review.
During the official review, BERT provides an initial assessment to determine if the incident meets the community’s definition of a bias incident, and whether there is a potential violation of college policy. Once a determination has been made, the report will be assigned to a member of BERT. Reports may also be assigned based on knowledge of the matter (e.g., history of the occurrence, expertise, etc.) or the workload capacity of the BERT member assigned to the report.
Response from BERT
The assigned BERT member is responsible for sending a review letter to the reporter(s) and/or offended targets(s) within three business days from the designated BERT Date of Review. This review letter will include the report determination, as well as appropriate next steps. It should be emphasized in the outreach that the bias response process is not an adjudicative process and does not determine whether a college policy has been violated. This process is intended to seek a meaningful resolution that addresses the current impact of bias and mitigates future bias, to the best extent possible.
Possible response from the BERT member or designee may include:
- Follow-up with any parties involved (offended targets(s), offending witness(es), or offending respondent(s)) to gather more information, discuss desired outcomes, and/or share community resources.
- Refer the incident to another process, such as Human Resources, the Title IX Office, Dean of the Faculty’s Office, CARE team, or the Judicial Board.
- Consult with other departments and offices to gather more information that may inform appropriate next steps and/or resources.
- Convene available members of the team and other relevant individuals to assess community safety and develop a strategy for community care and response.
Outcomes
The bias incident response process is intended to be educational, responsive, and supportive for all involved; it is not an adjudicative process and does not determine whether a college policy has been violated. This process is intended to seek a meaningful resolution that addresses the current impact of bias and mitigates future bias, to the best extent possible.
The outcome of a report will depend on the incident. Every incident is different and not every outcome is appropriate, depending on circumstances. Possible outcomes include the following: