Title IX FAQ

Title IX is a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity and/or sexual orientation. It applies to all higher education institutions that receive federal funding, including St. Olaf. One part of the law is the requirement that institutions respond to known incidents of sexual misconduct, including harassment or assault. Title IX is one of many laws that influence how institutions respond to and work to prevent interpersonal violence. There are some aspects of St. Olaf’s response that can be changed; however, much of our policy and process is dictated by federal law and therefore cannot be altered without a change in the law. (The Biden Administration has said that it plans to issue new Title IX regulations in April 2022, which may allow us to shift some of our policies and processes.)

Our Policy Prohibiting Sexual Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors including sexual harassment, sexual assault, stalking, dating and domestic violence, and sexual exploitation. Examples include: unwanted hugging/kissing, derogatory language, unwanted advances, lying about STI status or contraception, fondling, stalking, dating violence, and many other types of sexual or interpersonal violence or harassment. Individuals can meet with the Title IX Coordinator regarding any of these concerns regardless of when the incident happened (even pre-Olaf), where it happened (on or off campus), or who perpetrated it (Ole or non-Ole).Another aspect of our Policy that’s important to understand is that it applies to students, faculty, and staff. Every member of our community is protected by and held accountable to our Policy.

A great first step is setting up a meeting with the Title IX Coordinator and/or reaching out to a confidential resource. If an individual experienced a sexual assault, they should consider receiving a Medical Forensic Exam. If the misconduct the individual experienced was a crime (i.e. sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, or stalking), they should consider reporting to law enforcement. The Title IX Coordinator can help navigate all of these options with the affected individual.

Meeting with the Title IX Coordinator does not automatically initiate any next steps. We really want our community to understand that the Coordinator is a resource first and foremost. Meeting with the Coordinator provides an opportunity to learn more about the options, accommodations, and resources available to someone so that they can make an informed decision about how they want to proceed. The Title IX Coordinator does not automatically reach out to the accused individual. She does not automatically reach out to parents. She does not automatically initiate an investigation. She only does those things if that’s what the reporting individual wants her to do. We are very familiar with the fact that survivors often need time to learn about their options and to decide how to proceed. Our process is designed to provide that time and space so that all individuals can move forward in a way that feels right to them, on their own timeframe.

We would also encourage anyone who has experienced sexual violence to connect with any of our confidential resources, to reach out to the HOPE Center, and/or to speak with a trusted friend or family member. Anyone who experiences sexual assault should consider their option to receive a medical forensic exam within 10 days of the incident at Northfield Hospital. These exams come at no cost to the patient and do not show up on insurance. As with meeting with the Title IX Coordinator, having a medical forensic exam does not automatically initiate any response. It simply preserves evidence in order to keep a victim’s options open so that they have time to consider if and when they wish to pursue further action at a later time.

No. All individuals who meet with the Title IX Coordinator to report an incident of sexual violence have a variety of options to choose from regarding next steps. How we proceed is entirely up to the reporting individual. If a reporting person wants to move forward with a Title IX investigation, that’s what we’ll do. Alternatively, if a reporting person doesn’t want to move forward with a Title IX investigation, that’s also completely OK and their option to pursue an investigation will remain open in case they change their mind.

Reporting to law enforcement is also completely up to the reporting individual, and we do not automatically contact parents or the accused individual after a report is made. Those decisions are left up to the reporting person.

We have flow charts on our website that do a good job of articulating the reporting process as well as the Grievance Process. The Grievance Process allows for an Informal Resolution Process, which provides an opportunity for the two individuals to come to mutually agreed upon outcomes that would make coexisting on campus together feel safer and more comfortable. We have had a lot of success in navigating these issues with students through this process. Throughout the Grievance Process and beyond, resources, accommodations, and supportive measures are always available if needed.

If a reporting individual is not interested in pursuing our Grievance Process during their initial meeting with the Title IX Coordinator, their opportunity to pursue that process will remain available to them in the future. Some other options that students could pursue without moving forward with the Grievance Process include putting a no-contact directive in place. A no-contact directive is essentially a boundary between two students that prohibits any direct or indirect contact between them. If violated, there would be sanctions (i.e. punishments) imposed on the individual who violated the directive. This is an option that many students take advantage of because it helps them to feel safer on campus when they know the other individual isn’t going to be contacting them.

Other options include the Title IX Coordinator having a conversation with the accused student to help them understand the impact on the reporting student, pursuing a mediated conversation, or simply documenting the incident and focusing on resources and accommodations for the reporting student. The Title IX Office can help with work or class accommodations, housing switches, campus security escorts, connection to confidential resources including SARN and the Counseling Center, medical referrals and assistance, changes in class or work schedules, and many other resources depending on the specific situation and the needs of the student.

The fall 2021 semester was particularly busy for the Title IX office. An increase in reports does not necessarily mean that incident rates are increasing, but rather that more individuals feel comfortable reporting. In other words, we view this as an indicator that many students are trusting our reporting process. Conversations lately have centered around the fact that many students are experiencing extreme anxiety and depression and are in need of significant resources and accommodations in the aftermath of an incident.

We had to significantly change our investigation process when new Title IX regulations came out in May 2020. We anticipate that the Biden administration will be making changes to these regulations, including the existing requirement that reporting parties must submit to a hearing and cross examination as part of the investigation process, if they choose to move forward with an investigation. We are poised to return to our previous investigation process as soon as we are legally authorized to do so, as we know how onerous the current investigation process is on students.

Under the law, we cannot limit someone’s activities or opportunities, or take any other action that could be seen as punitive, without going through an investigation process. We cannot require an accused individual to quit a certain group, move residence halls, or leave the institution unless the accused student is provided a fair adjudication through the College’s Grievance Process. Often we hear frustration from reporting parties who want us to take action but are uninterested in participating in our grievance process.  We understand why reporting parties are often not interested in going through such a process. However, without giving a responding party an opportunity to fairly respond to such allegations, our ability to go beyond providing support resources to victims is limited.

We are constantly seeking to learn from others’ experiences in order to improve our processes. If anyone has feedback that they are comfortable sharing, the Title IX Coordinator welcomes the opportunity to meet with them. Alternatively, St. Olaf has a separate Title IX Advisory Group which is independent of the Title IX Office and the Title IX Team. That group’s sole responsibility is to provide a resource for individuals who may have concerns about the manner in which their Title IX report was managed by the College. The Advisory Group provides multiple avenues for individuals to report concerns, and it publishes an annual report which we use as part of our process for making policy enhancements. For further information, students can contact Jodi Malmgren, who chairs the Title IX Advisory Group.