Procedures for Investigating Reports and Claims
A. The College will investigate all Reports of Sex/Gender Discrimination and Sexual Misconduct involving a Rhodes student, regardless of whether the Report becomes a Claim.
B. Following an intake meeting, the investigation will occur. The investigation may include interviewing the Claimant/First-Party Reporter, the Respondent, and any witnesses; reviewing law enforcement investigation documents if applicable; reviewing relevant student files; and gathering and examining other relevant documents and evidence.
C. For Reports, the Title IX Coordinator or his/her designee will conduct an initial investigation and determine whether a separate investigator is needed to conduct the equivalent of a Claim investigation because the incident potentially implicates the College’s Title IX obligations to provide a safe and nondiscriminatory environment for the Rhodes Community. If it does, then the Title IX Coordinator will treat the Report as a Claim and initiate a separate investigation and then a Formal Resolution Hearing. If the Title IX Coordinator determines that the Report does not implicate such community safety considerations, then after the Title IX Coordinator’s investigation, implementation of any interim or remedial measures, and finalization of any investigation memo, the Title IX Coordinator will be authorized to close the matter.
D. For Claims, the Title IX Coordinator will appoint an investigator (“Investigator”) to handle the investigation. The Title IX Coordinator will oversee the investigative process from an administrative/ procedural standpoint, to ensure that the investigation is prompt, fair, impartial, thorough, and consistent with the Policy. The Investigator will collect all relevant information and evidence, and will issue an investigation report to the Title IX Coordinator succinctly describing all collected information. The investigation file should contain all information gathered during the investigation that is potentially relevant to the alleged misconduct; the Investigator should not filter or exclude evidence or decide relevance or credibility, unless the evidence is clearly irrelevant or not pertinent to the facts at issue, such as impermissible character evidence. The Investigator will not make any recommendation as to whether a Policy violation has occurred or potential sanctions.
E. The Claim investigation report will be delivered to the parties as a part of a Formal Resolution Hearing packet at least ten (10) business days before a scheduled Hearing. Once received, the parties shall have three (3) business days to object in writing to any aspect of the investigative report. If warranted based on the party submission(s), the Investigator shall conduct further investigation and update the report as necessary. Depending on how the Claim proceeds, the investigation report(s) and the parties’ responses may be presented at a Formal Resolution Hearing and/or may be presented at an Informal Resolution Conference.
F. The College will attempt to resolve most cases of alleged Sex/Gender Discrimination and Sexual Misconduct within sixty (60) calendar days, excluding any appeal(s). The Title IX Coordinator will keep student parties reasonably informed of the status of the investigation, keeping in mind confidentiality considerations for each party. If it is determined that more time is needed for the investigation, the Title IX Coordinator will communicate the additional estimated amount of time needed to complete the investigation.
G. The Title IX Coordinator will have authority to implement interim and remedial measures at any time before the final outcome of an investigation or hearing, to the extent the College determines such measures are necessary. Some of these remedial measures also may continue in effect after an investigation is closed or as post-hearing sanctions or accommodations. For more information on interim and remedial measures, refer to Policy Section XI.