U-M's Interim Policy on Sexual and Gender-Based Misconduct (August 10, 2020)
Dear Colleagues,
The University of Michigan today announced a new Interim Policy on Sexual and Gender-Based Misconduct. This policy applies to university students, faculty, staff and third-parties on all three campuses and is effective Friday, August 14. The interim policy brings the university into compliance with new federal regulations and also aligns with our long-standing priority of keeping our community safe from sexual misconduct. I, along with university leadership, am in full support of the new policy and our continued efforts to address sexual and gender-based misconduct in a manner consistent with our institutional values.
I thank the many members from our campus community who offered feedback on the initial drafts of the new policy. However, because new federal regulations require that this policy be operational by August 14, there was insufficient time to solicit fuller community input. For that reason, this policy is being issued on an interim basis. Mechanisms for providing feedback will be announced later in the fall.
Below you will find a message from President Schlissel with more details. Pamela Heatlie, director of UM-Dearborn’s Office for Institutional Equity (OIE), has been involved in the group developing the new policy and procedures and will be leading the implementation on our campus. Details of the changes in procedure related to addressing sexual and gender-based misconduct.
Pam and I will host a Town Hall to review the new policies and answer questions on Thursday, August 20 from 11a.m. -12 p.m. You may register for the town hall.
UM-Dearborn remains committed to ensuring a welcoming atmosphere for all of our students, faculty, staff, visitors and third-party partners. This new umbrella policy will help to promote a culture of respect and accountability. Please familiarize yourself with the new policy and procedures. As always, information on support, reporting and confidential assistance are available on OIE’s Reporting Sexual or Gender-Based Misconduct webpage.
Go Blue - Go Dearborn!
Domenico Grasso
Chancellor
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To All Members of the University of Michigan Community:
Following several months of work and review within our community, the University of Michigan’s Interim Policy on Sexual and Gender-Based Misconduct will go into effect Aug. 14, 2020. It applies to all students, faculty, staff and third parties across the university community on our three campuses and Michigan Medicine.
Improving how we prevent and address sexual and gender-based misconduct in our community must always remain a foremost priority at U-M. We strive to do better, always, and creating an umbrella policy that covers all members of the U-M community is one key measure we are implementing.
This interim policy includes common definitions for prohibited conduct and Title IX misconduct, separate procedures for addressing allegations against students and those against employees and third parties, and further clarifies available confidential resources and ways to report misconduct. It differs in significant ways from the draft policy we shared widely last fall, primarily because of new federal regulations released in May.
Additional details about the policy and its changes – including information on the definition of sexual harassment, individuals with reporting obligations, and student and employee procedures – are available in the University Record.
This interim policy brings the university into compliance with new federal regulations, but also balances these regulations with an approach that is consistent with our long-standing priority of keeping our community safe from sexual misconduct. In some cases, and where the new regulations permit, we have made a very deliberate decision to go beyond the minimum requirements of the federal regulations.
This fall, the team representing all U-M campuses that developed the policy will reach out broadly to share details of the policy and procedures. Beginning in early 2021, the team will engage the university community to solicit additional feedback. We will share the formal process for the community to provide feedback during this stage. The policy is scheduled to be finalized by July 1, 2021.
A single umbrella policy for all members of our community with common definitions was one of the main recommendations of the 2018-19 external review we commissioned as part of our comprehensive prevention efforts.
I thank the many members of our community who provided feedback on the draft policy, via our survey or engagement with the team.
We originally planned to implement the policy in early 2020. However, we postponed implementation until now due to the Department of Education’s pending release of the final Title IX regulations. Those regulations were released in May with a mandated implementation date of Aug. 14.
A single umbrella policy for all members of our community with common definitions was one of the main recommendations of the 2018-19 external review we commissioned as part of our comprehensive prevention efforts.
Separately, we will continue to carefully consider the recommendations made by the firm Wilmer-Hale following its independent investigation of Martin Philbert. Wilmer-Hale's investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct regarding the late Robert E. Anderson is ongoing.
Information on support, reporting and confidential assistance are available on our Sexual Misconduct Reporting and Resources page.
Sincerely,
Mark S. Schlissel, M.D., Ph.D.
President