Date of Notice:10/16/2017
Current Status:  Approved 04/12/2017
Motion type: Policy Proposal
Sponsor: Senate Responsible Reporting Work Group

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Motion:

Section I

1.1   WHEREAS, it is important that students, faculty, and staff clearly understand options available for dealing with instances of sexual and gender-based violence; and

1.2   WHEREAS, seeking assistance and reporting are two such options; and

1.3   WHEREAS, existing University of Oregon policy on these matters was last adopted in 2004; and

1.4   WHEREAS, new guidance has been provided by the U.S. Department of Education¹s Office of Civil Rights, especially since 2011; and

1.5   WHEREAS, the University President enacted an emergency policy in February 2016 on these matters; and

1.6   WHEREAS, Title IX of the Education Act of 1972 was adopted to ensure equality in education and to remove gender-based impediments to academic success; and

1.7   WHEREAS it is clear that academic success is an academic matter as commonly understood in education; and

1.8   WHEREAS, the University Senate voted against a proposal for a permanent policy that a committee offered in May 2016; and

1.9   WHEREAS, the University President enacted a new emergency policy in August 2016 on these matters while encouraging the Senate to continue its work on a permanent policy; and

1.10   WHEREAS, the Responsible Reporting Work Group (RRWG) includes faculty, students, and administrators who have worked collaboratively to write a new policy, including consultation and public forums with others concerned with a potential policy; and

1.11   WHEREAS, the RRWG developed the following statement of principles to guide its work:

1) Be consistent with the core mission of the UO
2) Be based on data, when that data exists.
3) Be guided by the spirit of Title IX: to protect educational equity.
4) Do no harm.
5) Recognize that student survivors are adults and have autonomy.
6) Respect academic freedom.
7) Protect from liability University employees who are acting pursuant to the policy.
8) Stay grounded in the reality of how the University deals with reports of sexual violence.
9) Be cognizant of the legal and national context in which the policy will operate;

Section II

2.1   THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the following policy be adopted by the University Senate and forwarded to the University President for his consideration and approval (see Related Documents section):

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Financial Impact:

The overall financial impact is uncertain. Implementing the policy will involve employee training, but training is already required under the law and existing policy.  The existing safe.uoregon.edu website will need updating, but UO already has knowledgeable staff for this work. The policy recommends, but does not require, that UO provide an reporting escrow system, at an unknown cost. On the other hand, by establishing reasonable reporting rules for employees we expect, but cannot ensure, that it will reduce UO’s exposure to legal damages related to non-compliance.

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Related Documents:

Proposal: April 2017