Student Rights & Responsibilities

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Student Sexual Harassment Policy & Complaint Procedure

The Pennsylvania College of Technology is committed to providing its students an educational environment free of unlawful discrimination. Harassment on the basis of a person’s sex is a form of discrimination prohibited by this policy.

This policy applies to and prohibits sexual harassment both by students and against students. References to students in this policy include applicants for admission, as applicable. This policy extends to all activities on College property (e.g., educational, social, residential, or cultural), College-sanctioned educational activities at other locations (e.g., clinical sites), and College-related trips, meetings and social functions.

Sexual harassment by students of other students, College employees, or other persons on College property or in any other venue to which this policy applies is strictly prohibited by the College and will not be tolerated. Students who violate this policy will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including expulsion from the College.

Sexual harassment of Penn College students in other environments or settings associated with authorized academic or extracurricular activities, such as off-campus clinical work, athletics, or club events, is also a violation of this policy. However, the College’s ability to remedy cases of sexual harassment by persons who are not students or employees of the College may be more limited.

Behaviors That Can Constitute Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and/or other verbal, visual, orphysical conduct of a sexual nature where:

submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment or educational experience,
submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as a basis for employment or educational decisions affecting such individual, or
such conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual's work or educational experience or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive learning environment.

Sexual harassment involves actions and behaviors which may be verbal and/or non-verbal; may involve overt actions as extreme as physical threats, sexual assault and rape, as well as subtle interactions that communicate condescension, hostility, or invisibility; and may involve individuals of the same or different gender. These behaviors may include, but are not limited to:

physical assaults of a sexual nature and other unwanted and unnecessary physical contact
unwelcome sexual propositions or flirtations
direct or subtle pressure or repeated requests for dates, sexual activities, or sexual favors
sexually explicit or offensive jokes and innuendo
verbal abuse of a sexual nature
graphic, suggestive, or inappropriate verbal comments about an individual's body or dress, sexual prowess, or sexual deficiencies
inappropriate use of sexually explicit or offensive language in discussions with or to describe an individual
insulting or obscene comments or gestures, including leers and whistles
workplace display of sexually suggestive objects or pictures
other unwelcome physical, verbal, or visual conduct of a sexual nature
threats or suggestions, either explicit or implicit, that a student’s refusal to submit to sexual advances in any form will adversely affect that student's status in a course, program, or activity associated with the educational experience
favored treatment (or offers of such) to any student as a result of that person's engaging in or agreeing to engage in sexual conduct as well as seeking in any way to make the performance of a student’s educational experience more difficult because of that student's sex or the refusal of that student to submit to sexual advances

All such behavior is prohibited.

Reporting an Incident of Sexual Harassment

The Pennsylvania College of Technology is committed to providing its students an educational environment free of unlawful discrimination. A student who believes he or she has been the victim of sexual harassment should immediately report the matter to the Assistant Director of Counseling as specified in the Student Sexual Harassment Complaint Procedure. If the complaint involves the Assistant Director of Counseling, the student should instead report the matter to the Chief Student Affairs Officer.

In addition, depending upon the circumstances, the College encourages students who believe they are being subjected to any form of sexual harassment to promptly advise the offender that his or her behavior is unwelcome and to request that it cease. However, the College recognizes that a student may not be comfortable doing this, and no student is ever required to do so. Whether or not the matter is discussed with the offender, it should be reported as outlined in this policy and, when reported, will be investigated as outlined below and in the related complaint procedure.

Resolution of Sexual Harassment Complaints

The College will investigate all allegations of sexual harassment in as prompt and confidential a manner as possible and will take appropriate corrective action when warranted and as possible.

If the complaint is made against a student, disciplinary action may involve sanctions as set forth in the Student Code of Conduct. If the complaint is made against a College employee, the Director of Human Resources: Employment & EEO will be contacted immediately so that a joint investigation can be conducted. If warranted, the employee will be subject to disciplinary action under the College’s personnel policies and procedures. See section II of the Student Sexual Harassment Complaint Procedure for more a detailed explanation of possible disciplinary actions.

The parties involved in the Complaint of sexual harassment will be informed when the investigation is completed and when corrective measures are taken. However, the victim of the harassment is normally not informed of what disciplinary action has been taken against another student or against an employee of the College who has violated this policy.

Students who file a complaint under this policy retain their right to file complaints or charges of discrimination with appropriate federal and/or state agencies or to bring a private action against the accused. However, many federal and state procedural regulations require that complaints be filed within an established number of days of the alleged violation; filing a complaint with the College does not postpone any deadlines for filing complaints with outside agencies or courts.

Retaliation

Retaliation in any form against an individual for reporting sexual harassment or exercising his/her right to make a complaint under this policy or for participating in an investigation of a report of sexual harassment is a serious violation of this policy and, like sexual harassment itself, will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including suspension or expulsion. Acts of retaliation should be reported immediately in accordance with this policy and will be promptly investigated and addressed.

Conclusion

The College strives to provide a community in which students and applicants for admission can interact and learn together in an environment free from all forms of sexual harassment, exploitation, intimidation, and discrimination. Harassment is demeaning to all persons involved and subverts the mission of the College. It is unacceptable conduct and will not be tolerated.

The College will make every reasonable effort to ensure that all students are familiar with this policy and aware that any complaint of a violation of such policies will be investigated and resolved appropriately. Efforts to educate students will include, but not be limited to, notification of the existence of this policy at orientation, periodic distribution of this policy, and training programs that educate students on the topic of sexual harassment.

Student Sexual Harassment Complaint Procedure

A student who believes he/she has been a victim of sexual harassment, as defined in the Student Sexual Harassment Policy, should report the incident to the Assistant Director of Counseling (Coordinator of Title VI, IX and Section 504), Bush Campus Center, Room 204, who will advise the student of appropriate reporting procedures. If the complaint involves the Assistant Director of Counseling, or if the student is uncomfortable for any reason discussing such matters with said individual, or if the student is not satisfied after bringing the matter to his or her attention, the student should report the matter promptly to the Chief Student Affairs Officer.
If the complaint of sexual harassment is made against a student, the College will investigate and take appropriate disciplinary action through the Student Code of Conduct. The disciplinary or responsive action by the College may include training, referral to counseling, community service, educational sanctions, up to and including expulsion, and community service.

If the student complaint contains allegations regarding a College employee who is not a student or a full-time employee who is also a student, the Director of Human Resources: Employment & EEO will be contacted immediately so a joint investigation can be conducted.

College employees will be subject to disciplinary action under the College’s personnel policies and procedures.

In the case of sexual harassment by persons other than students or College employees, such as other persons on College property or in off-campus educational settings, the College will take those steps within its power to investigate and eliminate the problem.

If the complaint of sexual harassment is made against a student who is also a part-time employee, the individual will be subject to disciplinary actions in accordance with all applicable policies.
The appropriate director(s) will investigate and attempt to resolve the complaints promptly and fairly, with due regard to the interests of both the complainant and the alleged offender. Every reasonable effort will be made to conduct all proceeding in the most confidential manner possible.
If attempts to resolve the issue informally are not successful, further investigation may be conducted by the appropriate director(s) to gather information necessary to reach a final determination of the allegations. Such investigation will be conducted with due regard to the interests of both the complainant and the alleged offender, to include notice of the complaint to the alleged offender and an opportunity to respond to the complaint.
If it has been determined that sexual harassment has occurred, appropriate disciplinary, remedial, and/or other action will be taken as warranted or possible depending upon, among other things, the identity of the perpetrator. If the perpetrator is a student, disciplinary and remedial action will be handled in accordance with all College policies. If the perpetrator is an employee who is not a student, disciplinary action will be taken in accordance with the College’s personnel policies and procedures. If the perpetrator is neither a student nor employee of the College, the remedial action possible or appropriate will depend on the circumstances, such as prohibiting the use of College property, or if the harassment occurred at a clinical or other off-campus site, consulting with the perpetrator’s employer. The complainant will be informed when corrective measures are taken.