The President of each constituent college of The City University of New York, the Deputy Chancellor at the Central Office, and the Dean of the Law School (hereinafter "Presidents" and "colleges") are responsible for overseeing compliance with the implementation of the Policy. Each President shall:

a. Appoint and provide for appropriate training to a Sexual Harassment Panel (hereinafter "Panel") to be available to students and employees who wish to make complaints of sexual harassment. The structure of the Panel and respective responsibilities of the various Panel members are set forth in paragraph 2 below.

b. Appoint and provide for appropriate training to a Sexual Harassment Education Committee to be responsible for educating the college community about sexual harassment, through printed materials, workshops, and the like.

c. Disseminate the Policy against sexual harassment, including the names, titles, telephone numbers, and office locations of college Panel members, annually to all students and employees. It is recommended that such information be included in student, faculty, and staff handbooks and newsletters.

d. Submit annually to the Chancellor or his/her designee, a report regarding sexual harassment, including a summary of the educational activities undertaken at the college during the year and a summary of the number of complaints filed and the general outcomes thereof. An annual summary report will also be provided to the Board of Trustees.

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a. The Panel shall consist of a Coordinator. a Deputy Coordinator, and four to six additional members, all of whom shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the President. The President must include among that number two instructional staff members selected by the College-wide Personnel and Budget (P & B) Committee, or equivalent personnel committee, from among a list of four to six instructional staff member nominees submitted to it by the President. It is strongly recommended that the President select one of these two Panel members as the Deputy Coordinator. Further, it is strongly recommended that the Panel reflect the diversity of the college, be composed of faculty, administrators, staff, and students, and include the college Affirmative Action Officer .

b. Panel members shall be appointed by the President as described in paragraph 2(a) above for two-year terms and may be reappointed for additional two-year terms, subject to at-will removal by the President at any time. The initial appointments shall be staggered, as follows: half of the Panel members, including the Coordinator , shall be appointed for three-year terms; the remaining members of the Panel, including the Deputy Coordinator , shall be appointed for two-year terms. Thereafter, terms for all Panel members shall be two years. An appointment to fill a vacancy on the Panel shall be made pursuant to the procedures described above, and shall be for the remainder of the unexpired term of the vacancy.

c. All members of the Panel shall be available to receive complaints of sexual harassment from any member of the college community, to explain the University complaint procedures, and to refer individuals to appropriate resources. All Panel members have an obligation to maintain confidentiality to the fullest extent possible.

d. The Panel Coordinator is responsible for reviewing all complaints of sexual harassment; and for making efforts to resolve those complaints informally, if possible. When informal resolution is not possible, the Panel Coordinator and the Deputy Coordinator shall fully investigate the complaint; and the Panel Coordinator shall report to the President (and the Chief Student Affairs Officer, if the accused is a student) the results of the investigation. The Deputy Coordinator may also assume responsibility for the informal resolution of complaints, as assigned by the Panel Coordinator. Other Panel members may assist in the informal resolution or investigation of a complaint to the extent directed by the Panel Coordinator or Deputy Coordinator .

e. In the event that the Panel Coordinator is unavailable, the functions of the Panel Coordinator shall be performed by the Deputy Coordinator.

f. In the event that the complainant, the accused, or a third party believes that any member of the Panel, including the Panel Coordinator or Deputy Coordinator, has a conflict of interest or for some other reason should not participate in the informal resolution or investigation of a particular complaint, he or she may ask the Panel Coordinator not to allow the Panel member (including the Panel Coordinator him or herself) to participate. Alternatively, the individual raising the issue may ask the President to direct that a particular Panel member not be involved in the informal resolution or investigation of a particular complaint.

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The privacy of individuals who bring complaints of sexual harassment, who are accused of sexual harassment, or who are otherwise involved in the complaint process should be respected, and information obtained in connection with the bringing, investigation, or resolution of complaints should be handled as confidentially as possible. It is not possible, however, to guarantee absolute confidentiality and no such promises should be made by any member of the Panel or other University employee who may be involved in the complaint process.

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Any member of the University community may report allegations of sexual harassment to any member of the Panel. Employees who are covered by collective bargaining agreements may either use their contractual grievance procedures, within the time limits provided in those agreements, to report allegations of sexual harassment; or, they may report such allegations directly to a member of the Panel as provided in these Procedures. Members of the University community who believe themselves to be aggrieved under the Policy are strongly encouraged to report the allegations of sexual harassment as promptly as possible. Delay in making a complaint may make it more difficult for the college to investigate the allegations.

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a. Each dean, director, department chairperson, executive officer, administrator, or other person with supervisory responsibility (hereinafter "supervisor") is responsible within his or her area of jurisdiction for the implementation of the Policy and must report to the Panel Coordinator any complaint of sexual harassment made to him or her and any other incidents of sexual harassment of which he or she becomes aware or reasonably believes to exist. Having reported such complaint or incident to the Panel Coordinator, the supervisor should keep it confidential and not disclose it further, except as necessary during the complaint process.

b. Each supervisor shall arrange for the posting, in his or her area, of the University policy against sexual harassment; the names, titles, telephone numbers, and office locations of college Panel members; and any other materials provided to him or her by the Sexual Harassment Education Committee for posting.

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a. Any member of the Panel who receives a complaint of sexual harassment shall promptly advise the Panel Coordinator or, in his or her absence, the Deputy Coordinator of the complaint. Once the Panel Coordinator becomes aware of a complaint of sexual harassment, either through a member of the Panel or through another source, he or she shall conduct a preliminary investigation and make efforts, whenever possible, to resolve the complaint informally by an arrangement that is acceptable to the complainant, the accused, and the college. Examples of informal resolutions include, but are not limited to:

• arranging for a workshop on sexual harassment to be conducted for the unit, division, or department in which the sexual harassment is alleged to have occurred;
• having a supervisor or a member of the Panel speak to the accused regarding the allegations of sexual harassment and counsel the accused as to appropriate behavior;
• arranging for a meeting between the complainant and the accused, with a third party present, to discuss and resolve the allegations;
  
• having the accused write a letter of apology. Whenever possible, an informal resolution should be acknowledged in writing, signed by the complainant. The accused should also be asked to sign such an acknowledgment.
  

b. If no informal resolution of a complaint is achieved following the preliminary investigation, the Panel Coordinator and the Deputy Coordinator shall conduct a formal investigation of the complaint. It is recognized, however, that complaints may be resolved by mutual agreement of the complainant, the accused, and the college at any time in the process.

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While the investigation of sexual harassment complaints may vary depending upon the nature of each case, it is recommended that an investigation include the following, to the extent feasible:

a. The Panel Coordinator and the Deputy Coordinator should interview the complainant. The complainant may request that the Panel member to whom he or she originally brought the complaint be present at the interview. The complainant should be informed that an investigation is being commenced, that interviews of the accused and possibly other people will be conducted, and that the President (or the Chief Student Affairs Officer, if the accused is a student) will determine what action, if any, to take after the investigation is completed. A written statement, signed and dated by the complainant, should be obtained, which sets forth the particulars of the complaint, including dates and places, as well as the impact of the alleged harassment. The complainant should also be asked for the names of potential witnesses or others who may have relevant information.

b. The Panel Coordinator and the Deputy Coordinator should interview the accused. The accused should be advised that a complaint of sexual harassment has been received, that an investigation has begun, which may include interviews with third parties, and that the President (or the Chief Student Affairs Officer, if the accused is a student) will determine what action, if any, to take after the investigation is completed. The accused should be advised of the nature of the allegations against him or her and be given an opportunity to respond. A written statement, signed and dated by the accused, should be obtained, which sets forth his or her response to the allegations. The accused should also be asked for the names of potential witnesses or others who may have relevant information. In addition, the accused should be advised that any sexual harassment of or other retaliation against the complainant or others is prohibited and, if engaged in, will subject the accused to severe discipline, up to and including termination of employment or, if the accused is a student, permanent dismissal from the University. An accused employee who is covered by a collective bargaining agreement may, upon request, consult with a union representative and have a union representative present during the interview.

c. In addition to interviews with the complainant, the accused, and those persons named by them, it should be determined whether there are others who may have relevant information regarding the events in question and whether there is documentary evidence which may be relevant to the complaint. Whenever possible, written statements signed and dated by each person interviewed should be obtained. Persons interviewed should be advised that information related to the complaint should be kept confidential and not disclosed further, except as necessary during the complaint process. Consultation with other members of the Panel may also be sought during, or at the completion of, the investigation, as deemed appropriate by the Panel Coordinator.

d. In the event that a complaint is anonymous, the complaint should be investigated as thoroughly as possible under the circumstances.

e. While some complaints of sexual harassment may require extensive investigation, whenever possible, the investigation of most complaints should be completed within 60 days of the receipt of the complaint.

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a. Promptly following the completion of the investigation, the Panel Coordinator shall make a report of the findings to the President. In the event that the accused is a student, the Panel Coordinator shall also submit the report to the Chief Student Affairs Officer .

b. Following receipt of the report, the President (or the Chief Student Affairs Officer, if the accused is a student) shall promptly take such action as he or she deems necessary and proper to correct the effects of or to prevent further harm to an affected party or others similarly situated, including commencing action to discipline the accused under applicable University Bylaws or collective bargaining agreements. In addition to initiating disciplinary proceedings, corrective action may include, but is not limited to, transferring a student to another class section, transferring an employee, or granting a benefit wrongfully withheld.

c. The complainant and the accused should be apprised of action taken as a result of the complaint.

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In the event that the Panel Coordinator concludes that a complainant made a complaint of sexual harassment with knowledge that the allegations were false, the Panel Coordinator shall state this conclusion in his or her report. The failure to substantiate a sexual harassment complaint, however, is not in and of itself sufficient to demonstrate that a complaint was false.

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a. The Panel Coordinator shall keep the President informed regarding complaints of sexual harassment and shall provide the information necessary to prepare the annual report to the Chancellor referenced above in paragraph I(d).

b. Records regarding complaints of sexual harassment shall be maintained in a secure location.

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a. These Procedures are applicable to all of the colleges of the University. The Hunter College Campus Schools may make modifications to these procedures, subject to approval by the University, as appropriate to address the special needs of their elementary and high school students.

b. These Procedures are intended to provide guidance to the Presidents and Panel members for implementing the University policy against sexual harassment; these procedures do not create any rights or privileges on the part of any others.

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