Resolution Timeline

The College will make a good faith effort to complete the Resolution Process within sixty to ninety (60-90) business days, including any appeals, which can extend as necessary for appropriate cause by the Title IX Coordinator. The Parties will receive regular updates on the progress of the Resolution Process, as well as notification and a rationale for any extensions or delays, and an estimate of how much additional time will be needed to complete the process.

Investigations are completed expeditiously, normally within sixty (60) business days, though some investigations may take longer, depending on the nature, extent, and complexity of the allegations, witness availability, law enforcement involvement, and other factors.

If a party or witness chooses not to participate in the Resolution Process or becomes unresponsive, the College reserves the right to continue it without their participation to ensure a prompt resolution.

The College may undertake a short delay in its investigation if circumstances require. Such circumstances include, but are not limited to, the need for language assistance, the absence of Parties and/or witnesses, and/or health conditions. The College will promptly resume its Resolution Process as soon as feasible. During such a delay, CCA will implement and maintain supportive measures for the Parties as deemed appropriate.

College action(s) or processes are not typically altered or precluded on the grounds that civil or criminal charges involving the underlying incident(s) have been filed or that criminal charges have been dismissed or reduced.

The College will make a good faith effort to complete the Resolution Process as promptly as circumstances permit and will regularly communicate with the Parties to update them on the progress and timing of the process.

Ensuring Impartiality

Any individual materially involved in the administration of the Resolution Process, including the Title IX Coordinator, Investigator(s), and Decision-maker(s), may neither have nor demonstrate a conflict of interest or bias for a party generally, or for a specific Complainant or Respondent.

The Title IX Coordinator will vet the assigned Investigator(s), Decision-maker(s), and Appeals officers for impartiality by ensuring there are no actual or apparent conflicts of interest or disqualifying biases. At any time during the Resolution Process, the Parties may raise a concern regarding bias or conflict of interest, and the Title IX Coordinator will determine whether the concern is reasonable and supportable. If so, another Investigator, Decision-maker, or Appeal Officer will be assigned, and the impact of the bias or conflict, if any, will be remedied. If the source of the conflict of interest or bias is the Title IX Coordinator, concerns should be raised with the Vice President of Student Affairs.

The Resolution Process involves an objective evaluation of all available relevant and not otherwise impermissible evidence, including evidence that supports that the Respondent engaged in a Policy violation and evidence that supports that the Respondent did not engage in a Policy violation. Credibility determinations may not be based solely on an individual’s status or participation as a Complainant, Respondent, or witness. All Parties have a full and fair opportunity, through the investigation process, to suggest witnesses and questions, to provide evidence, and to receive a written investigation report that accurately summarizes this evidence.

Investigator Appointment

Once an investigation is initiated, the Deputy/Title IX Coordinator appoints an Investigator(s) to conduct it. These Investigators may be members of the Resolution Process Pool, or any other properly trained Investigator, whether internal or external to the College’s community.

Witness Role and Participation in the Investigation

Witnesses who are College Employees are strongly encouraged to cooperate with and participate in the College’s investigation and Formal Grievance Process. Student witnesses and witnesses from outside the College community are encouraged to cooperate with College investigations and to share what they know about a Formal Complaint.

Interviews may be conducted in person, via online video platforms (e.g., Zoom, Microsoft Teams, FaceTime, WebEx), or, in limited circumstances, by telephone. The College will take appropriate steps to ensure the security/privacy of remote interviews.

Interview Recording

It is standard practice for Investigators to create a record of all interviews pertaining to the Formal Grievance Process, by recording, transcript, or written summary. The Parties may review copies of their own interviews upon request. No unauthorized audio or video recording of any kind is permitted during investigation meetings.

All interviews are recorded, and all involved persons should be made aware of the audio and/or video recording. The recording and/or transcript of those meetings will be provided to the Parties for their review, after which the Parties may suggest additional questions to be asked of another party or witness or additional witnesses. Those subsequent meetings or interviews are also recorded and/or transcribed.

Evidentiary Considerations

The Investigator(s) and the Decision-maker(s) will only consider Relevant or Directly Related Evidence.

Neither the investigation nor the hearing will consider:

1. Questions or evidence about the Complainant’s sexual predisposition
2. Questions or evidence about the Complainant’s prior sexual behavior, unless such questions and evidence about the Complainant’s prior sexual behavior are offered to prove that someone other than the Respondent committed the alleged conduct, or if the questions or evidence concern specific incidents of the Complainant’s prior sexual behavior with respect to the Respondent and are offered to prove consent
3. Questions or evidence about a party or witness’s records that are made or maintained by a physician, psychologist, or psychiatrist unless the party or witness provides voluntary, written consent for the records to be considered

Within the boundaries stated above, the investigation and the hearing can consider character evidence, if offered, but that evidence is unlikely to be relevant unless it is fact evidence or relates to a pattern of conduct.

Previous disciplinary action of any kind involving the Respondent may only be considered when there is an allegation of a pattern of misconduct and it is deemed appropriate to consider such information during the investigation and hearing. Such information may also be considered in determining an appropriate sanction upon a determination of responsibility. Barring a pattern allegation, this information is only considered at the sanction stage of the process and is not shared until then.

Respondent Admits Responsibility

At any point in the proceedings, if a Respondent elects to admit to the charged violations and waive further process, the Decision-maker is authorized to accept that admission, adopt it as their finding/final determination, and administer sanctions. This would also waive all rights to appeal for the Respondent. If the Respondent rejects the finding/final determination/sanctions, or does not admit to all conduct charged, the Resolution Process continues to its conclusion.

Investigation

All investigations are thorough, reliable, impartial, prompt, and fair. They involve interviewing all available, relevant Parties and witnesses, obtaining Relevant Evidence, and identifying sources of expert information, as necessary.

Once an investigation is initiated, the Title IX Coordinator appoints an Investigator(s) to conduct it. These Investigators may be members of the Resolution Process Pool, or any other properly trained Investigator, whether internal or external to the College’s community.

After an interview, Parties and witnesses will be asked to verify the accuracy of the recording, transcript, or summary of their interview. They may submit changes, edits, or clarifications. If the Parties or witnesses do not respond within the time period designated for verification, objections to the accuracy of the recording, transcript, or summary will be deemed to have been waived, and no changes will be permitted.

The College may consolidate Complaints against more than one Respondent, or by more than one Complainant against one or more Respondent(s), when the allegations arise from the same facts or circumstances or implicate a pattern, collusion, and/or other shared or similar actions.

The Investigator(s) typically take(s) the following steps, if not already completed and not necessarily in this order:

• Determining the names of and contacting all involved Parties and potential witnesses with relevant information to participate in an investigation interview
• Identify all policies implicated by the alleged misconduct and notify the Complainant and Respondent of all specific policies implicated.
• Assist the Title IX Coordinator, if needed, with conducting a prompt initial evaluation to determine if the allegations indicate a potential Policy violation.
• Work with the Title IX Coordinator, as necessary, to prepare the initial Notice of Investigation and Allegations (NOIA). The NOIA may be amended with any additional or dismissed allegations.
• Identifying issues and developing a strategic investigation plan, including a witness list, evidence list, intended investigation timeframe, and order of interviews for the Parties and witnesses
• Providing written notification of the date, time, and location of all investigation meetings, including the expected participants and purpose
• Make good faith efforts to notify each party of any meeting or interview involving another party, in advance when possible
• Conducting any necessary follow-up interviews with Parties or witnesses
• Providing the Parties and witnesses an opportunity to verify the accuracy of either a summary or transcript of their interview(s)
• Soliciting the names of suggested witnesses and questions each party wishes to have asked of another party or witness and determining whether conducting additional interviews is appropriate. Document in the investigation report which questions were asked, with a rationale for any changes or omissions.
• Where possible, complete the investigation promptly and without unreasonable deviation from the intended timeline.
• Provide the Parties with status updates during the investigation.
• Prior to the conclusion of the investigation, provide the Parties and their respective Advisors with a list of witnesses whose information will be used to render a finding.
• Ask the Parties to provide a list of questions they would like asked of the other party or any witnesses. The Investigator will ask those questions deemed relevant, and for any question deemed not relevant, will provide a rationale for not asking the question.
• Writing a Draft Investigation Report that gathers, assesses, and synthesizes the evidence, accurately summarizes the investigation and party and witness interviews, and provides all Relevant Evidence
• Compiling a Directly Related Evidence File
• Providing the Parties and their respective Advisors an electronic or hard copy of the Draft Investigation Report as well as an opportunity to inspect and review all of the evidence obtained as part of the investigation that is directly related to the reported misconduct, including evidence upon which CCA does not intend to rely in reaching a determination, for a ten (10)-business-day review and comment period so that each party may meaningfully respond to the evidence. The Parties may elect to waive the full ten (10) days.
• Incorporating any new, Relevant Evidence and information obtained through the Parties’ review of the Draft Investigation Report and any follow-up meetings into the Final Investigation Report
• Responding in writing (typically within the Final Investigation Report) to the relevant elements of the Parties’ responses to the Draft Investigation Report.
• Sharing the Final Investigation Report with the Title IX Coordinator and/or legal counsel for their review and feedback
• Providing the Title IX Coordinator with the Final Investigation Report and Directly Related Evidence File

Continue to Notice of Outcome and Sanctions.