Faculty & Staff Mandatory Reporting Obligations
Mandatory Reporting
All William & Mary faculty and staff are mandatory reporters for purposes of state legal reporting obligations and per university policies and procedures. Detailed information about these reporting obligations is provided in the Discrimination Policy and the Title IX Policy. General requirements include:
- All faculty and staff are required to report to the Title IX Coordinator specific incidents of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct affecting students or employees who report to you.
- Reports must include name(s) of the parties involved, if known to the mandatory reporter. This includes the person(s) impacted by the conduct and the person(s) accused of the conduct.
- Reports must include information about the conduct that occurred, when it occurred, where it occurred, and any witnesses to the conduct, if known to the mandatory reporter.
- Mandatory reporters are not required to obtain the information from the impacted party; however, any information disclosed to a mandatory reporter must be included in the report to the Title IX Coordinator.
- Reports involving a student may be made to the Title IX Coordinator through the online student report form.
- Reports involving an employee may be made to the Title IX Coordinator through the online employee report form.
Response to a Student
If a student comes to you directly, it is important that you support them and ensure they are aware of contacts on campus with expertise who can provide them resources they need.
First, make them aware of your mandatory reporting requirements. You can say that while you are a mandatory reporter, this does not mean that you are unable to support them.
Second, make them aware of confidential resources and supportive measures available to them.
Third, listen to the student's account. Do not question their account, assume they are lying or judge them. Victims of assault have experienced trauma, and trauma affects how people remember the experience and how they talk about the experience. This means that the student may not act the way you expect them to.
Finally, after you have addressed the student's immediate needs, report the incident to the Title IX Coordinator via the online student reporting form.
