Discrimination and Title IX Policies

William & Mary is committed to providing a safe and nondiscriminatory environment for all members of the university community and to respecting the rights of students, employees, and third-parties accused of misconduct.

The following relevant policies comply with federal and state anti-discrimination laws, providing protections, supports, and avenues for university response and remedy:

the Student Discrimination & Title IX Complaint Procedure and
the Policy Prohibiting Title IX Sexual Harassment and Gender-Based Harassment (“the Title IX Policy”)

These policies prohibit discrimination and harassment based on sex and discrimination, discriminatory harassment, and retaliation based on a protected class and establish reporting obligations and options.

Reporting misconduct the university to take prompt action to protect and support individuals in their educational or work environments. Supportive measures are available to any Impacted Party regardless of their desire to initiate a formal complaint and university investigation. Reporting does not equal an investigation; instead, “report equals support.”

Students are encouraged to report discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation directly to the Title IX Coordinator:

Dr. Jenelle M. Job, PhD, Director of Title IX and Civil Rights Compliance, 108 James Blair Hall, (757) 221-4977, jmjob@wm.edu

or by using available online reporting forms:

Employee Online Reporting Formto report allegations of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation, including Title IX sex discrimination or sex-based harassment, by a faculty, staff or third-party to the university.
Student Title IX Report Formto report allegations of sex discrimination or sex-based harassment by a student.
Student Incident Reportto report allegations of discrimination, harassment or retaliation based on a protected class (e.g., race, ethnicity, religion, disability) by a student.

Mandatory and Confidential Reporting

Students who report to any faculty, staff, or designated student employee (e.g., resident assistants) need to know that university employees are MANDATORY reporters of misconduct and must report any disclosure or observation that falls under the above policies to the Title IX Coordinator.

Employees designated as Confidential Employees are confidential resources and are not mandatory reporters. Staff in the following offices are not obligated to share any disclosure or observation with the Title IX Coordinator without the student’s permission.

The Haven, Sadler Center 146P, 221-7478, thehaven@wm.edu
The Counseling Center, 2^nd Floor McLeod Tyler Wellness Center, (757) 221-3620
Student Health Center, 1^st Floor McLeod Tyler Wellness Center, (757) 221-4386
Tribe Sports Medicine, Deidre Connelly, Director of Performance Psychology, (757) 221-3386, dxconn@wm.edu

Discrimination Policy

The Discrimination Policy prohibits discrimination on the basis of a person’s belonging to or perception that person belongs to a protected group. A protected group means category of individuals who are protected from discrimination based on race, religion, creed, national origin, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, physical or mental disability (or perceived disability), citizenship status, age, marital status, family responsibilities, Veteran or military status (including disabled veteran, recently separated veteran, active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran, and Armed Forces Service Medal veteran), predisposing genetic characteristics, The Discrimination Policy applies to all members of the university community—students, faculty staff and third party contractors. It supports students who experience discrimination or harassment based on a protected class, and it prohibits students from discriminating against or harassing others in the community.

The Discrimination Policy prohibits some sexual misconduct not defined under Title IX regulations, including non-consensual sexual intercourse, relationship abuse and sexual abuse that occurs off-campus, and sexual exploitation regardless of location. The definitions of discrimination, discriminatory harassment, retaliation, and sexual misconduct are contained Section III of the Discrimination Policy.

All employees of the university, with the exception of specifically identified confidential resources, are mandatory reporters of incidents of sexual misconduct. Mandatory reports of all information known are made to the Title IX Coordinator. This reporting obligation does not require survivors to report misconduct they experienced or other students to report information they learn from a friend or contemporary; it requires all employees, including some designated student employees in their employment capacity, to report incidents involving students.

Title IX Policy

Consistent with federal regulations, the Title IX Policy prohibits the following types of misconduct:

Hostile Environment Sexual Harassment
Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment committed by an employee of the university
Sexual Assault (Rape, Fondling, Incest, Statutory Rape)
Domestic Violence
Dating Violence
Stalking
Gender-Based Harassment

The Title IX Policy defines each of these types of misconduct and defines consent, force, incapacitation, and retaliation.

The Policy applies to all members of the university community –students, faculty, staff and third-party contractors. It supports students who experience Title IX Sexual Harassment and Gender- Based Harassment and prohibits students from sexually harassing others in the community. It also requires the university to provide supportive measures to anyone experiencing misconduct and to respond to reports as required by the regulations to ensure a hostile environment does not exist.