Response Procedures

1. 1. Upon receipt of a report, the Title IX Coordinator will promptly contact the Impacted Party(ies) to offer supportive measures, and inform them of or confirm receipt of a report.
   2. The Title IX Coordinator will explain to the Impacted Party(ies) the process for filing a Formal Complaint, assess if the alleged conduct meets the definition of sexual harassment and which procedural path the Prohibited Conduct will be processed.
   3. The Title IX Coordinator will inform the Impacted Party(ies) of the availability of supportive measures with or without the filing of a Formal Complaint.

   Under the 2020 Final Rule, institutions must offer free supportive measures to every alleged victim of sexual harassment. Supportive measures are individualized services meant to restore or preserve equal access to education, protect student and employee safety, or deter sexual harassment. Supportive measures must be offered even if a complainant does not wish to initiate or participate in a grievance process.

   Supportive measures may include, but are not limited to, counseling services, extensions of deadlines or other course-related adjustments, modifications of employment or class schedules, campus escort services, mutual restrictions on contact between the parties, changes in work or housing locations, leaves of absence, increased security and monitoring of certain areas of the campus, and other similar measures.

   Supportive measures are not meant to be punitive, or unreasonably burden the Impacted Party or Respondent.

   The University reserves the right to take any measures it believes, in its sole discretion, are in the best interests of the parties and the University community.

Reports of Prohibited Conduct will not, on their own, trigger a Title IX grievance process. A Formal Complaint is required to be submitted (in writing with a physical or electronic signature) to Pacific Lutheran University in order to begin a formal grievance process under this policy and as outlined in the U.S. Department of Education Title IX Regulations. 

As defined by Title IX Regulations, Pacific Lutheran University is obligated to dismiss Formal Complaints that fail to meet the definitions below or are outside of its prescribed jurisdiction, which is limited to: conduct impacting an individual who is participating in or attempting to participate in an education program or activity of Pacific Lutheran University in the United States. “Educational program or activity” includes locations, events, or circumstances over which Pacific Lutheran University exercises substantial control over both the respondent and the context in which the Prohibited Conduct occurs, and also includes any building owned or controlled by a student or employee organization that is officially recognized by Pacific Lutheran University. Prohibited Conduct that does not meet the definition or jurisdiction of sexual misconduct as defined by Title IX Regulations, or takes place in locations outside the U.S. may be, at the discretion of PLU, processed through another appropriate PLU conduct process.

Consistent with the Title IX regulations issued on May 6, 2020, for a formal investigation to proceed through PLU’s Title IX Formal Process, it must meet the following criteria. The Prohibited Conduct must be either:

• Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment: This exists when there are unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature; and submission to or rejection of such conduct results in adverse educational or employment action; or
• Sexual Harassment: Any unwelcome sex-based conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the recipient’s education program or activity; or
• “Sexual assault” as defined in 20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(6)(A)(v), “dating violence” as defined in 34 U.S.C. 12291(a)(10), “domestic violence” as defined in 34 U.S.C. 12291(a)(8), or “stalking” as defined in 34 U.S.C. 12291(a)(30). (Refer to Section XII for formal definitions.)

Nothing in this part precludes Pacific Lutheran University from removing a respondent from an educational program or activity on an emergency basis, pending an individualized safety and risk assessment and determination that an immediate threat to the physical health or safety of any student, employee, or other individual arising from the allegations of sexual harassment justifies removal. In these situations, Pacific Lutheran University will provide the respondent with notice and an opportunity to appeal the decision immediately following the removal. This provision may not be construed to modify any rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, or the Americans with Disabilities Act.

If the allegations in a formal complaint do not meet the definition of sexual harassment in the Final Rule, or did not occur in the school’s education program or activity against a person in the United States, the Final Rule clarifies that the school must dismiss such allegations for purposes of Title IX. 

If a report is formally dismissed by the Title IX Coordinator or their designee, the report will be referred to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities or Human Resources for evaluation if the reported behavior is otherwise a violation of policy within the Pacific Lutheran University’s Student Code of Conduct, Personnel Manual, or Faculty Handbook. The Impacted Party(ies) will be notified of the dismissal in writing.

The dismissal of a report does not preclude an Impacted Party from utilizing any of the supportive measures outlined in this policy. 

If the Formal Complaint is within a) jurisdiction of Pacific Lutheran University and b) meets the definition of Prohibited Conduct, PLU is obligated to respond to the Formal Complaint. When the Title IX or Sexual Misconduct grievance process is initiated on the basis of a Formal Complaint, the individual alleged to have engaged in the Prohibited Conduct and who must respond to the allegations is designated as the Respondent. The impacted party(ies) who submit the Formal Complaint will be designated as the Complainant(s). Prior to and during this process, Pacific Lutheran University presumes that the Respondent is not responsible for the alleged conduct and does not make a determination regarding responsibility until the conclusion of the process. 

The Title IX Coordinator may dismiss a Formal Complaint of Prohibited Conduct, if applicable, for any of, but not limited to, the‬ following reasons:‬

1. The University is unable to identify the Respondent after taking reasonable steps to do so;‬
2. The Respondent is no longer participating in PLU’s education program or activity, and/or is not‬employed by PLU and there is a reasonable expectation and related evidence to support that they‬ will not return to active status.
3. The conduct occurred outside of the United States.

There are different procedures used to respond to Prohibited Conduct. Title IX procedures are defined by the Department of Education’s 2020 Final Rule Title IX legislation. Any alleged conduct that is determined Title IX Prohibited Conduct will be processed through those federal mandates. The Title IX Coordinator will assess each reported incident and will coordinate the appropriate response pathway.  Pathways other than the Title IX Formal Process are defined by who the Complainant and Respondent are, and where the misconduct took place. Partners in responding to Prohibited Conduct are, but not limited to: Human Resources and the Dean of Students Office. Any conduct that does not meet the criteria for, or jurisdiction of, Title IX will be processed by PLU’s Student Code of Conduct Procedures or through policies and procedures listed in the Personnel Manual and/or Faculty Handbook.  

The link for Title IX Prohibited Conduct Procedures is here: 

https://www.plu.edu/title-ix/documents/

The link for PLU’s Student Code of Conduct Procedures is here:

https://www.plu.edu/student-rights-and-responsibilities-procedures/

In lieu of resolving a Complaint through the formal grievance procedures, the parties may instead elect to participate in an Informal Resolution process. Both parties must enter an Informal Resolution voluntarily, and prior to agreeing to a resolution, each party has the right to withdraw from the Informal Resolution process and to initiate or resume the formal grievance procedures. Once the parties have agreed to a final resolution, that agreement prevents either party from initiating or resuming the formal grievance process for that same allegation.

Informal Resolution options may include, but are not limited to, educational discussions, mediated discussions, or an arbitrated agreement-based resolution.

connection with the same behavior that forms the basis of a Prohibited Conduct report under this policy. In such cases, the University will cooperate and assist with coordination with local law enforcement and may, if requested and appropriate, share information with those agencies. The University will fulfill its legal and ethical obligation to take immediate and appropriate action to investigate possible violations of this policy, even if there are external processes or procedures pending in connection with that same report of Prohibited Conduct.

Standards for criminal investigations are different from the standards for a violation of this policy, and therefore the University will not base its decisions under this policy solely on law enforcement reports and/or action. The University will take every possible step to coordinate with law enforcement and also will take steps to resolve the Formal Complaint within the University process in a timely manner.

Community members who believe any Prohibited Conduct they have experienced may be criminal in nature will receive support and assistance in contacting law enforcement and/or reporting the conduct for Statistical Disclosure under the Clery Safe Campus Act. PLU encourages accurate and prompt reporting of all crimes to Campus Safety and the appropriate law enforcement agencies.

As a part of its prevention and awareness programs for incoming students and new employees, and its ongoing prevention and awareness programs for continuing students and employees, PLU includes the definitions of sexual misconduct, the definition of consent in reference to sexual activity, and the definitions of domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking that are used by the criminal laws in applicable jurisdictions. The criminal law definitions used in Washington State are described in Appendix A for the sake of information only. However, PLU utilizes its own definitions of these prohibited behaviors for purposes of this policy that are consistent with the Clery Safe Campus Act, as amended effective 2014 and 2024 (which expands upon the Clery Safe Campus Act as noted above), and determines responsibility for violations of PLU policy through its own procedures and standards of proof.