Policy Manual

Harassment of any member of the university community is prohibited.

1. Definition of harassment. "Harassment" means intentional conduct, including speech, directed toward an identifiable person or persons that
   1. threatens serious harm and is directed or likely directed to provoke imminent unlawful actions; or
   2.  is sufficiently severe, pervasive, and subjectively and objectively offensive that it unreasonably interferes with work or educational opportunities or benefits, including, without limitation, on-campus living or participation in a university activity on or off campus
      
      ​​See Iowa Code 261H.3.5: "This chapter shall not be interpreted as preventing public institutions of higher education from prohibiting, limiting, or restricting expression that the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States does not protect, including but not limited to a threat of serious harm and expression directed or likely directed to provoke imminent unlawful actions; or from prohibiting harassment, including but not limited to expression which is so severe, pervasive, and subjectively and objectively offensive that the expression unreasonably interferes with an individual’s access to educational opportunities or benefits provided by a public institution of higher education."
2. Conduct that constitutes a protected exercise of an individual's rights under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution (and related principles of academic freedom) shall not be deemed a violation of this policy. Note: Sexual harassment is addressed by the University's Policy on Sexual Harassment and Sexual Misconduct (II-4).
3. Evidence of harassment. Behavior that may constitute, or be evidence of, prohibited harassment includes, but is not limited to, the following:
   1. repeated contact with another in person, by telephone, in writing, or through electronic means (see also II-19 Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources), after the recipient has made clear that such contact is unwelcome.
   2. harassment proscribed by the Iowa Criminal Code, Chapter 708, including, for example, stalking, the placement of simulated explosives, ordering merchandise or services with intent to annoy, or false reports to police.
   3. stalking as a course of conduct that is directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear.
   4. domestic/dating violence which is coercive, abusive, and/or threatening behavior toward a current or former intimate or romantic partner.
4. Penalty enhancement. The university reserves the right to impose more severe sanctions on individuals whose actions in violation of this policy are motivated by the race, creed, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth and related conditions), disability, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, service in the U.S. military, sexual orientation, gender identity, or associational preferences of the impacted party.
5. In determining whether alleged conduct constitutes prohibited harassment, the investigator will consider all available information and will review the totality of circumstances, including the context in which the alleged incident(s) occurred. Although repeated incidents generally create a stronger claim of harassment, a single serious incident can be sufficient. Determinations will be made on a case-by-case basis.
6. Definitions of other terms used in this policy:
   1. Academic or administrative officer includes the following:
      1. Collegiate deans (including associate deans and assistant deans),
      2. Faculty members with administrative responsibilities at the level of departmental executive officer (DEO) or above,
      3. Any staff member whose primary job responsibility is to provide advice regarding a student's academic pursuits or other university-related activities,
      4. A faculty member serving as departmental (or collegiate) director or coordinator of undergraduate or graduate studies, or as a director or coordinator of any departmental, collegiate, or university off-campus academic program (including any study-abroad program),
      5. The President, the directors of the Office of Institutional Equity, the Title IX Coordinator, vice presidents (including assistant and associate vice presidents), and Provost (including assistant and associate provosts), and those persons' designees,
      6. Directors and supervisors in an employment context, including faculty and staff who supervise student employees, in relation to matters involving the employees they supervise (other than Campus Safety personnel when receiving criminal complaints or reports), and
      7. Human resource representatives (including all central University Human Resources staff).
   2. Allegations: to the extent possible, allegations of policy violations should provide factual details such as, but not limited to, time, place, actions, participants, and witnesses. Allegations do not necessarily have to be based on firsthand observation of events to be "specific and credible," but direct observation normally results in greater specificity and credibility than indirect knowledge.
   3. Graduate assistant: a graduate student employed by the university as a research assistant or teaching assistant.
   4. Human resources representative: the individual designated as a unit's departmental authority on human resource policies and procedures, and all central human resources staff.
   5. Impacted party: a person who allegedly has been harassed.
   6. Instructor: a person engaged in teaching students or in evaluation or supervision, direct or indirect, of a student's academic work.
   7. Member of the university community: any university student, or faculty or staff member.
   8. Protected interests: university employment, education, on-campus living, or participation in a university activity.
   9. Reporting party: the person who brings a complaint of violation of this policy, who could be an impacted party, a third-party reporter, or an academic or administrative officer of the university.
   10. Responding party: a person who has been accused of harassment.
   11. Stalking:
       1. "Stalking" means engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to:
          1. Fear for their safety or the safety of others; or
          2. Suffer substantial emotional distress.
       2. Examples of stalking include: 
          1. Attempting to gather information about the target of unwelcome conduct;  
          2. Vandalism, including attacks on data and equipment;
          3. Direct physical and/or verbal threats against an impacted party or an impacted party's loved ones, including animal abuse;
          4. Gathering of information about an impacted party from family, friends, co-workers, and/or classmates;
          5. Manipulative and controlling behaviors such as threats to harm oneself, or threats to harm someone close to the impacted party;
          6. Defamation or slander against the impacted party, posting false information about the impacted party and/or posing as the impacted party to post to websites, newsgroups, blogs, or other sites that allow public contributions, encouraging others to harass the impacted party;
          7. Posing as someone other than oneself to initiate transactions, financial credit, loans, or other contractual agreements;
          8. Arranging to meet an impacted party under false pretenses. 
   12. Supervisor: a person who has authority either: 1) to undertake or recommend tangible employment decisions (those that significantly change an employee's employment status, such as, but not limited to, hiring, firing, promoting, demoting, reviewing performance, reassigning, and compensation decisions) affecting an employee, or 2) to direct the employee's daily work activities.
   13. Third-party reporter: a person who brings a complaint alleging that someone else has been harassed. A third-party reporter does not need to be a member of the university community (i.e., a current university faculty, staff, or student).

1. Individuals who believe they have experienced harassment are encouraged to report it, even if they are not certain whether a violation of this policy has occurred. Reports of protected class harassment (see II-3 Human Rights) should be brought to the Office of Institutional Equity under this policy. Reports also may be directed separately to other offices under applicable policies and procedures as follows:
   1. Complaints that a student violated the rights of any member of the university community may be investigated under a process initiated by the Dean of Students (such as, but not limited to, the Code of Student Life;
   2. Complaints that a faculty member violated the rights of any member of the university community may be investigated under a process initiated by the Provost (such as, but not limited to, III-15 Professional Ethics and Academic Responsibility);
   3. Complaints that a staff member violated the rights of any member of the university community may be investigated under a process initiated by the Senior Human Resources Leadership Representative for the staff member's unit (such as, but not limited to, III-16 Ethics and Responsibilities for University of Iowa Staff). The Senior Human Resources Leadership Representative may appoint a designee to conduct the investigation with the approval of University Human Resources and the Office of Institutional Equity. 
2. A complaint that this policy has been violated may be brought through informal or formal channels by any member of the university community, including a third-party reporter, or by the university itself. A complaint must clearly state the allegations of harassment to warrant an investigation. There is no time limit for bringing a complaint; however, it may be difficult to substantiate the allegations if they are made after significant time has passed. Therefore, prompt reporting of complaints is strongly encouraged.
3. Substantial weight will be given to the wishes of the impacted party when determining how to respond to a complaint. However, the university may investigate the allegations even without the impacted party's consent, if circumstances warrant (such as when there are multiple complaints of harassment involving the same person or allegations are particularly egregious).
4. Anyone (impacted parties or others) who wishes to consult with someone about a specific situation without making a complaint, or who wishes simply to learn more about enforcement of this Anti-Harassment Policy may contact any of the following offices or organizations: These offices are exempt from the reporting requirements set forth below in II-14.5e. In addition, staff in these offices and organizations generally have professional or legal obligations to keep communications with their clients confidential. Faculty and staff in other university offices typically do not have confidentiality obligations and may be required to report allegations as described below in II-14.5e.
   1. Office of the Ombudsperson (for faculty, staff, or students), 308 Jefferson Building;
   2. Employee Assistance Program (for faculty or staff), 121-50 University Services Building;
   3. University Counseling Service (for students), 3223 Westlawn;
   4. Women's Resource and Action Center (for faculty, other instructors, staff, students, or visitors), Bowman House;
   5. Domestic Violence Intervention Program (certified advocates) (for faculty, other instructors, staff, students, or visitors), 1105 South Gilbert Court, Iowa City.

1. A formal complaint pursuant to this policy must be brought to one of the following offices for investigation depending upon the status of the responding party and the nature of the allegations:
   1. Protected class harassment. If the complaint alleges harassment based on a classification covered by II-3 Human Rights (race, creed, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth and related conditions), disability, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, service in the U.S. military, sexual orientation, gender identity, or associational preferences), a formal complaint should be brought to the Office of Institutional Equity (202 Jessup Hall, 319-335-0705) regardless of the status of the responding party.
   2. Other harassment. If the complaint alleges harassment that is not based on a classification covered by II-3 Human Rights (race, creed, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth and related conditions), disability, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, service in the U.S. military, sexual orientation, gender identity, or associational preferences), a person should bring a formal complaint to one of the following offices depending on the status of the responding party:
      1. Faculty or instructor. If the responding party is a faculty member, teaching assistant, or other instructor, a formal complaint should be brought to the responding party's collegiate dean or to the Office of the Provost (111 Jessup Hall, 319-335-3565);
      2. Staff member. If the responding party is a staff member, a formal complaint should be brought to the Senior Human Resources Leadership Representative for the unit employing the responding party;
      3. Student. If the responding party is a student, a formal complaint should be brought to the Dean of Students (135 Iowa Memorial Union, 319-335-1162) or the Dean of the Graduate College (201 Gilmore Hall, 319-335-2143).
2. A formal complaint may be brought after an informal resolution was not successfully reached, or may be brought immediately without pursuing informal resolution.
3. The purpose of the investigation is to establish whether there is a reasonable basis for believing that a violation of this policy has occurred. In conducting the investigation, the investigating office will make reasonable efforts to interview the impacted party, the reporting party (if other than the impacted party), and the responding party, and may interview other persons believed to have pertinent factual knowledge, as well as review any relevant documentary evidence. At all times, the investigating office will take steps to ensure confidentiality to the extent possible.
4. When a formal complaint is brought, the responding party will be informed of the allegations, the identity of the impacted and/or reporting party, and the facts surrounding the allegations. The investigation will afford the responding party an opportunity to respond to the allegations and evidence provided by the reporting party and/or impacted party, and to provide a statement of the facts as perceived by the responding party.
5. At the conclusion of the investigation, the investigating office will issue a written finding which will summarize the evidence gathered and state whether or not there is a reasonable basis for believing that a violation of this policy has occurred. The written finding will normally be issued within 60 days of when the complaint was filed. When it is not reasonably possible to issue the finding within 60 days, the investigating office will notify the impacted party and the responding party that the finding will be delayed and indicate the reasons for the delay. The impacted party and the responding party will receive a copy of the written finding, which is to remain confidential as defined below by II-14.12c. Third-party reporters will be notified only that the proceedings are concluded.
6. If the investigating office finds a reasonable basis for believing that a violation of this policy has occurred, the matter will be referred to the appropriate administrator for further consideration as outlined in II-14.7 below.

Formal disciplinary action taken in response to alleged violations of this policy by:

1. tenure track, clinical track, and research track faculty members will be governed by the Faculty Dispute Procedures (III-29) and that portion of those procedures dealing with faculty ethics (III-29.7); instructional track faculty members will be governed by III-10.11 Instructional Track policy and the grievance procedures therein.
2. staff members will be governed by applicable Regents Merit System Rules and University policies, including III-16 Ethics and Responsibility Statement for Staff, and the applicable  grievance  procedures, including III-28 Conflict Management Resources for University Staff;
3. graduate assistants, when dismissal is sought, will be governed by the procedure for dismissal of graduate assistants (III-12.4). When disciplinary action other than dismissal is taken by the dean of the employing college, a graduate assistant may appeal through those procedures established for graduate assistant employees;
4. students will be governed by Student Misconduct Procedure.

1. Impacted parties will be informed of relevant procedural steps taken during the investigation and any interim protective measures taken. An impacted party may be accompanied by an advocate and other support persons during the investigation process if the impacted party so desires.
2. Throughout the investigation and resolution of a complaint, steps will be taken to protect impacted parties, reporting parties, witnesses, and others from harm caused by continuation of the alleged harassing behavior.
3. Retaliation against impacted parties, reporting parties, and/or witnesses who provide information during an investigation pursuant to this policy is prohibited by II-11 Anti-Retaliation. Reasonable action will be taken to assure that impacted parties, reporting parties, and/or witnesses suffer no retaliation as a result of their activities with regard to the process.
4. Steps that may be taken to protect impacted parties, reporting parties, witnesses, and others from continued harassment and/or retaliation might include:
   1.  lateral transfers of one or more of the parties in an employment setting and a comparable move if a classroom setting is involved, and
   2.  arrangement that academic and/or employment evaluations concerning reporting parties or others be made by an appropriate individual other than the responding party.
5. Any retaliation against impacted parties, reporting parties or witnesses should be reported pursuant to the Anti-Retaliation Policy (II-11). Retaliation may result in disciplinary action against the person committing the retaliatory act(s).
6. The Provost, a dean, a DEO, or any vice president may, at any time during or after an investigation of allegations of harassment, place on leave or otherwise restrict from employment and/or access to campus any responding party if the Provost, dean, DEO, or vice president finds that it is reasonably certain that:
   1. the employee engaged in harassment in violation of this policy, and
   2. serious and immediate harm will ensue if the person continues to be present at work. Similarly, if the responding party is a student, interim sanctions may be imposed pursuant to Section 10 of the Student Misconduct Procedure.

1. In order to empower community members to voice concerns and bring complaints, the confidentiality of all parties will be protected to the greatest extent possible. However, confidentiality cannot be guaranteed in all cases, and legal obligations may require the university to take some action once it is made aware that harassment may be occurring, even when the impacted party is reluctant to proceed. Appropriate university officials will be consulted, including the Office of Institutional Equity when the complaint alleges harassment based on a protected classification (see II-14.5e above), and information will be shared only with those individuals who need to know it to implement this policy.
2. Impacted parties, third-party reporters, and responding parties are expected to maintain confidentiality as well. They are not prohibited from discussing the situation outside of the work or educational environment. However, the matter should not be discussed in the work or educational environment.
3. Dissemination of documents relating to complaints of harassment and/or to the investigation of such complaints, other than as necessary to pursue an appeal, grievance, or other legal or administrative proceeding, is prohibited.
4. Failure to maintain confidentiality by a responding party may be considered to be a form of retaliation in violation of II-14.10c of this policy. Failure to maintain confidentiality by any party (impacted party, third-party reporter, or responding party) may result in disciplinary action.