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Fairness

In any Title IX investigation, we are committed to respecting the rights of both the Complainant (“the accuser or Reporting Party”) and the Respondent (“the accused or Responding Party”). Our process aims to foster an equitable learning and working environment, and the process can only do that by being equitable itself. Below are lists of rights for both the reporting party and the responding party in our Title IX process. These rights are explicitly stated in our policy, in Section 2.8, Subsection K (starting on page 50), and Title IX administrators are available to answer any questions or concerns about the parties’ rights.

Complainant Party's Rights

  • The right to an equitable investigation and appropriate resolution of all credible allegations of sexual misconduct or discrimination made in good faith to Oklahoma City University officials;
  • The right to timely written notice of all alleged violations, including the identity
    of the parties involved (if known), the precise misconduct being alleged, the
    date and location of the alleged misconduct (if known), the implicated policies
    and procedures, and possible sanctions.
  • The right to timely written notice of any material adjustments to the allegations
    (e.g., additional incidents or allegations, additional Complainants,
    unsubstantiated allegations) and any attendant adjustments needed to clarify
    potentially implicated policy violations
  • The right to be informed in advance of any public release of information regarding the incident;
  • The right not to have any personally identifiable information released to the public, without their consent;
  • The right to be treated with respect by Oklahoma City University officials;
  • The right to have Oklahoma City University policies and procedures followed without material deviation;
  • The right not to be pressured to mediate or otherwise informally resolve any reported misconduct involving violence, including sexual violence;
  • The right not to be discouraged by Oklahoma City University officials from reporting sexual misconduct or discrimination to both on-campus and off-campus authorities;
  • The right to be informed by Oklahoma City University officials of options to notify proper law enforcement authorities, including on-campus and local police, and the option to be assisted by campus authorities in notifying such authorities, if the reporting party so chooses. This also includes the right not to be pressured to report, as well;
  • The right to have reports of sexual misconduct responded to promptly and with sensitivity by campus law enforcement and other campus officials;
  • The right to be notified of available counseling, mental health, victim advocacy, health, legal assistance, student financial aid, visa and immigration assistance, or other student services, both on campus and in the community;
  • The right to a campus no contact order (or a trespass order against a non-affiliated third party) when someone has engaged in or threatens to engage in stalking, threatening, harassing or other improper behavior that presents a danger to the welfare of the reporting party or others;
  • The right to notification of and options for, and available assistance in, changing academic and living situations after an alleged sexual misconduct incident, if so requested by the reporting party and if such changes are reasonably available (no formal report, or investigation, campus or criminal, need occur before this option is available). Accommodations may include:
    • Change of an on-campus student’s housing to a different on-campus location;
    • Assistance from University support staff in completing the relocation;
    • Transportation accommodations;
    • Arranging to dissolve a housing contract and pro-rating a refund;
    • Exam (paper, assignment) rescheduling;
    • Taking an incomplete in a class;
    • Transferring class sections;
    • Temporary withdrawal;
    • Alternative course completion options.
  • The right to have Oklahoma City University maintain such accommodations for as long as is necessary, and for protective measures to remain confidential, provided confidentiality does not impair the institution’s ability to provide the accommodations or protective measures;
  • The right to be fully informed of campus policies and procedures as well as the nature and extent of all alleged violations contained within the report;
  • The right to receive sufficiently advanced, written notice of any meeting or
    interview involving the other party, when possible. The right to ask the
    investigators and Decision-Maker(s) to identify and question relevant
    witnesses, including expert witnesses;
  • The right to know the relevant and directly related evidence obtained and to respond
    to that evidence;
  • The right to fair opportunity to provide the Investigator(s) with their account of the
    alleged misconduct and have that account be on the record;
  • The right to receive a copy of the investigation report, including all factual, policy,
    and/or credibility analyses performed, and all relevant and directly related evidence
    available and used to produce the investigation report, subject to the privacy
    limitations imposed by state and federal law, prior to the hearing, and the right to
    have at least ten (10) business days to review the report prior to the hearing;
  • The right to respond to the investigation report, including comments providing any
    additional relevant evidence after the opportunity to review the investigation
    report, and to have that response on the record;
  • The right to ask the investigators to identify and question relevant witnesses, including expert witnesses;
  • The right to review all documentary evidence available regarding the report, subject to the privacy limitations imposed by state and federal law, at least 48 hours prior to the hearing;
  • The right to be informed of the names of all witnesses who will be called to give testimony, at least two (2) days prior to the hearing, except in cases where a witness’s identity will not be revealed to the responding party for compelling safety reasons (this does not include the name of the reporting party, which will always be revealed);
  • The right to be informed of the names of all witnesses who will be called to give testimony, at least two (2) days prior to the hearing, except in cases where a witness’s identity will not be revealed to the responding party for compelling safety reasons (this does not include the name of the reporting party, which will always be revealed);
  • The right to regular updates on the status of the investigation and/or resolution;
  • The right not to have irrelevant prior sexual history admitted as evidence;
  • The right to have reports heard by hearing and appeals officers who have received
    at least eight hours of annual sexual misconduct training;
  • The right to have reports heard by hearing and appeals officers who have received at least eight hours of annual sexual misconduct training;
  • The right to a panel that is not single-sex in its composition, if a panel is used;
  • The right to preservation of privacy, to the extent possible and permitted by law;
  • The right to meetings, interviews and/or hearings that are closed to the public;
  • The right to petition that any Oklahoma City University representative in the process be recused on the basis of demonstrated bias and/or conflict of interest;
  • The right to bring a victim advocate or advisor of the reporting party’s choosing to all phases of the investigation and resolution proceeding;
  • The right to provide evidence by means other than being in the same room with the Respondent;
  • The right to have the university compel the participation of student, faculty and staff witnesses, and the opportunity (if desired) to ask questions, directly or indirectly, of all present witnesses [including the Respondent], and the right to challenge documentary evidence;
  • The right to be present for all testimony given and evidence presented during any resolution-related hearing;
  • The right to the use of the appropriate standard of evidence, preponderance of the evidence, to make a finding after an objective evaluation of all relevant evidence.
  • The right to submit an impact statement in person or in writing to the Decision-makers following determination of responsibility, but prior to sanctioning;
  • The right to be promptly informed in written Notice of Outcome letter of the finding(s) and sanction of the resolution process in writing and a detailed rationale (including, an explanation of how credibility was assessed), delivered simultaneously without undue delay to the parties;
  • The right to be informed in writing of when a decision by Oklahoma City University is considered final, any changes to the sanction to occur before the decision is finalized, to be informed of the right to appeal the finding and sanction of the resolution process, and the procedures for doing so in accordance with the standards for appeal established by Oklahoma City University.
  • The right to a fundamentally fair resolution as defined in these procedures.

Respondent Party's Rights

  • The right to investigation and appropriate resolution of all credible reports of sexual misconduct and/or discrimination made in good faith to Oklahoma City University administrators;
  • The right to timely written notice of all alleged violations, including the identity of the parties involved (if known), the precise misconduct being alleged, the date and location of the alleged misconduct (if known),the applicable policies and procedures and possible sanctions;
  • The right to timely written notice of any material adjustments to the allegations (e.g., additional incidents or allegations, additional Complainants, unsubstantiated allegations) and any attendant adjustments needed to clarify potentially implicated policy violations.
  • The right to be informed in advance, when possible, of any public release of information regarding the report;
  • The right to be treated with respect by Oklahoma City University officials;
  • The right to have Oklahoma City University policies and procedures followed without material deviation;
  • The right to be informed of and have access to campus resources for medical, health, counseling, and advisory services;
  • The right to have the University maintain such actions for as long as necessary and for supportive measures to remain private, provided privacy does not impair the University’s ability to provide the supportive measures.
  • The right to receive sufficiently advanced, written notice of any meeting or interview involving the other party, when possible.
  • The right to ask the Investigator(s) and Decision-maker(s) to identify and question relevant witnesses, including expert witnesses.
  • The right to provide the Investigator(s)/Decision-maker(s) with a list of questions that, if deemed relevant by the Investigator(s)/Chair, may be asked of any party or witness.
  • The right to fair opportunity to provide the Investigator(s) with their account of the alleged misconduct and have that account be on the record.
  • The right to receive a copy of the investigation report, including all factual, policy, and/or credibility analyses performed, and all relevant and directly related evidence available and used to produce the investigation report, subject to the privacy limitations imposed by state and federal law, prior to the hearing, and the right to have at least ten (10) business days to review the report prior to the hearing.
  • The right to respond to the investigation report, including comments providing any additional relevant evidence after the opportunity to review the investigation report, and to have that response on the record.
  • The right to be informed of the names of all witnesses whose information will be used to make a finding, in advance of that finding, when relevant.
  • The right to regular updates on the status of the investigation and/or resolution.
  • The right not to have irrelevant prior sexual history admitted as evidence in a
    campus resolution process;
  • The right to have reports heard by hearing and appeals officers who have received
    at least eight hours of annual training;
  • The right to petition that any Oklahoma City University representative be recused
    from the resolution process on the basis of demonstrated bias and/or conflict of
    interest;
  • The right to a panel that is not single-sex in its composition, if a panel is used;
  • The right to meetings, interviews, and hearings that are closed to the public;
  • The right to have Oklahoma City University compel the participation of student,
    faculty and staff witnesses, and the opportunity to ask questions, directly or
    indirectly, of all present witnesses, and the right to challenge documentary
    evidence;
  • The right to have an advisor of their choice to accompany and assist in the
    campus resolution process;
  • The right to a fundamentally fair resolution, as defined in these procedures;
  • The right to be present, including presence via remote technology, during all
    testimony given and evidence presented during any formal grievance hearing.
  • The right to submit an impact statement in person or in writing to the DecisionMaker(s) following any determination of responsibility, but prior to sanctioning;
  • The right to a decision based solely on the evidence presented during the
    resolution process. Such evidence shall be credible, relevant, based in fact, and
    without prejudice;
  • The right to be promptly informed in a written Notice of Outcome letter of the
    finding(s) and sanction of the resolution process and a detailed rationale (including
    and explanation of how credibility was assessed), delivered simultaneously without
    undue delay to the parties;
  • The right to be informed in writing of when a decision of the Oklahoma City
    University is considered final, any changes to the sanction to occur before the
    decision is finalized, to be informed of the right to appeal the finding and/or
    sanction of the resolution process, and the procedures for doing so in accordance
    with the standards for appeal established by Oklahoma City University.