III. Reporting Options and Considerations

In this policy, the following terms and definitions will be used:

• Report – any complaint or information provided to the Title IX Coordinator, Title IX Team, or a Responsible Employee regarding an incident of sexual misconduct, whether provided by the person experiencing the incident of sexual misconduct, a third party, or another.
• Reporting Party – the individual who reports to have experienced or is reported to have experienced an incident of sexual misconduct.
• Responding Party– the individual(s) against whom allegations of sexual misconduct have been made.

The College strongly encourages reports of any incident of sexual misconduct to be made as soon after the incident as possible. A Reporting Party has the right and can expect to have incidents of sexual misconduct taken seriously by the College when reported. Only people who need to know will be told and information will be shared only as necessary with investigators, witnesses, and the Responding Party.

Different people on campus have different reporting responsibilities and different abilities to maintain confidentiality under Title IX and College policy, depending on their roles. When consulting campus resources or speaking with someone at the College about sexual assault, you should be aware of confidentiality  and mandatory reporting as required by law in order to make informed choices.

If you are unsure of someone’s duties and ability to maintain the confidentiality of your conversations, ask them before you talk to them. They will be able to tell you, and help you make decisions about who can best assist and/or support you.

Responsible Employees

Certain employees at the College are considered “Responsible Employees” under Title IX, which means that they are employees who are required to report any alleged sexual misconduct incidents to the Title IX Coordinator.

The following are Responsible Employees under this Policy:

• The President of the College;
• All members of the senior administration (vice presidents, associate vice presidents, deans, athletic director, special and executive assistants to the president, and the chief communications officer);
• The Title IX Team;
• All employees within the Department of Public Safety;
• The Student Life Office members;
• Resident Assistants and Residence Directors;
• The Athletics Department;
• The Human Resources Office;
• All Faculty; and
• Staff who have sufficient authority to take action to address the concern (because, for example, the Staff member supervises the person whose behavior is being complained of or the Staff member has authority over the office or venue where the misconduct occurred).

To formally report an incident of sexual misconduct and/or related concern, you are encouraged to contact a member of the Title IX Team (see Section II, above, for contact information).

You may also inform any of the Responsible Employees, listed above. Because the College is required by law to investigate these matters, all Responsible Employees must report any claims or incidents arising under the Sexual Misconduct Policy to the Title IX Coordinator.

Confidentiality

Once the College has received a Report of possible sexual misconduct, complete confidentiality may not be possible.  The College is required by law to protect the safety of its campus and its campus community.  When the College receives a Report of sexual misconduct, it has a legal obligation to respond in a timely and appropriate manner. Reasonable attempts will be made to preserve confidentiality.  Only those employees with a legitimate need-to-know will be kept apprised of the investigation details. Additionally, the Reporting Party, the Responding Party, and any third-parties involved in an investigation will be advised of the need to preserve confidentiality. 

However, based on information gathered, the College may determine that it has a responsibility to initiate an investigation or a complaint procedure (even without the Reporting Party’s participation). The College will balance any requests for confidentiality against the responsibility to provide a safe and nondiscriminatory environment for all students, staff, and faculty.  Complete confidentiality could handicap the College’s ability to conduct a thorough investigation of the allegations. 

The Title IX Coordinator will evaluate all requests for confidentiality to determine the extent to which the College can preserve confidentiality and still satisfy its obligations under Title IX and this Policy.  In determining whether a Reporting Party's request of sexual misconduct can be kept confidential or not be acted upon, Centre College will consider multiple factors, including:

• whether the incident involved the use of a weapon;
• if there have been other reports of misconduct committed by the accused student;
• whether the incident involved multiple perpetrators;
• whether the incident suggests a pattern of misconduct at a particular location or by a particular organization or person;
• the risk of harm to self or others; or
• the Reporting Party's willingness to pursue a complaint.

When the College is obligated to provide the College community with timely warnings, names of the individuals are not used and every effort will be made to remove identifying information.

Confidential Disclosure

Despite the College’s strong interest in having individuals report allegations of sexual misconduct, the College realizes that not every individual is prepared to make a Report to the College.

The College has designated certain specific persons as confidential resources for individuals who prefer to speak with someone confidentially about their concerns.  These confidential resources will not tell anyone else your private, personally identifiable information unless there is cause for fear for your safety, or the safety of others.

If you want details of the incident to be kept confidential, you should speak with one of the following confidential resources:

• Centre College Counselors;
• the College Chaplain;
• Parsons Student Health Center staff; and/or
• Off-campus mental health providers or rape crisis providers (even they are providing services on campus, they are considered providers from outside the College, and are, therefor, confidential resources). 

Persons in these positions are not required to disclose any personally identifiable information given in confidence, unless given permission by the individual, the allegations involve the physical or sexual abuse of a child or vulnerable adult, or there is an imminent threat to the life of any person.  (On-campus confidential resources will submit non-identifying, anonymous information about violations of this Policy to the Department of Public Safety and the Title IX Coordinator for purposes of legally required statistical reporting under the Clery Act.)

Reports to Law Enforcement

As noted above, Reporting Parties are strongly encouraged to notify local law enforcement authorities of any criminal sexual misconduct.  Individuals will be assisted, upon request, in notifying law enforcement by the Department of Public Safety or the Title IX Coordinator.  They can assist you with making claims, petitioning for restraining orders, and/or advising on other legal options that may be available to you.  If requested, they will accompany you to the police station.  Ampersand (formerly known as the Bluegrass Rape Crisis Center) can also assist with restraining orders, legal resources, or accompany to the police department.

Note that if you choose only to communicate with a confidential resource (and do not notify a Responsible Employee or law enforcement), no further action will be taken.