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Campus Safety Options

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Campus

Campus Safety Options

Students in Library

Campus Safety Options

Under a federal law called Title IX, all schools are required to have systems in place to respond to allegations of sexual assault. Victims can contact the school’s Title IX coordinator at any time to receive interim protective measures and/or start the school investigation process. The Title IX coordinator is the person responsible for providing resource information, implementing interim measures and overseeing campus sexual misconduct investigations.

Contact information for the Title IX coordinator is usually available on the school’s website. If a victim discloses a sexual assault to other school employees, such as a professor, academic advisor or resident advisor, they are usually required to notify the Title IX coordinator. When the Title IX coordinator learns of a sexual assault, they usually reach out by email with information about school support resources and about the school’s investigation process

Request for Confidentiality During Campus Disciplinary Action

A victim can ask the school not to reveal his or her name to the accused person. A victim can also ask the school not to take any action when it learns of the sexual assault. The request to keep the victim's name confidential may limit the school's ability to fully respond to the assault. In rare cases, a school may decide to reveal the victims name to the accused person and to proceed with an investigation even if the victim does not want it to go forward. This is because Title IX requires institutions to provide a safe and nondiscriminatory environment for all students, and the school might have to investigate the assault as part of this duty. However, the victim still has the choice of whether to participate in the investigation.

Request for Interim Measures

Interim measures are steps a school takes to address safety and comfort as soon as the school learns of the sexual assault, even if no investigation takes place. Victims have input into creating the interim measures that address their needs on campus. Interim measures can include:

  • Adjustments to class schedules.
  • Changes to campus living arrangements.
  • Provision of counseling/mental health support.
  • Assistance with deadlines for coursework and exams.
  • Imposition of a campus no-contact order.

A victim can ask the Title IX coordinator to implement interim measures at any time after a complaint has been made.

Rights During the Campus Process

The campus process will be different from school to school. Most schools put a link to their sexual misconduct policies and procedures in the Title IX section of their website. No matter how the school’s process works, victims have the right to:

  • Receive regular status updates about the investigation.
  • Be accompanied by a support person during the investigation.
  • Provide evidence and names of witnesses to the investigator.
  • Receive a written notice of the outcome of any investigation and sanctions.
  • Have an equal opportunity as the accused person to participate at every level of the investigation.
  • Be protected from any retaliation for having made a complaint of sexual assault.

Potential Outcomes of Campus Process

If a student is found responsible for violating a school’s sexual misconduct policy, the school can impose a range of sanctions. The most serious sanction a school can impose is to expel the violating student from school. The range of sanctions are usually listed in the school’s sexual misconduct policy.

Protection from Retaliation

Under Title IX, people who make a complaint to their school are protected from retaliation. Retaliation is when any person takes action against the victim (for example, threatening or harassing) for participating in the school’s misconduct process. Victims can talk to the Title IX coordinator about retaliation. The Title IX coordinator can take steps to address the retaliation, including investigating the retaliation as a possible violation of school policy.