We encourage all members of the Tulane community to report these concerns. You may file a concern via the Campus Reporting Form, by email at oie@tulane.edu, by phone at 504-862-8083, or in person at 1555 Poydras Street, Suite 964. You can remain anonymous.
Equal Opportunity/Anti-Discrimination Policies (EO/AD Policies)
If you have been accused of discrimination or harassment, please contact OIE at 504-862-8083. OIE can connect parties to support services. Case Management & Victim Support Services is available for students. The Employee Assistance Program and other community resources are available to parties involved in an investigation.
Tulane’s OIE and Title IX teams work closely together in an effort to prevent and address discrimination and harassment on our campuses. OIE works to advance Tulane’s commitment to fair and equitable treatment of all members of the university community in employment and educational opportunities. Title IX is a federal statute prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs or activities. OIE manages discrimination of all types against protected classes whereas Title IX office focuses on sexual harassment and discrimination.
The OIE team provides innovative educational programs to staff and faculty in order to foster a safe working and learning environment. In addition to a library of helpful resources, we offer online courses in harassment and discrimination prevention which are designed to educate all of us on how to better recognize, respond to, address, and ultimately prevent discrimination and harassment at Tulane.
We have full confidence in our investigative process and the recommendations of our investigators. Keep in mind that some cases are administratively closed when a complainant decides not to move forward, or an investigator determines there is not enough evidence to proceed. Others are informally resolved through the agreement of both parties. In the cases that remain, an investigator determines whether a violation of EO/AD policies occurred. Sometimes the conduct alleged, though it may be offensive, does not meet the standard of harassment or discrimination outlined in the policies or under the law.
The complainant and respondent both have the opportunity to appeal the findings and outcome of a matter that was formally investigated and resulted in a written determination.
You may begin the appeal process by writing to the Manager of the Office of Institutional Equity (1555 Poydras Street, Suite 964, New Orleans, LA 70112 or oie@tulane.edu) no later than 5:00 p.m. on the tenth business day following the date of the Office of Institutional Equity’s written notice of the outcome of the investigation. Reasons for requesting an appeal are outlined in the EO/AD Policies.
Numbers & Charts
It is common for findings of “no violation” to outnumber cases in which a violation has occurred. In order for investigators to determine a violation has occurred, the conduct alleged must be in violation of Tulane’s EO/AD Policies. Some of the conduct alleged in OIE reports, though it may be personally offensive, does not meet the standard for harassment or discrimination according to EO/AD policies or law.
When investigators determine no violation has occurred, the OIE team still offers support and resources to the complainant and respondent. We are committed to ensuring that every member of our community feels seen and supported.
Allegations of student sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and exploitation are referred to the Office of Student Conduct for review in collaboration with the Title IX office as part of the “Shifting the Paradigm Program” to end sexual violence on Tulane’s campus. This report only shows cases handled by OIE, as opposed to those referred to the Title IX Office or the Office of Student Conduct.
Generally speaking, students are simply more comfortable and therefore more likely to report than other groups. We believe that the percentage differential instead suggests that we have more work to do to ensure that all members of our community feel as comfortable reporting behaviors that do not align with Tulane’s values as do students.
We find that reporting increases as the university improves its educational programming around equity and our campus community works to break down the social stigma that sometimes surrounds reporting discrimination and misconduct. Simply put, as awareness of equity issues increases at Tulane, so does the willingness to report which results in an increase in allegations.
Depending on the persons affiliation with the University, there a number of support services provided by internal and external resources. Students can receive support through Tulane’s Counseling Center, Case Management and Victim Support Services (CMVSS), the Title IX Office, the Office of Student Affairs and others. For staff and faculty, support is provided through Human Resource Business Partners, the Employee Assistance Program, and other community partnerships.
“General” sex discrimination is the category classification used for forms of discrimination and harassment based on sex that do not fall within in the other outlined categories.
When appropriate, OIE recommends counseling and education, offering the respondent the opportunity to learn, reexamine and change their conduct. Depending on the nature of the violation, sometimes termination is the only option for resolution.
In some limited situations, this may be possible. However, due to updates to federal Title IX regulations in 2020 as well as updates to Tulane faculty policies, complainants are no longer permitted to remain anonymous during most formal investigations. Despite these limitations, we continue to do everything we can to simplify the process, to connect survivors with the resources they need, and to help them understand the options available.
We understand that moving forward with an investigation is a very personal choice and that losing anonymity may be a deterrent. Our survivor-centric approach means that we will respect and support whatever decision is right for each individual – including whether or not to move forward with a formal investigation. Although we cannot predict or guarantee any outcome, when a survivor does decide to move forward with a report, you can be confident that we always proceed with our investigation diligently and earnestly.
Please note: We anticipate another major update to federal Title IX regulations in April and will update our EO/AD policies accordingly at that time. We encourage you to visit our All In website to learn more about how the 2020 federal update impacted our process.
