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4.30                   Policies on Harassment  

          A     Sexual Harassment:  

It is the policy of the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, to provide a campus environment for students, faculty, and staff that is free from sexual harassment; to provide appropriate institutional complaint and appeal processes to ensure thorough and prompt investigation of allegations of sexual harassment; and to apply appropriate disciplinary sanctions to those who engage in sexual harassment.  

       1.          No employee or student may engage in sexual harassment as defined by federal and state law, including rules adopted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the United States Department of Education and the Iowa Civil Rights Commission.  Nor may any employee or student engage in sexually inappropriate conduct contributing to a sexually hostile environment.  This rule shall not be interpreted so as to restrict the right of free expression and academic freedom consistent with the educational mission of the Regent institutions.  

       2.          Regent institutions shall adopt internal guidelines and policies to inform employees and students of the kinds of behavior that will result in disciplinary actions.  The Regent institutions shall also adopt procedures for filing complaints or grievances of sexual harassment, for investigation of allegations of harassment, for appeals relating to the findings of such investigations and for the application of appropriate sanctions when they determine harassment has occurred.  

       3.          This policy and institutional policies and procedures established to implement it, including rights of appeal, are to be communicated to students, faculty, and staff.  The policies shall be explained to all new faculty and staff during their employment interviews or at the onset of their employment.  Orientation sessions for new students will include an explanation of institutional policies on sexual harassment.  The institutions shall provide education and training as necessary to effectuate the policy of the Board.  

          B.    Policy on Harassment and Violence  

The Board of Regents, State of Iowa, is committed to the ideal of educational institutions as forums for the free exchange of ideas.  Diversity of people and ideas is a goal of these institutions and tolerant, civil discourse is their trademark.  The faculty, staff and students of institutions under the governance of the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, comprise communities whose common commitment is to learning.  This commitment requires that the highest value be placed on the use of reason and that harassment and violence involving Regent institutions be renounced as inimical to their goals.  Although some views may be unpopular and shocking to members in an educational community, as well as to visitors, the right to express those views within legal limits is protected by the first amendment to the United States Constitution.  This protection, although broad, does not extend to illegally tolerated.    

It is the policy of the Board of Regents to provide campus environments for students, faculty and staff that are free from conduct which constitutes illegal discriminatory harassment based on individual characteristics of race, ethnic or national origin, gender, color, disability, creed, religion, affectional or associational preference, age or any other basis protected by law or policy.  

Regent institutions shall take appropriate action when any act or misconduct in violation of this policy occurs in one of the following circumstances:       

1.     The act is committed on the campus or at an institution-sponsored
                activity.

2.      The act is committed by an institutional community member while
                 acting in an official capacity or while conducting institutional business.

The following acts, when committed under one of the circumstances which follow, may trigger institutional action:  

1.         Any acts prohibited by the Iowa Criminal Code  

2.         Any conduct, which has the purpose or reasonably foreseeable effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s academic efforts, employment, participation in institutional-sponsored extracurricular activities, or personal health, safety and security.  

The following examples are illustrative of the acts proscribed by this policy, but are not meant to be exclusive:  

1.        Physical assault or abuse.  

2.         Sexual assault or abuse.  

3.         Stalking.  

4.         Threats with a weapon (display of a weapon accompanied by statements or actions which cause justifiable fear or apprehension).  

5.         Verbal or other threats of physical or sexual assault.  

6.         Damage or destruction of another’s private property for the purpose of demeaning the owner or owners.  

7.         Intimidation by threat of violence.    

Regent institutions will have in place appropriate institutional appeal procedures to ensure thorough and prompt investigations of allegations of harassment and violent conduct under this policy and shall apply appropriate disciplinary sanctions to those who engage in such conduct.  

This policy and institutional policies and procedures utilized to implement it, including rights of appeal, are to be communicated to students, faculty and staff.  The institutions shall provide education and training as necessary to effectuate this policy.