After a report is made, the first step will always be to reach out to the impacted individual to offer resources and investigative options. All individuals who make a disclosure to UConn will be contacted by a university professional with an emphasis on care and support. The choice to respond, or not, is yours. You may follow up at any time. Regardless of whether the impacted individual pursues an investigation, supportive resources are available.

If an impacted individual is interested in pursuing an investigation and the alleged behaviors potentially constitute a violation of policy, they will meet with a University Investigator to get an overview of the process and discuss options within the investigation. Additionally, the investigator may enact supportive measures or interim actions (if applicable). All of this may be done with a support person present.

It's important to know that you have power and say throughout this. UConn will take action in the event of sexual misconduct, but the process may differ depending on how you choose to engage in the process.

Alleged acts of sexual misconduct by UConn students are managed by the Office of Community Standards through The Student Code. Please refer to Community Standards' Sexual and Gender Misconduct page for more information and in-depth procedural information.

The Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) is responsible for investigating complaints of discrimination or harassment made against employees. This includes complaints filed by both students and employees. However, the process, while similar, looks a little different than what you can expect when making a report about a UConn student

• Following the receipt of a verbal or written report, you will be contacted by an OIE Investigator who will explain OIE's process and learn more about your situation. If you are a student you will also be contacted by the Assistant Dean of Students for Victim Support Services. Both OIE and the Assistant Dean of Students can discuss the implementation of interim measures (like changes in classes, work study, residence halls, and more). You can respond to either of them, both of them, or neither. It’s your choice. All individuals who participate in OIE’s investigation may bring a support person of their choosing to their meetings with OIE.
• The Investigator’s focus is to gather as much information as possible: from you, from the respondent, and from any other individual who might have relevant information. The Investigator will identify and speak with other people, either those people that you or the respondent named as being important for OIE to speak to or people that we learn about during the course of our investigation. At all times, the Investigator is gathering as much relevant information as possible, including text messages, phone logs, social media exchanges, emails, and whatever you or anyone else involved is able to share. The complainant and the respondent will not be asked to appear for any of these meetings with witnesses, and the witnesses’ participation in the investigation is voluntary. Additional information about the investigation process, as well as the Complaint Procedures may be found at equity.uconn.edu.
• The Investigator will review all of the information gathered and determine whether there are any violations of any University Policies regarding discrimination and harassment. OIE will prepare and issue a written memorandum (Findings and Recommendations) that will describe the allegations that were reviewed and what was done to investigate the concerns, identify all of the facts that are material to the investigation, explain which facts were not disputed, explain and resolve the facts that were disputed, and conclude whether there is a preponderance of evidence—whether it is more likely than not—that the respondent engaged in discrimination or harassment in violation of University policy. You and the respondent will receive a copy of the entire report and the supporting documents at that time. Student names are redacted (removed) from final reports.
  • If OIE does not find a violation of University policy, the process ends. If there is a violation, OIE will send the information to the respondent’s supervisor and the Office of Faculty and Staff Labor Relations (Labor Relations) for appropriate next steps. . If a violation has been found, the Investigator will make recommendations as to disciplinary and remedial measures, which may include disciplinary action against the employee(s) in consultation with the respondent’s manager(s).
• OIE’s Findings and Recommendations in employee cases are shared with a limited group of recipients. The recipients generally will include the President, the Provost, the complainant, the respondent, the respondent’s manager(s) and, where a violation is found or OIE has recommended a management response, Labor Relations. The report generally is not provided to witnesses.
  • Although the investigation process is not confidential, your privacy is treated with discretion. Student names, including the complainant’s, are redacted (removed) from the Findings and Recommendations.
• Persons dissatisfied with OIE’s investigation can file an appeal alleging that new evidence is available that was not accessible during the investigation or that OIE violated its complaint procedures. Parties may also provide OIE with a written response to the findings which will be added to OIE’s file on the matter.
• You also have the right to file a complaint with agencies external to the University, including the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and/or the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO). Please note carefully: OIE’s investigation does not “stop the clock” on filing discrimination or harassment complaints with these external agencies. Specifically, the OCR and CHRO both require that a formal written complaint be filed with them within 180 days of the date when the alleged discriminatory act occurred. The EEOC requires a complaint to be filed with it within 300 days of the date when the alleged discriminatory act occurred.