Accused of a Title IX Violation/Sexual Misconduct at Dartmouth College?

This page will help you understand the process and your options.

Accused of a Title IX Violation/Sexual Misconduct at Dartmouth College?

This page will help you understand the process and your options.

If you are a student or faculty member at Dartmouth and have been accused of violating its Title IX/sexual misconduct policy, you need an advisor to help protect your future. Title IX “grievance procedures” (a school’s process of investigating allegations, determining “guilt,” and issuing punishments) are surprisingly complex and, too often, unfair. The consequences for being found guilty (“responsible”) are real and can change the course of the rest of your life.

Depending on your situation, you are facing the possibility of suspension, expulsion, referral for criminal prosecution, termination of employment, revocation or future denial of professional licensing, or loss of immigration status and deportation. Many suspensions are effectively expulsions because students often lose access to scholarships and opportunities (whether athletic, professional, or academic) upon which their re-enrollment depends.

You can start working with an advisor at any point in the process, but earlier is always better because missed opportunities and mistakes made early can be hard or impossible to overcome later.

If you have just recently been accused or suspect you might be, make sure to read our guide on What to Do if You Are Wrongly Accused of a Title IX Violation. If you are a parent of an accused student, read our page for parents.

What is Title IX?

Title IX is a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs and activities. Since the late 1990s, it has been increasingly applied to misconduct allegations. Schools are under incredible pressure to protect members of the community who claim to be victims.

If the world of Title IX is entirely new to you, you are not alone. Many students and parents wonder why schools like Dartmouth are now determining guilt or innocence in what are often felony-level allegations. If you would like to learn more about Title IX, consider reading the following guides:

  1. What is Title IX? A Quick Beginner’s Guide
  2. Timeline: The Movement for Fairness for Accused Students and Teachers

What Would Dartmouth College Consider a Title IX Violation?

Title IX/sexual misconduct policies often prohibit the following conduct:

1. Sexual Harassment / Hostile Environment
2. Sexual Assault / Non-Consensual Sexual Contact
3. Rape / Non-Consensual Sexual Intercourse
4. Dating or Domestic Violence
5. Stalking
6. Sexual Exploitation

Each allegation is unique, and there are unique strategies to defend against each of them. Be aware that the Dartmouth may add charges throughout the process, including charges that fall under its “non-Title IX policies,” such as student or professional code of conduct policies.

Be aware that the rights afforded to you under non-Title IX policies are different than Title IX policies, and schools sometimes inappropriately pursue charges under the wrong policy.

Accused Student Lawsuits and Federal Investigations Against Dartmouth

Since 2011, nearly 900 higher ed students who were accused of violating their schools’ Title IX policies have sued their schools, alleging that the school violated their rights while investigating the allegations against them or determining their “guilt.” You should be aware that Dartmouth is one of those schools (example: Doe v. Trustees of Dartmouth College). We have studied these lawsuits extensively and track them in our Accused Students Database, which is publicly available. We use the knowledge learned from these lawsuits to help us advise our clients.

You should also be aware that Dartmouth has also been investigated by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights for being non-compliant with Title IX. We track the “resolutions” of these investigations in our OCR Resolutions Database.

Title IX Grievance Procedures at Dartmouth

The process will be divided into several phases. Click on a tab to learn more about each one.

Dartmouth receives a report of alleged misconduct and attempts to gather more information to see if it makes sense to formally charge and investigate. Often, the alleged victim (the “complainant”) will sign a formal complaint. If the complainant does not wish to sign a formal complaint, the Title IX Coordinator must decide whether to sign a formal complaint and initiate an investigation.

At this stage, the Title IX Coordinator may also determine whether certain “interim measures” such as academic or housing accommodations, no-contact orders, and so forth are appropriate.

Once a formal complaint is signed, Dartmouth can begin investigating. As the accused party, you will have the opportunity to present evidence, but there will be limitations to your ability to see and respond to the evidence against you. Those limitations will largely depend on the regulations currently in effect. Be aware that the rules of evidence in Title IX proceedings are more…relaxed than those of a courtroom. In some cases, this can work for you or against you.

How you present, request, and respond to evidence is critical to reaching a favorable outcome. A professional Title IX advisor can help.

This phase is usually (but not always) comprised of two parts: a hearing and the decision (“determination”).

A hearing is like a miniature trial. The parties will have the opportunity to make opening and closing statements and present questions to be posed to the other party. They will not have the opportunity to personally cross-examine the other party. Depending on the regulations in effect, the school may or may not offer a hearing.

Dartmouth will render a decision, finding you either guilty (“responsible”) or not guilty (“not responsible”). The school should also send the parties an explanation (“rationale”) for their decision. If you are found responsible, the school will also determine the appropriate punishment (“sanctions”).

Both parties will have the opportunity to appeal Dartmouth‘s decision. This means if you are found not responsible for the allegations, the complainant will have the opportunity to ask the school to “reverse” its decision.

If you were found responsible, you will have several bases to appeal:

  1. A procedural irregularity that affected the outcome
  2. New evidence that could affect the outcome and was not reasonably available before the school made its decision
  3. Bias among the Title IX coordinator, investigator(s), or decision-maker

You may have additional avenues to appeal depending on Dartmouth‘s current policies. Usually, the window to appeal is only a few days, so you must act quickly. If you have been found responsible, read our guide on what to do.

You Will Need Help from a Title IX Advisor

Title IX “grievance procedures” are complex. They are subject to federal regulations, judicial decisions in both state and federal courts, federal and state laws, school policies, and the undisclosed (and often unfair) interests and biases of administrators.

For those who are accused, the risks are high: suspension, expulsion, criminal prosecution, termination, revocation of licensing, and more are all possibilities. And unless you are able and willing to spend years of your life and potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in litigation, you have one shot to get a favorable outcome.

If you are a student or faculty member at Dartmouth and have been accused of violating its Title IX/sexual misconduct policy, you need an advisor to help protect your future. Title IX “grievance procedures” (a school’s process of investigating allegations, determining “guilt,” and issuing punishments) are surprisingly complex and, too often, unfair. The consequences for being found guilty (“responsible”) are real and can change the course of the rest of your life.

Depending on your situation, you are facing the possibility of suspension, expulsion, referral for criminal prosecution, termination of employment, revocation or future denial of professional licensing, or loss of immigration status and deportation. Many suspensions are effectively expulsions because students often lose access to scholarships and opportunities (whether athletic, professional, or academic) upon which their re-enrollment depends.

You can start working with an advisor at any point in the process, but earlier is always better because missed opportunities and mistakes made early can be hard or impossible to overcome later.

If you have just recently been accused or suspect you might be, make sure to read our guide on What to Do if You Are Wrongly Accused of a Title IX Violation. If you are a parent of an accused student, read our page for parents.

What is Title IX?

Title IX is a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs and activities. Since the late 1990s, it has been increasingly applied to misconduct allegations. Schools are under incredible pressure to protect members of the community who claim to be victims.

If the world of Title IX is entirely new to you, you are not alone. Many students and parents wonder why schools like Dartmouth are now determining guilt or innocence in what are often felony-level allegations. If you would like to learn more about Title IX, consider reading the following guides:

  1. What is Title IX? A Quick Beginner’s Guide
  2. Timeline: The Movement for Fairness for Accused Students and Teachers

What Would Dartmouth College Consider a Title IX Violation?

Title IX/sexual misconduct policies often prohibit the following conduct:

1. Sexual Harassment / Hostile Environment
2. Sexual Assault / Non-Consensual Sexual Contact
3. Rape / Non-Consensual Sexual Intercourse
4. Dating or Domestic Violence
5. Stalking
6. Sexual Exploitation

Each allegation is unique, and there are unique strategies to defend against each of them. Be aware that the Dartmouth may add charges throughout the process, including charges that fall under its “non-Title IX policies,” such as student or professional code of conduct policies.

Be aware that the rights afforded to you under non-Title IX policies are different than Title IX policies, and schools sometimes inappropriately pursue charges under the wrong policy.

Accused Student Lawsuits and Federal Investigations Against Dartmouth

Since 2011, nearly 900 higher ed students who were accused of violating their schools’ Title IX policies have sued their schools, alleging that the school violated their rights while investigating the allegations against them or determining their “guilt.” You should be aware that Dartmouth is one of those schools (example: Doe v. Trustees of Dartmouth College). We have studied these lawsuits extensively and track them in our Accused Students Database, which is publicly available. We use the knowledge learned from these lawsuits to help us advise our clients.

You should also be aware that Dartmouth has also been investigated by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights for being non-compliant with Title IX. We track the “resolutions” of these investigations in our OCR Resolutions Database.

Title IX Grievance Procedures at Dartmouth

The process will be divided into several phases. Click on a tab to learn more about each one.

Dartmouth receives a report of alleged misconduct and attempts to gather more information to see if it makes sense to formally charge and investigate. Often, the alleged victim (the “complainant”) will sign a formal complaint. If the complainant does not wish to sign a formal complaint, the Title IX Coordinator must decide whether to sign a formal complaint and initiate an investigation.

At this stage, the Title IX Coordinator may also determine whether certain “interim measures” such as academic or housing accommodations, no-contact orders, and so forth are appropriate.

Once a formal complaint is signed, Dartmouth can begin investigating. As the accused party, you will have the opportunity to present evidence, but there will be limitations to your ability to see and respond to the evidence against you. Those limitations will largely depend on the regulations currently in effect. Be aware that the rules of evidence in Title IX proceedings are more…relaxed than those of a courtroom. In some cases, this can work for you or against you.

How you present, request, and respond to evidence is critical to reaching a favorable outcome. A professional Title IX advisor can help.

This phase is usually (but not always) comprised of two parts: a hearing and the decision (“determination”).

A hearing is like a miniature trial. The parties will have the opportunity to make opening and closing statements and present questions to be posed to the other party. They will not have the opportunity to personally cross-examine the other party. Depending on the regulations in effect, the school may or may not offer a hearing.

Dartmouth will render a decision, finding you either guilty (“responsible”) or not guilty (“not responsible”). The school should also send the parties an explanation (“rationale”) for their decision. If you are found responsible, the school will also determine the appropriate punishment (“sanctions”).

Both parties will have the opportunity to appeal Dartmouth‘s decision. This means if you are found not responsible for the allegations, the complainant will have the opportunity to ask the school to “reverse” its decision.

If you were found responsible, you will have several bases to appeal:

  1. A procedural irregularity that affected the outcome
  2. New evidence that could affect the outcome and was not reasonably available before the school made its decision
  3. Bias among the Title IX coordinator, investigator(s), or decision-maker

You may have additional avenues to appeal depending on Dartmouth‘s current policies. Usually, the window to appeal is only a few days, so you must act quickly. If you have been found responsible, read our guide on what to do.

You Will Need Help from a Title IX Advisor

Title IX “grievance procedures” are complex. They are subject to federal regulations, judicial decisions in both state and federal courts, federal and state laws, school policies, and the undisclosed (and often unfair) interests and biases of administrators.

For those who are accused, the risks are high: suspension, expulsion, criminal prosecution, termination, revocation of licensing, and more are all possibilities. And unless you are able and willing to spend years of your life and potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in litigation, you have one shot to get a favorable outcome.

Here’s How We Help

We can help you at any stage—from report to investigation to adjudication—with the goal of achieving the best possible outcome. Click a tab below to learn more about how we can help at each stage.

  • Crafting and helping you execute a defense strategy that is tailored to the allegations against you and your specific circumstances

  • Raising timely objections to unfair proceedings based on an understanding of relevant regulations, laws, best practices, and the school’s policies

  • Crafting written communication to administrators that portrays you and the evidence in as favorable a light as possible

  • Navigating confusing or vague no-contact orders and pushing back on such “interim/supportive measures” when they are excessive, self-contradictory, or unfair

  • Evaluating and helping you navigate school policies which are sometimes misapplied, confusing, vague, or contradictory

  • Requesting dismissals of allegations when the school must dismiss them, or when it makes sense to ask the school to exercise its discretion to dismiss them

  • Requesting extensions or accommodations to assist you with academic, well-being, or other matters

  • Evaluating, submitting, obtaining, and preserving evidence

  • Helping you practice telling your story to investigators: what you should include, exclude, emphasize, and how you should tell it

  • Evaluating what situations are favorable or unfavorable for counter-complaints, drafting them, and helping you argue them

  • Documenting meetings in the event that the record is contradicted by administrators or the adverse party

  • Drafting critical responses to investigative reports and evidence exhibits that decision-makers rely on for determining guilt or innocence.

  • Evaluating and gathering supportive witnesses
  • Cross-examining adverse parties and witnesses
  • Preparing you for tough questions during the hearing

  • Drafting opening, closing, impact, and mitigation statements with the goal of persuading the decision-maker to agree with your version of events, reduce the severity of any potential sanctions (punishment), and making special requests regarding potential sanctions for cross-complaints

  • Drafting appeal documents with the goal of overturning a “guilty” outcome and/or reducing the punishment

Alternative Resolution

This is an opportunity to resolve the allegations in a way that minimizes disruptions to all parties’ education and life. We can assist with critical communication during this phase.

Pre-Investigation / Initial Response

When a report has been made to the school alleging that you have committed misconduct but before a formal complaint has been signed and a formal investigation initiated, your rights exist in a gray area where schools have broad discretion. We can assist with emergency matters that arise in this phase, such unreasonable actions by the school that disrupt your housing and education. Learning to strategically manage your communication regarding the allegations and establishing your support network are also key during this phase, and we can help with both.

Probation

In the event that you are required to sanctioned (punished) with probation, managing the requirements of probation can sometimes be tricky. We can help.

Here’s How We Help

We can help you at any stage—from report to investigation to adjudication—with the goal of achieving the best possible outcome. Click a tab below to learn more about how we can help at each stage.

  • Crafting and helping you execute a defense strategy that is tailored to the allegations against you and your specific circumstances

  • Raising timely objections to unfair proceedings based on an understanding of relevant regulations, laws, best practices, and the school’s policies

  • Crafting written communication to administrators that portrays you and the evidence in as favorable a light as possible

  • Navigating confusing or vague no-contact orders and pushing back on such “interim/supportive measures” when they are excessive, self-contradictory, or unfair

  • Evaluating and helping you navigate school policies which are sometimes misapplied, confusing, vague, or contradictory

  • Requesting dismissals of allegations when the school must dismiss them, or when it makes sense to ask the school to exercise its discretion to dismiss them

  • Requesting extensions or accommodations to assist you with academic, well-being, or other matters

  • Evaluating, submitting, obtaining, and preserving evidence

  • Helping you practice telling your story to investigators: what you should include, exclude, emphasize, and how you should tell it

  • Evaluating what situations are favorable or unfavorable for counter-complaints, drafting them, and helping you argue them

  • Documenting meetings in the event that the record is contradicted by administrators or the adverse party

  • Drafting critical responses to investigative reports and evidence exhibits that decision-makers rely on for determining guilt or innocence.

  • Evaluating and gathering supportive witnesses
  • Cross-examining adverse parties and witnesses
  • Preparing you for tough questions during the hearing

  • Drafting opening, closing, impact, and mitigation statements with the goal of persuading the decision-maker to agree with your version of events, reduce the severity of any potential sanctions (punishment), and making special requests regarding potential sanctions for cross-complaints

  • Drafting appeal documents with the goal of overturning a “guilty” outcome and/or reducing the punishment

Alternative Resolution

This is an opportunity to resolve the allegations in a way that minimizes disruptions to all parties’ education and life. We can assist with critical communication during this phase.

Pre-Investigation / Initial Response

When a report has been made to the school alleging that you have committed misconduct but before a formal complaint has been signed and a formal investigation initiated, your rights exist in a gray area where schools have broad discretion. We can assist with emergency matters that arise in this phase, such unreasonable actions by the school that disrupt your housing and education. Learning to strategically manage your communication regarding the allegations and establishing your support network are also key during this phase, and we can help with both.

Probation

In the event that you are required to sanctioned (punished) with probation, managing the requirements of probation can sometimes be tricky. We can help.

What Sets Us

Apart

Title IX advisors come in many shapes and sizes. Here is what makes us different.

Experienced Specialists

There is often a big difference in outcomes between those who engage the services of a Title IX specialist and those who do not. For us, Title IX is not one area of work among many; it is our core focus. We have been working on Title IX matters since 2010, before they became a regular issue for the courts or the subject of a back-and-forth regulatory battle by presidential administrations.

We regularly research Title IX litigation, policy, and best practices. Our research has led us to create the Accused Students Database, the only database of its kind that tracks litigation by students who allege they were treated unfairly in Title IX grievance procedures. This database is used not only for our own research, but also by education and legal professionals, advocates, media, and more.

Affordable

Regulations governing Title IX misconduct proceedings provide that accused students may be assisted by an “advisor of their choice, who may be, but is not required to be, an attorney.” We understand, as the Department of Education did when it wrote those regulations, that most students have little to no money tree to shake and need assistance throughout a complicated and high-stakes process. For their benefit, we offer advisory services at a fraction of the cost of an attorney that specializes in Title IX matters.

Tireless Advocates

Because of the highly sensitive and impactful nature of these cases, students need to know that the person assisting them is fully “in their corner.” Our mission has long been to advance the rights of the wrongly accused in the education system. We have done this by assisting individual students, raising awareness of the issues, and advocating for fairness at local, state, and federal levels. Because of our advocacy, we are instinctively aware of the interests at work in the education system and can anticipate certain things before they happen for the benefit of our clients.

Experienced Specialists

There is often a big difference in outcomes between those who engage the services of a Title IX specialist and those who do not. For us, Title IX is not one area of work among many; it is our core focus. We have been working on Title IX matters since 2010, before they became a regular issue for the courts or the subject of a back-and-forth regulatory battle by presidential administrations.

We regularly research Title IX litigation, policy, and best practices. Our research has led us to create the Accused Students Database, the only database of its kind that tracks litigation by students who allege they were treated unfairly in Title IX grievance procedures. This database is used not only for our own research, but also by education and legal professionals, advocates, media, and more.

Affordable

Regulations governing Title IX misconduct proceedings provide that accused students that they may be assisted by an “advisor of their choice, who may be, but is not required to be, an attorney.” Most advisors who assist accused students in a professional capacity are attorneys. Most students have little to no money tree to shake, however. For their benefit, we offer advisory services at what will almost certainly be a fraction of the cost.

Tireless Advocates

Because of the highly sensitive and impactful nature of these cases, students need to know that the person assisting them is fully “in their corner.” Our mission has long been to advance the rights of the wrongly accused in the education system. We have done this by assisting individual students, raising awareness of the issues, and advocating for fairness at local, state, and federal levels. Because of our advocacy, we are instinctively aware of the interests at work in the education system and can anticipate certain things before they happen for the benefit of our clients.