Accused of a Title IX Violation/Sexual Misconduct at Western Oregon University?
This page will help you understand the process and your options.
Accused of a Title IX Violation/Sexual Misconduct at Western Oregon University?
This page will help you understand the process and your options.
If you are a student or faculty member at WOU 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 WOU 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:
What Would Western Oregon University 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 WOU 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 WOU
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 WOU is one of those schools (example: Brainard v. Western Oregon University). 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.
We also track completed investigations by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights into schools for being non-compliant with Title IX. These investigations and their documents are found in our OCR Resolutions Database. Based on our current records, there are no such investigations regarding WOU.
Title IX Grievance Procedures at WOU
The process will be divided into several phases. Click on a tab to learn more about each one.
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, WOU 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.
WOU 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 WOU‘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:
- A procedural irregularity that affected the outcome
- New evidence that could affect the outcome and was not reasonably available before the school made its decision
- Bias among the Title IX coordinator, investigator(s), or decision-maker
You may have additional avenues to appeal depending on WOU‘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 WOU 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 WOU 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:
What Would Western Oregon University 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 WOU 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 WOU
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 WOU is one of those schools (example: Brainard v. Western Oregon University). 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.
We also track completed investigations by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights into schools for being non-compliant with Title IX. These investigations and their documents are found in our OCR Resolutions Database. Based on our current records, there are no such investigations regarding WOU.
Title IX Grievance Procedures at WOU
The process will be divided into several phases. Click on a tab to learn more about each one.
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, WOU 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.
WOU 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 WOU‘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:
- A procedural irregularity that affected the outcome
- New evidence that could affect the outcome and was not reasonably available before the school made its decision
- Bias among the Title IX coordinator, investigator(s), or decision-maker
You may have additional avenues to appeal depending on WOU‘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.
How We Can Help
We have been working on Title IX matters since 2010. As Title IX advisors, we have assisted countless students in their defense against Title IX allegations, both in Oregon and across the nation. Here are some of the many ways we can have helped them and can help you:
What Sets Us
Apart
Title IX advisors come in many shapes and sizes. Here is what makes us different.
