Dear Faculty and Staff:
At ACU, we strive to comply with all applicable legal requirements prohibiting, preventing, and responding to harassment against any member of the ACU community (e.g., Title VI, VII, IX, and the SaVE Act). Moreover, as a Christian community, ACU has committed itself, unequivocally, to ensuring a working and learning environment in which the dignity of every individual is respected. In that regard, our Anti-Harassment Policy outlines specific definitions and procedures related discriminatory and sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, assault, stalking, and relationship violence.
New legal requirements state that ACU must train its employees on how to properly respond to reports of sexual harassment and sexual violence involving students. Therefore, ACU has partnered with Everfi to provide the following online course. (Students will also be taking a similar course.) Please complete the course, which should take less than an hour, by Friday, February 27th. Note that some of the views expressed within the course do not represent the views of ACU.
It is imperative that you complete this course as doing so puts ACU in a better position to defend against harassment claims. In order to be eligible for protection offered by the university against legal claims, as set out in the University’s indemnification policy, an employee must have (1) complied with all applicable university policies and (2) acted within the scope of his or her assigned duties in a manner reasonably believed to be lawful and in the best interest of the University.
Moreover, in regard to participating in this training, ACU’s anti-harassment policy states, “In an attempt to prevent harassment, ACU will provide all employees and students with annual notification regarding this policy and offer periodic training for faculty, staff members, and students, who will be required to participate in such training.”
Therefore, by not participating in the training, you would not qualify for indemnification under the policy.
It is also important to understand that any employee (except licensed health care or mental health professionals or Student Advocates named in our policy) receiving reports of sexual harassment, including sexual assault and relationship violence, must provide that information to the appropriate university officials, who can consider any requests regarding confidentiality. This information should include all relevant details needed to determine what occurred and address the situation including: name of the parties or witnesses and any relevant facts including date, time and location. In this way, we can help maintain a work and academic environment free of unlawful harassment. Failure to report to appropriate officials could not only result in legal liability but high-profile investigations and possible sanctions by the Department of Education.
For more information about ACU’s Anti-Harassment Policy and Procedure, reporting channels, and resources, please see www.acu.edu/harassment.
Take the online course here.
We appreciate your efforts in addressing this important issue.
Sincerely,
Wendy Jones, SPHR
Chief Human Resources Officer
Title IX Co-Coordinator