Title IX and Clery Act
Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex under any federally funded education program. Under Title IX, sexual harassment, which includes sexual violence, is a form of unlawful sex discrimination. Institutions that receive federal financial assistance must take steps to prevent sexual violence and sexual harassment and promptly and effectively respond to reports of sexual violence and sexual harassment. Campus Title IX policies can be accessed here: https://titleix.tennessee.edu/policies/.
The Clery Act requires colleges and universities that participate in federal financial aid programs to report annual crime statistics on or near their campuses and to provide other safety and crime information to the campus community. The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 requires campuses to include sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking in these reports. Campus crime and safety information can be accessed here: https://tennessee.edu/transparency/.
Campus Title IX and Clery Act contact information is located in the Contacts section of the Business Management Guide.
Under Title IX and the Clery Act, certain individuals have specific responsibilities when dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking is reported to them. While not a complete list of requirements, below is a brief summary on the reporting obligations under Title IX and the Clery Act:
Title IX Responsibilities
A Mandatory Reporter is a University employee who is required to report information about known or suspected prohibited conduct to a Title IX Official, whether the employee received the information by means of a complaint, report, personal observation, or otherwise, including information learned from third parties.
Mandatory Reporters are required to report acts of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, stalking, sexual exploitation, and retaliation.
Employees designated as confidential are not Mandatory Reporters. Confidential employees are University employees who can keep information confidential because they hold a valid license in a profession for which Tennessee law recognizes a confidential relationship between a professional and a professional’s client or patient or because the University has deemed the employee as a confidential resource for students, faculty and staff.
A University employee is almost always a Mandatory Reporter when an incident involves a student. There are other situations for when an employee must report prohibited conduct. For more information about reporting obligations, please see the Guide for Mandatory Reporters which is located in each campuses’ Title IX Policy. Employees who have questions about their reporting responsibilities should contact their Title IX Coordinator. Contact information for campus Title IX Coordinators is located here https://titleix.tennessee.edu/title-ix/title-ix-coordinators/.
A Mandatory Reporter who receives information concerning an incident of prohibited conduct must report the incident to the Title IX Coordinator or a Title IX Official promptly after receiving notice of the incident (no later than 48 hours after receiving the report). The Mandatory Reporter must communicate all details known about the alleged incident. If the incident involves suspected child abuse or child sexual abuse, comply with University of Tennessee Safety Policy 0575.
By reporting prohibited conduct to the campus Title IX Office, Mandatory Reporters ensure that the University can fulfill its legal obligation. Reporting also ensures that the person who experienced the prohibited conduct can receive the support or resources they may want or need.
Annual Title IX Mandatory Reporter training is required for all faculty and staff at the University of Tennessee. If you are a Mandatory Reporter, you will receive notification regarding your reporting obligations.
Clery Act Responsibilities
A Campus Security Authority, or CSA, is an individual, who by virtue of their University responsibilities and under the Clery Act, is designated to receive and report criminal incidents to the campus Clery Coordinator or campus police department/public safety office so that they may be included and published in the University’s Annual Security Report. The Clery Act defines a CSA as any of the following:
- Any member of a campus police department or public safety office.
- Any individual(s) who have responsibility for campus security but who do not constitute as campus law enforcement (e.g., an individual who is responsible for monitoring the entrance into institutional property).
- Any individual or organization specified by an institution to which students and employees should report criminal offenses. These are individuals the University directs the campus community to for reporting criminal incidents in addition to police or security-related personnel.
- An official of an institution who has significant responsibility for student and campus activities, including, but not limited to, student housing, student discipline, and campus judicial proceedings. An official is defined as any person who has the authority and the duty to take action or respond to particular issues on behalf of the institution.
CSAs must report crimes or criminal incidents that are reported to them that occurred on campus, in public areas bordering campus and in certain non-campus buildings owned or controlled (leased) by the University. The intent of including non-law enforcement personnel in the CSA role is to acknowledge that some community members and students may be more inclined to report crimes to someone other than the campus police.
The criminal offenses CSAs must report include murder/non-negligent manslaughter, negligent manslaughter, rape, fondling, incest, statutory rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, arson, dating violence, domestic violence, stalking, liquor law violations, drug abuse violations, and weapons violations (including carrying and possessing).
CSAs are also required to report statistics for bias-related (hate) crimes for all of the above offenses in addition to larceny-theft, vandalism, intimidation, simple assault, and damage/destruction/vandalism of property.
CSAs should notify the campus Clery Coordinator or campus police department/public safety office of criminal incidents that are reported to them as soon as possible and preferably via a Campus Security Authority Incident Report Form. CSA report forms are located on each campuses’ Clery Act website and can be accessed here https://tennessee.edu/transparency/.
Annual Campus Security Authority Training is required for all CSAs at the University of Tennessee. If you are a CSA, you will receive notification regarding your reporting obligations.
Title IX and Clery Act Reports
Each campus provides an annual report related to Title IX and the Clery Act. The Title IX annual report provides an overview of campus-specific prevention efforts, information about reports made to the Title IX Office, and interim support measures offered to victims of prohibited conduct. The Annual Security Report (ASR) contains campus-specific information regarding crime reporting, crime prevention and awareness programming, fire safety, emergency response, disciplinary procedures, and other matters of importance related to security and safety on campus. The ASR also contains information for the three previous calendar years concerning reported crimes that occurred on campus, in certain off-campus buildings or property owned or controlled by the University, and on public property within or immediately adjacent to and accessible from the campus.
Title IX Annual Reports can be located here: https://titleix.tennessee.edu/policies/title-ix-reports/
Clery Act Annual Security Reports can be located here: https://tennessee.edu/transparency/