Introduction
Each academic year, the Office of Institutional Equity and Title IX prepares a statistical summary of reported Policy 6.4 violations and Formal Complaints. The statistics are anonymized consistent with the privacy provision in the policy.
If you would like to make a report to the Office of Institutional Equity and Title IX, including an anonymous report, please visit biasconcerns.cornell.edu. For more information, see reporting options.
For information on the university’s bias tracking system, please visit the Department of Inclusion and Workforce Diversity’s website.
Since 2015, Cornell has conducted a survey every two years to measure students’ knowledge of the university’s policies, procedures and resources, as well as their Cornell experiences, related to sexual assault, sexual and gender-based harassment, stalking, and dating and domestic violence. For more information, see results and analysis of the campus climate surveys on sexual assault and related misconduct.
Reports
The Office of Institutional Equity and Title IX is responsible for collecting and tracking all reports of prohibited discrimination, protected-status harassment, and sexual and related misconduct made by faculty and staff members, students, and visitors of the office.
All members of the Cornell community have the right to file a complaint of prohibited conduct, including protected status harassment, prohibited discrimination, and sexual or related misconduct, when they believe that a member of the Cornell community has engaged in such conduct.
A “report” occurs anytime the AVP for the Office of Institutional Equity and Title IX Coordinator becomes aware of an alleged incident of prohibited conduct. Definitions of prohibited conduct under Policy 6.4 can be found in the Procedures.
Annually, the Office of Institutional Equity and Title IX receives a number of reports, however, not all reported incidents are violations of Cornell University’s Policy 6.4. The statistics provided herein represent only reports of alleged Policy 6.4 violations reviewed by the AVP for the Office of Institutional Equity and Title IX Coordinator.
For information on reports received by the university annually, please visit the Department of Inclusion and Diversity’s website.
Formal Complaints
A “Formal Complaint” of prohibited conduct is a signed, written document from a complainant alleging specific prohibited conduct by a respondent and initiating the applicable resolution procedures under this policy, or a similar written document on behalf of the university, signed by a university official. (See Cornell Policy 6.4). Formal Complaints may involve several parties and/or allegations.
The university has designated different types of prohibited conduct as well as procedures for resolution of reports under Policy 6.4 that correspond best with the university’s different constituencies. For more information, see the Procedures.
Conclusion
Cornell is committed to creating a safe and caring campus culture in which bias, discrimination, harassment, and sexual and related misconduct are not tolerated. Similarly, Cornell is committed to providing a fair, equitable, and effective response to reports of prohibited conduct. The information provided herein is intended for the community to better understand the climate of our campus, as well as the resolution of Formal Complaints under Policy 6.4.