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College Response Protocol for Bias Incidents

1. All reported bias incidents will be referred to the following individuals: Director of Public Safety, Dean of Students, Director of Equal Opportunity and Engagement, and Associate Dean for Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Development. Making a report is appropriate even when the person(s) believed to have committed the act or acts in question cannot be identified, or in situations where the person or persons subjected to an act constituting a bias incident do not wish to pursue campus disciplinary or criminal charges. The Director of Public Safety, Dean of Students, Director of Equal Opportunity and Engagement, and Associate Dean for Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Development are free to call upon other members of the community (e.g., the Provost, other faculty members who are knowledgeable about a particular field, the Title IX Coordinator, Office of Student Engagement staff, counselors, or others) for assistance at any time. 

2. Each time a person completes an online bias report form they will receive an automatic response letting them know that their report has been submitted and referring them to resources and support.

3. Reports of hate crime or unlawful discrimination or harassment will be referred immediately as follows:

  • Reports of a hate crime will be referred to Swarthmore Public Safety. If appropriate, Public Safety will involve external law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction over the incident. 
  • Reports of unlawful discrimination or harassment alleging that a student or student organization has violated College policy will be referred to the Associate Dean of Students and Director of Student Conduct for consideration and resolution pursuant to the Swarthmore student code of conduct procedures.
  • Reports of unlawful discrimination or harassment alleging that a faculty member or staff member has violated College policy will be referred to the Director of Equal Opportunity and Engagement for consideration and resolution pursuant to appropriate employment procedures. 

4. The Dean of Students, the Director of Equal Opportunity and Engagement, the Director of Public Safety, and the Associate Dean for Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Development or their designee (i.e. Associate Dean, Associate Director of Public Safety, Dean on Call, etc.) will reach out to the reporting party to offer support and gather additional information.

5. The Dean of Students, the Director of Equal Opportunity and Engagement, the Director of Public Safety, and the Associate Dean for Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Development will confer expeditiously after receiving an incident report and determine the next course of action, which may include but is not limited to:

  1. Meeting with the reporting person, if the person chooses.
  2. Ensuring that appropriate College officials and other individuals, groups, or organizations are notified and consulted to provide the context necessary to consider the report of a bias incident.
  3. Determining whether the reported act meets the definition of a “bias incident” as set forth in this document.
  4. If the reported act is determined to be a bias incident, considering appropriate educational measures to address the incident.  Such measures, which must not interfere with any student conduct proceedings that might be underway or contemplated, could include the following:
  • Notifying the community of the bias incident as appropriate. This notice might be distributed via e-mail, web site, posters, and/or other means of communication.  The notice might be made following a particular incident or as part of a periodic report to the campus community. In deciding what sort of notice is appropriate and from whom the notice should come, the full context of the incident must be considered and relevant constituencies consulted. It may also be determined that campus-wide notification of an individual incident is not appropriate and that a higher educational value would result by communicating about the incident in a different context, or that notification in a particular case would not serve any educational purpose.
  • Suggesting educational programming within a targeted area or to a targeted group of individuals ( e.g., a specific building community) where the incident occurred or for the campus more broadly.