Individuals who have experienced sexual misconduct in a College-related activity should be aware of some basic governing rights and principles that apply.

  1. All parties involved in a sexual misconduct complaint process have the right to a prompt, fair, and impartial investigation and resolution of the complaint.   A preponderance of the evidence standard applies in all sexual misconduct complaint process hearings.  Policy violation hearings are conducted by officials who are trained to conduct hearings in sexual misconduct cases. Both parties have the right to have an adviser present during a hearing.
  2. Individuals who have experienced sexual misconduct may have the right to change academic, living, transportation, or work situations to accommodate resulting needs, whether or not that person enters a formal resolution process.
  3. The privacy of any individual who reports an incident of sexual misconduct will be maintained throughout the process to the fullest extent possible.  This means that only those who need to know information about a case will have access to it.  Publicly available records will not identify a complaining party, whether the issues is resolved with or without a hearing.  If the College has an obligation to issue a campus crime alert or warning because of a danger to the community, that warning will withhold the names of complainants.
  4. Individuals who report sexual misconduct have the right to access their description of the incident as it was reported to the College.
  5. The College’s policies and procedures apply regardless of whether the sexual misconduct occurred on campus or off campus, if the conduct impacts the individual on campus.
  6. Individuals considering filing complaints should do their best to preserve evidence that may be relevant to an adjudication of the complaint, including text messages, voice mails, emails, and written documents like notes or letters.  The College will provide assistance with obtaining, securing, and maintaining evidence in connection with a sexual assault incident, and will help parties work with law enforcement on evidentiary issues. Additional information is available about how to preserve physical evidence.
  7. Anyone who has experienced a sexual assault has the right to report that assault to college authorities, off-campus law enforcement authorities, or both.  They also have the right to decline to report a sexual assault to college authorities or off-campus law enforcement authorities. 
  8. If an individual reports a sexual assault to the College, College authorities will help report that assault to off-campus law enforcement authorities.
  9. An individual who has experienced domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, or sexual assault may also be able to obtain an order for protection, restraining order, or no contact order from a court.  Information about how to obtain an order for protection or similar order is available from womenslaw.org
  10. If an individual who has experienced sexual violence on campus decides to transfer to a different institution, the College will, on request, provide that person with information about support resources available at the new institution.
  11. Retaliation against anyone involved in the sexual misconduct complaint process—including a complainant, a respondent, witnesses, advisers, investigators, panel members, or anyone else involved in the investigation—is prohibited and will not be tolerated.
  12. Under the Policy Against Sexual Misconduct, Carleton community members and others are protected against false complaints of sexual misconduct. Disciplinary action will be taken against any person knowingly and deliberately making a false complaint.

Anyone who is the victim of a crime also has rights under the Minnesota Crime Victim’s Bill of Rights.