USU Improves Sexual Misconduct and Discrimination Policies

Utah State University released changes Friday to its sexual misconduct and discrimination policies and procedures. Most noticeably, the university now defines consent for sexual activity as an “affirmative agreement.” Sexual exploitation has also been specifically added in the policy as prohibited conduct.

Other changes include the following:

• Procedural updates to increase consistency in the process for sexual misconduct cases (policies 339 and 339A) and make hearings optional in sexual misconduct investigations that are not covered by Title IX (for example, for an incident that occurs off campus).
• Limits to the exceptions for required reporting by employees in an effort to expand the opportunities for university officials to address sexual misconduct (policy 340).
• Creating consistency in grievance procedures for handling discrimination (policy 305).

“We are continuously asking for feedback and looking for ways to improve our policies and procedures addressing sexual misconduct,” said Matthew Pinner, executive director of the Office of Equity. “Though we have to comply with federal regulations for Title IX, we look for ways within that framework to better prevent sexual misconduct and provide a better experience for those involved in our university process.”

Pinner says the addition of “affirmative” to the definition of consent is largely to clarify the meaning of consent and better communicate expectations to the university community. USU’s new policy defines consent as an affirmative agreement, which is an “informed, freely and actively given, mutually understandable exchange of unmistakable words or actions. … ” This change also reduces ambiguity for hearing panels when looking at the facts in sexual misconduct cases. Though it mirrors the standard of consent used by other public universities in Utah, it is not the same definition used in the criminal code. An individual may be held accountable by the university for violating USU policy even if they are not held accountable under criminal law.

The new policy also specifically calls out sexual exploitation that occurs in an employment or education program or activity as prohibited misconduct. Sexual exploitation is “taking non-consensual sexual advantage of another for one’s own advantage or benefit …” and includes such actions as distributing sexual photos or recordings without the consent of those in the images.

Pinner says the update to the policy on required reporting of sexual misconduct further limits the exceptions to reporting so the university has the opportunity to receive more reports and take necessary steps to address sexual misconduct.

The new policies will be built into ongoing and annual compliance trainings. USU students are required to complete annual training on sexual misconduct prevention, and employees must complete annual training on reporting obligations. The Office of Equity also offers opt-in educational opportunities for employees to learn skills that help them create an inclusive workplace.

The university will continue to solicit feedback to create policies and procedures and make changes that are inclusive, meet the needs of the campus communities, and clearly communicate expectations of university employees, Pinner said. He also noted that everyone should anticipate more changes in the future as the U.S. Department of Education implements new Title IX regulations sometime later this year.

The new policies can be found in full at usu.edu/equity/policies-procedures.

The previous versions of these policies and procedures were adopted as interim in January 2021, with some updates in summer 2022.