Title IX resource page

It's On Us

• It's On Us (national organization)
• It's On Us PA

PA resources

• Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape
• Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence
• Get Support After a Rape or Sexual Assault | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (pa.gov)
• Get Domestic Violence Support | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (pa.gov)

NJ resources

• New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault
• New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence

NY resources

• New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault (nyscasa.org)
• New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence | NYSCADV
  
  

Geisinger’s Sexual Assault Forensic Exam (SAFE) Program

• Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner training provided by the SAFE program (Geisinger log-in required)

"Did you know It’s On Us?" awareness campaign

• Geisinger College of Health Sciences gratefully acknowledges financial support provided by PA Governor Josh Shapiro’s “It’s On Us PA” program, administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Office for Postsecondary and Higher Education.
• Playlist of all videos

Members of the Title IX Team receive ongoing training through the Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA) and other professional organizations.

As required by the August 2020 regulations, training materials from Aug. 14, 2020 through July 31, 2024 are available online.

Refer questions pertaining to training that occurred on August 1, 2024 or later to the Title IX coordinator.

Resource advisors are members of the GCHS community who are available to provide support and information regarding the Policy on Sexual/Gender Discrimination, Misconduct and Harassment.

• Devon Bremer – dbremer1@geisinger.edu
• Heather Davis – hmdavis1@geisinger.edu
• Len Farber – ljfarber1@geisinger.edu
• Melissa Ide – mide1@geisinger.edu
• Kelly Herbst – kherbst1@geisinger.edu
• Julia Kolcharno – jakolcharno@geisinger.edu
• Elizabeth Kuchinski – eckuchinski@geisinger.edu
• Linda Learn – lalearn1@geisinger.edu
• Breana Losey – blosey@geisinger.edu
• Amanda McIver – acmciver1@geisinger.edu
• Jeremy Penepacker – jspenepacker1@geisinger.edu
• Jessica Rogers – jdrogers1@geisinger.edu
• Stephanie Rothrock – srothrock1@geisinger.edu
• Nate Waite – nwaite@geisinger.edu

Refer to the GCHS Policy on Sexual/Gender Discrimination, Misconduct and Harassment for complete details regarding supportive measures.

Supportive measures are non-disciplinary, non-punitive individualized services offered as appropriate, as reasonably available, and without fee or charge to the complainant or the respondent. Such measures are designed to restore or preserve equal access to GCHS’s education program or activity without unreasonably burdening the other party, including measures designed to protect the safety of all parties or GCHS’s educational environment, or to deter sexual harassment. Supportive measures are available to complainants with or without the filing of a formal complaint.

Supportive measures may include counseling, extensions of deadlines or other course-related adjustments, modifications of work or class schedules, adjustment of learning modality, campus escort services, mutual restrictions on contact between the parties, changes in work locations, leaves of absence, increased security and monitoring of certain areas of the campus, and other similar measures.

GCHS will keep any supportive measures provided to the complainant or respondent confidential, to the extent that maintaining such confidentiality would not impair the ability of GCHS to provide the supportive measures (for example, issuing mutual restrictions on contact requires disclosure to both parties). The Title IX coordinator is responsible for coordinating the effective implementation of supportive measures.

Information about medical assistance, emergency services, advocacy and support services and academic accommodations at each campus/site.

• AtlantiCare Campus
• Central Campus
• Guthrie Campus
• Northeast Campus - Scranton
• Northeast Campus - Wilkes-Barre
• West Campus

Refer to the GCHS Policy on Sexual/Gender Discrimination, Misconduct and Harassment for detailed descriptions of prohibited conduct.

Sex Discrimination

Sex discrimination is different treatment with respect to a person’s employment or participation in an education program or activity based, in whole or in part, upon the person’s actual or perceived sex. Includes both Disparate (intentional) Treatment Discrimination and Disparate Impact Discrimination (unintentional result).

Sex-based Harassment (Applicable under Title IX, Title VII, and the Fair Housing Act)

Sex-based Harassment is a form of sex discrimination and means sexual harassment and other harassment on the basis of sex, including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

1. Quid Pro Quo: an employee agent, or other person authorized by GCHS, to provide an aid, benefit, or service under GCHS’s education program or activity, explicitly or impliedly conditioning the provision of such aid, benefit, or service, on a person’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct.
2. Hostile Environment Harassment: unwelcome sex-based conduct, that based on the totality of the circumstances, is subjectively and objectively offensive, and is so severe or pervasive, that it limits or denies a person’s ability to participate in or benefit from GCHS’s education program or activity
3. Sexual Assault, Dating Violence, Domestic Violence, Stalking
4. Other Prohibited Conduct
   a.) Sexual Exploitation
   b) Retaliation
   c) Unauthorized Disclosure
   d) Failure to Comply/Process Interference

Both Informal and Formal (Hearing) Resolution options are available.  Refer to the GCHS Policy on Sexual/Gender Discrimination, Misconduct and Harassment for details of both processes.

Informal: Both parties must agree to Informal Resolution. At any time during the process, either party may choose to move to the formal Hearing Resolution process.

Formal: Officially known as the Hearing Resolution, this process includes an investigation with interviews of the parties and applicable witnesses, a live hearing conducted by a trained Decision-maker, and an option for either party to appeal the decision based on limited grounds for appeal as specified in the policy.

For a visual representation of the major components of the reporting and resolution process, access the GCHS Flowchart for Title IX Reporting and Resolution.

The Complainant and Respondent have the right to:

• An equitable investigation and resolution of all credible allegations of prohibited sex discrimination, sex-based harassment, retaliation, and Other Prohibited Conduct, when reported in good faith to GCHS officials.
• Timely written notice of all alleged violations, including the identity of the Parties involved (if known), the specific misconduct being alleged, the date and location of the alleged misconduct (if known), the implicated Policies and procedures, and possible sanctions.
• Timely written notice of any material adjustments to the allegations (e.g., additional incidents or allegations, additional Complainants) by updating the Notice of Investigation and Allegation(s) (NOIA) as needed to clarify potentially implicated Policy violations.
• Be informed in advance of any GCHS public release of information regarding the allegation(s) or underlying incident(s), whenever possible.
• Have all personally identifiable information protected from GCHS’s release to the public without consent, except to the extent permitted by law.
• Be treated with respect by GCHS officials.
• Have GCHS Policy and these procedures followed without material deviation.
• Voluntarily agree to resolve allegations under this Policy through Informal Resolution without GCHS pressure, if Informal Resolution is approved by the Title IX Coordinator.
• Not be discouraged by GCHS officials from reporting sex discrimination, sex-based harassment, retaliation, and Other Prohibited Conduct to both on-campus and off-campus authorities.
• Be informed of options to notify proper law enforcement authorities, including on-campus and local police, and the option(s) to be assisted by GCHS in notifying such authorities, if the party chooses. This also includes the right to not be pressured to report and to decline to notify such authorities.
• Have allegations of violations of this Policy responded to promptly and with sensitivity by GCHS security, public safety and/or other GCHS officials.
• Be informed of available supportive measures, such as counseling, advocacy, health care, student financial aid, visa and immigration assistance, and/or other services, both on-campus and in the community.
• A GCHS-implemented no-contact order or a no-trespass order against a non-affiliated third party when a person has engaged in or threatens to engage in stalking, threatening, harassing, or other improper conduct.
• Be informed of available assistance in changing academic, and/or employment situations after an alleged incident of sex discrimination, sex-based harassment, retaliation, and/or Other Prohibited Conduct if such changes are reasonably available. No formal report, or investigation, either institutional or criminal, needs to occur for this option to be available. Such actions may include, but are not limited to:
  • Relocating a student’s housing to a different location
  • Assistance from GCHS staff in completing the relocation
  • Changing an employee’s work environment (e.g., reporting structure, office/workspace relocation)
  • Transportation assistance o Visa/immigration assistance o Rescheduling or adjusting an exam, paper, and/or assignment
  • Receiving an incomplete in, or a withdrawal from, a class (may be retroactive)
  • Transferring class sections o Temporary withdrawal/leave of absence (may be retroactive)
  • Campus safety escorts
  • Alternative course completion options
• Have GCHS maintain supportive measures for as long as deemed necessary by the Title IX Coordinator, ensuring they remain confidential, provided confidentiality does not impair GCHS’s ability to provide the supportive measures.
• Receive sufficiently advanced written notice of any GCHS meetings or interviews involving another party, when possible.
• Identify and have the Investigator(s) and/or Decision-maker question relevant available witnesses, including expert witnesses.
• Provide the Investigator(s)/Decision-maker with a list of questions that, if deemed relevant and permissible by the Investigator(s)/Decision-maker, may be asked of any party or witness.
• Have Complainant’s inadmissible sexual interests/prior sexual history or any Party’s irrelevant character evidence excluded by the Decision-maker.
• Access the relevant evidence obtained and respond to that evidence.
• A fair opportunity to provide the Investigator(s) with their account of the alleged misconduct and have that account be on the record.
• Receive a copy of all relevant and permissible evidence obtained during the investigation, subject to privacy limitations imposed by federal and state law and be given ten (10) business days to review and comment on the evidence.
• The right to receive a copy of the Final Investigation Report, including all factual, Policy, and/or credibility analyses performed, and to have at least seven (7) business days to review the report prior to the determination.
• Be informed of the names of all witnesses whose information will be used to make a finding, in advance of that finding, when relevant.
• Regular status updates on the investigation and/or Resolution Process.
• Have reports of alleged Policy violations addressed by Resolution Process Pool members or external third-parties who have received relevant annual training as required by law.
• Preservation of confidentiality/privacy, to the extent possible and permitted by law.
• Meetings, interviews, and/or hearings that are closed to the public.
• Petition that any GCHS representative in the process be recused on the basis of disqualifying bias and/or conflict of interest.
• Be able to select an Advisor of their choice to accompany and assist the party in all meetings and/or interviews associated with the Resolution Process.
• Receive a Final Determination applying the appropriate standard of proof, preponderance of the evidence, after an objective evaluation of all relevant and permissible evidence.
• Be present, including presence via remote technology, during all testimony given and evidence presented during any live hearing.
• Have an impact and/or mitigation statement considered by the Decision-maker following a determination of responsibility for any allegation, but prior to sanctioning.
• Be promptly informed of the Resolution Process finding(s) and sanction(s) (if any) and be given a detailed rationale of the decision (including an explanation of how credibility was assessed) in a written outcome letter delivered to the Parties simultaneously (without undue delay).
• Be informed in writing of when a GCHS decision is considered final and any changes to the Final Determination or sanction(s) that occur post outcome letter delivery.
• Be informed of the opportunity to appeal the Resolution Process finding(s) and sanction(s), and the procedures for doing so in accordance with GCHS’s grounds for appeal.
• A fundamentally fair resolution as defined in these procedures.

Victims of crime in the state of Pennsylvania are guaranteed rights listed in the PA Crime Victim Bill of Rights.