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Cultivating Learning and Safe Environments

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UT System Current Programs

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The University of Texas System’s Response, Prevention Efforts, and Resources to Address Sexual Harassment, Stalking, Dating/Domestic Abuse and Violence, and Unwanted Sexual Contact. These programs are described on the following pages.


Coordinated Response

UT System Office of the Director of Police (ODOP)

ODOP is charged with the responsibility of protecting the life and property of individuals who comprise the student body, faculty, and staff of the University of Texas System community. ODOP’s mission is to train and mentor the finest university law enforcement officers in the United States who follow evidence-based best practices in the delivery of police services while always respecting the principle purpose of a university: to educate our young people in a safe and secure environment.

UT System Task Force on Student Mental Health and Safety

The Task Force on Student Mental Health and Safety released a report in June 2014 that reviewed current campus practices and appropriate institutional responses to worrisome student behavior. The Task Force developed recommendations in the structure of Behavioral Intervention Teams (BITs) and identified entry points to mental health support that address the unique needs of students. The task force recommendation to create a BIT at UT institutions was adopted by the UT System Board of Regents.

UT System Task Force on Hazing and Alcohol

The Task Force on Hazing and Alcohol released a report in 2014 with an array of evidence-based practices that target campus organizations and constituencies in an effort to change campus culture concerning hazing and high-risk drinking behavior.


Policy

UTS184 Consensual Relationships

The University of Texas System’s Consensual Relationships policy requires UT System institutions and the UT System Administration to adopt policies addressing consensual relationships. The policy also requires that one or more offices be designated as offices where students, faculty, and employees can obtain advice about sexual harassment, sexual assault, and consensual relationships and that UT System Administration and each institution develop robust information and training programs for all faculty, staff, and students.

INT134 Sexual Harassment and Misconduct

The Sexual Harassment and Misconduct policy was established to create an environment free from sexual misconduct. The policy applies to all employees, visitors, and applicants for employment at the UT System. It also prohibits retaliation and ensures confidentiality, to the extent permitted by law, while also providing a complaint procedure.

ODOP Policy #421 - Sexual Assault Response and Investigation

The first sexual assault response and investigation policy researched and published by the UT System ODOP, ODOP Policy #421 - Sexual Assault Response and Investigation, reaffirms the commitment of UT System Police to appropriately respond to and investigate reports of sexual assault.

Rule 30105: Sexual Harassment, Sexual Misconduct, and Consensual Relationships

Regents Rule 30105 on Sexual Harassment, Sexual Misconduct, and Consensual Relationships requires UT System institutions and UT System Administration to adopt policies and procedures prohibiting, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, other inappropriate sexual conduct, and regarding consensual relationships in substantial compliance with the Office of General Counsel model policies and procedures. Each policy must include definitions of prohibited behavior, sanctions for violations and the protocol for reporting and responding to reports of assault. 


 

Professional Training

Bi-Annual Compliance Training Module

The training module is a mandatory sexual harassment and equal employment opportunity training for all UT System Administration employees with core material provided by the Texas Workforce Commission, Civil Rights Division, and the Texas Administrative Code 202.

The Blueprint for Campus Police: Responding to Sexual Assault

The Blueprint is a 170-page evidence-based law enforcement guide about responding to campus sexual assault. The Blueprint is a collaboration of the Office of the Director of Police and the Institute on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault.

Training for Law Enforcement

In 2015 the Sexual Assault and Family Violence Investigation Course was hosted and instructed for the first time at the University of Texas System Po- lice Academy.


 

Awareness, Prevention, and Educational Efforts

Bystander Intervention and Protocol Initiative

In 2015 the UT System launched a three-year initiative to teach students intervention strategies to help prevent suicides, sexual assaults, high-risk drinking, hazing, hate speech, and academic dishonesty. The Board of Regents allocated $1.4 million to fund the System-wide initiative with the goal of teaching students how to keep their peers healthy and safe. Regents approved $1.1 million to fund crisis hotlines for each of the UT System’s academic and health institutions for the next five years.

Alcohol Prevention, Education, and Recovery Program

The University of Texas System sets the national standard for student wellness and safety programs and has extended that commitment through its continuous funding and expansion of alcohol prevention, education, and recovery programs across all UT academic campuses.


 

Research

CLASE Study

In 2015 The University of Texas System funded the $1.7 million multiyear Cultivating Learning and Safe Environments (CLASE) study on unwanted sexual contact, dating/domestic abuse and violence, stalking, and sexual harassment at 13 of its academic and health institutions. The study is currently being conducted by researchers at The Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault at UT Austin’s School of Social Work for The University of Texas System. The study will range from online questionnaires for students, surveys and focus groups of faculty, staff, and campus law enforcement; and a four-year cohort study of entering freshman at The University of Texas at Austin to identify the psychological and economic impact of sexual violence. This report is the result of the first initiative of the CLASE study in which a representative sample of students anonymously answered questions about the campus climate around unwanted sexual contact, sexual harassment, stalking, dating/domestic abuse and violence, and their on-campus victimization experiences.