I made a report. What happens next?

Members of the Bowdoin community are encouraged to report all acts of bias, discrimination, and harassment, which are received by the Office of Inclusion and Diversity (OID). You may be asked to provide additional details about the incident throughout the reporting process.

After you’ve submitted your report, OID takes the steps outlined below.

Acknowledgment

You will receive confirmation that OID has received your report. If your report is not anonymous, you will also receive a list of support resources available to you.

Assessment and Review

Based on your report, our office will initiate a preliminary assessment to determine how to handle the incident. If your report indicates a potential violation of College policy, OID will refer the incident to the appropriate office(s) for review under existing discipline processes.

Notification

Provided the report is not made anonymously, you will be notified within forty-eight (48) to seventy-two (72) hours regarding the next steps for addressing your report.

If the matter warrants investigation, you may be contacted to provide additional information about what you witnessed or observed. In some cases, matters may not be investigated—for example, in situations where the information provided is sufficient to determine a policy was violated. If you are not contacted about an investigation it does not mean action was not taken.

Record the Incident

The Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity will maintain a record of your report.

Aftercare and Community Response

The Office of Inclusion and Diversity will remain in close contact with the reporter and offer a wide variety of resources. Not every incident is referred to a disciplinary process. Additionally, because of federal privacy laws, in some instances, the College may be unable to confirm for the reporter whether disciplinary action has been taken.