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) or the Office of Civil Rights Compliance (CRC). You may be asked to provide additional details about the incident throughout the reporting process.

After you’ve submitted your report, OID and CRC will take the steps outlined below.

Acknowledgment

For all non-anonymous reports, you will receive confirmation that OID and CRC have received your report. In appropriate circumstances, supportive measures and resources may be available and OID and CRC can discuss these options with 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 and CRC may refer the incident to an investigation or to the appropriate office(s) for review under existing discipline processes. Not every incident is referred to a disciplinary process, but that is not an indication that the report was not taken seriously. 

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 that no action was taken. Because of federal privacy laws, in some instances, the College may be unable to confirm for the reporter whether disciplinary action has been taken.

Record the Incident

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

Aftercare and Community Response

OID and CRC staff will remain in contact with the reporter and offer a wide variety of supportive measures.