All members of the community are asked to bring forward concerns about discrimination or harassment, including sexual misconduct or sexual violence. As a matter of University policy, all employees, with the exception of identified confidential employees (link to chart), must immediately report to the Director of Title IX and Equal Opportunity if they learn about potential instances of discrimination and harassment, including sex-based misconduct and violence.
A party to discrimination or misconduct may report anonymously whereby their name and other identifying information will not be revealed. The Director of Title IX & Equal Opportunity may investigate the circumstances of the report to the best of their ability and has an obligation to keep record of the report for state and federally mandated statistical reporting, but the record will have no identifiable information about the reporter.
Inquiries regarding University Policy and the Grievance Process may be directed to the University’s EO Officers:
Title IX Coordinator
Rebecca Newell
Director of Title IX and Equal Opportunity
rnewell7@fitchburgstate.edu
Section 504 and Title II of the ADA
Jessica Murdoch
Vice President for Human Resources and Payroll Services
jmurdoch@fitchburgstate.edu
Inquiries regarding federal laws may be directed to:
- U.S. Department of Education
Office for Civil Rights
5 Post Office Square, 8th Floor
Boston, MA 02109-3921
Phone: 617.289.0111
Email: OCR.Boston@ed.gov
OCR Website
Generally, you must file within 180 calendar days of an alleged incident. - Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
John F. Kennedy Federal Building
475 Government Center
Boston, MA 02203
Phone: 617.565.3200
TTY: 617.565.3204
Generally, you must file within 300 calendar days of an alleged incident.
Inquiries regarding state laws may be directed to:
- Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination
One Ashburton Place
Sixth Floor, Room 601
Boston, MA 02108
Phone: 617.727.3990 (ext. 588 for TTY)
Generally, you must file within 300 calendar days of an alleged incident.
Complaint Process for Online Students
If you have a complaint or concern that has not been resolved by Fitchburg State University, you may file a consumer complaint with the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education (DHE) by using the consumer complaint form. The DHE consumer complaint form should be used by students who are located in:
- Massachusetts
- Non-SARA Member States or Territories (e.g., California, Guam, etc.)
SARA Member States and Territories
After you have exhausted the complaint procedures made available by Fitchburg State University, located in the University catalog or through the Dean of Graduate Online and Continuing Education, Becky Copper-Glenz at bcopperg@fitchburgstate.edu, if your complaint has not been resolved, you may file a complaint with the DHE by using the SARA complaint form. Please note: for SARA complaints, students are explicitly required to exhaust the institution’s available complaint procedures before filing a SARA complaint.
The DHE SARA complaint form should be used by students who are located in SARA member states and territories. This includes all students who are located in SARA member states and territories for the purposes of completing out-of-state learning placements, such as internships, practicums, clinical experiences, etc. in SARA member states and territories outside Massachusetts.
Additional information from the DHE’s SARA complaint website is below.
The SARA complaint process is as follows:
- Students must first attempt to resolve their complaint using internal administrative procedures offered by the SARA institution.
- After all administrative remedies have been exhausted with the MA-SARA institution, the student may submit a SARA Complaint via the URL below.
- The Department shall send a copy of the complaint to the institution that is the subject of the complaint;
- Within 30 days of the date that the Department sends a copy of the complaint to the institution, the institution must provide a written response to the student and the Department.
More information about DHE’s complaint processes can be found here.