Consistent with the University's core values, and the goals of its Strategic Plan, the University has developed the following Policies, Procedures, and Practices which directly help to foster a climate of equity, diversity, and inclusion. Pursuant to these Community Standards are both the University’s Notice of Nondiscrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy Statement.
- Accessibility
-
Community Standards which outline protections for individuals with disabilities at the University and provide reasonable accommodations in its programs and activities.
Electronic Information & Technology Accessibility Policy and Procedure (CS 26)
Nondiscrimination, Equal Opportunity, & Affirmative Action Policy and Procedure (CS 07; formerly 07-01-03)
Disability Access: Accommodations, Confidentiality, and Disputes
Section 504/ADA Grievance Procedure
Notice of Nondiscrimination Statement and Anti-Harassment Policy Statement
- Nondiscrimination, Equal Opportunity, & Affirmative Action
-
Outlined protections for various classes/identities at the University and prohibit harassment and discrimination in its programs and activities.
Nondiscrimination, Equal Opportunity, & Affirmative Action Policy and Procedure (CS 07; formerly 07-01-03)
Harassment by Telecommunication Policy and Procedure (CS 05; formerly 06-03-03)
Recruitment: Faculty Positions Policy and Procedure (AC 53; formerly 02-02-15)
Recruitment Requests: Staff Positions Policy and Procedure (ER 12; formerly 07-01-02)
Notice of Nondiscrimination Statement and Anti-Harassment Policy Statement
Please note that the University’s Nondiscrimination, Equal Opportunity, and Affirmative Action Policy also covers discrimination based on ethnicity. Although not listed explicitly, the University interprets discrimination based on ethnicity as being prohibited based on the policy’s inclusion of race, color, national origin, and ancestry as prohibited bases for discrimination. If you experience any discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, you should report such discrimination and it will be investigated in accordance with University policy and procedure.
- Sexual Misconduct and Title IX
-
Community standards which state protections related to sex and gender at the University and prohibit sexual harassment/misconduct in its programs and activities.
Sexual Misconduct Policy and Procedure (CS 20; formerly 06-05-01)
Interim Title IX Policy and Procedure (CS 27)
Consensual Relationships Policy (CS 02; formerly 07-14-01)
Nondiscrimination, Equal Opportunity, & Affirmative Action Policy and Procedure (CS 07; formerly 07-01-03)
Notice of Nondiscrimination Statement and Anti-Harassment Policy Statement
- Related Definitions to Sexual Misconduct and Title IX
-
Sexual Assault: a sex offense is “any sexual act directed against another person without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent.” The VAWA definition of sexual assault includes rape, fondling, incest, and statutory rape.
Rape: The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.
Fondling: The touching of the private body parts of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification, without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of the victim’s age or because of the victim’s temporary or permanent mental incapacity.
Incest: Sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law.
Statutory Rape: Sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent. (For Pennsylvania, the age of consent for sexual activity is 16 years or older.)
Domestic Violence: Includes felony or misdemeanor crimes of violence committed by a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim, by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a person cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the victim as a spouse or intimate partner, by a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or by any other person against an adult or youth victim who is protected from that person’s acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred. Pennsylvania does not have a specific statute for domestic violence; those incidents are categorized as simple or aggravated assaults or other applicable offenses.
Dating Violence: The VAWA definition of dating violence is violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim.
The existence of such a relationship shall be based on the reporting party’s statement and with consideration of the length of the relationship, the type of relationship, and the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship. For the purposes of this definition, dating violence includes, but is not limited to, sexual or physical abuse or the threat of such abuse. Dating violence does not include acts covered under the definition of domestic violence.
Pennsylvania does not have a specific statute for dating violence; those incidents are categorized as simple or aggravated assaults or other applicable offenses.
Stalking: The VAWA definition of stalking is engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to (a) fear for the person’s safety or the safety of others, or (b) suffer substantial emotional distress.
For the purposes of this definition, (a) course of conduct means two or more acts, including, but not limited to, acts which the stalker directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method, device, or means follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or communicates to or about, a person, or interferes with a person’s property; (b) reasonable person means a reasonable person under similar circumstances and with similar identities to the victim; and (c) substantial emotional distress means significant mental suffering or anguish that may but does not necessarily require medical or other professional treatment or counseling.
In Pennsylvania, a person commits the crime of stalking when the person either: (1) engages in a course of conduct or repeatedly commits acts toward another person, including following the person without proper authority, under circumstances which demonstrate either an intent to place such other person in reasonable fear of bodily injury or to cause substantial emotional distress to such other person; or (2) engages in a course of conduct or repeatedly communicates to another person under circumstances which demonstrate or communicate either an intent to place such other person in reasonable fear of bodily injury or to cause substantial emotional distress to such other person.
- Agencies, Laws, and Regulations
-
References to federal and state laws/regulations related to our Community Standards and the agencies which enforce them.
Federal – Agencies
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Civil Rights (OCR)
U.S. Department of Labor
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)Federal – Laws and Regulations
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)
Americans with Disability Act (ADA)
Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act of 2013 (Campus SaVE Act)
Crime Awareness and Security Act of 1990 (Clery Act)
Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA)
Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008
Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978
Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX)
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI)
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)
Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA)State (Pennsylvania) – Agencies
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry
Pennsylvania Human Rights Commission (PHRC)State (Pennsylvania) – Laws and Regulations
Pennsylvania Consolidation Statues, Title 18 Section 3104
Pennsylvania Consolidation Statues, Title 42, Chapter 62A
Pennsylvania Fair Education Opportunities Act
Pennsylvania Human Relations Act
Pennsylvania Policies & Nondiscrimination GuidelinesLocal (City of Pittsburgh, PA and Allegheny County, PA) – Laws and Regulations
City of Pittsburgh, Article V: Discrimination (Chapter 659)
Allegheny County, Pa., Human Relations Commission - Interim Title IX Policy and Supporting Materials
-
Trainings that the Title IX team completed to prepare for the new regulations, as well as the updated policy and procedure, and additional communication information.
Training
Decision Maker Training: Title IX Hearings at Pitt
Advisor Training: Title IX Hearings at Pitt
OCR Webinar: Title IX Regulations Addressing Sexual Harassment
OCR Webinar on Due Process Protections under the New Title IX Regulations
Policy and Procedure
Legal Update
The University of Pittsburgh has been named in a preliminary injunction that prevents the U.S. Department of Education from enforcing the Title IX regulations that went into effect on Aug. 1, 2024 at the University of Pittsburgh. As a result, the University has not implemented any updates to the current Sexual Misconduct and Title IX policies and procedures. The University is monitoring these court cases closely as they move forward and will notify the community when updates to these policies and procedures occur.