How Does it Work?: Drexel Office of Civil Rights Compliance

This interview is part of DrexelNEWS’ recurring feature — “How Does it Work?” — spotlighting operational or administrative departments, teams or processes you might not know about, but who keep the Drexel cogs moving each and every day!

Drexel University’s policies on prohibited discrimination, harassment and retaliation as well as on sexual harassment and misconduct apply to all Drexel students, faculty and professional staff. That’s why the Drexel Office of Civil Rights Compliance is here to help all of those Dragons.

“We want people to be aware that we’re here to answer questions, show up as a partner and talk about what we can do to make sure that you’re made whole,” said Deputy Title IX Coordinator, Civil Rights Investigator and Hearing Officer Mariah Adkisson.

In this Q&A, Adkisson explained everything the Drexel community should know about the Drexel Office of Civil Rights Compliance, from training and resources to reporting and policies ­— as well as its recent name change.

Q: What is the purpose of the Drexel Office of Civil Rights Compliance?

A: The role of the Drexel Office of Civil Rights Compliance is essentially to protect people’s civil rights and to ensure that we run a process through which they can have potential violations of their civil rights addressed. We serve as the stewards of two policies: a discrimination, harassment and retaliation policy, and a sexual harassment and misconduct policy. Our role at the University is to make sure that those policies are followed and that we are educating the community about those policies. We also provide support and resources for those impacted by conduct that falls under these policies. 

Q: Who at Drexel can access this office for support?

A: All members of our community can access this office: students, faculty and professional staff. Most of our work is in providing support and resources to members of our community who may have been impacted by conduct that could violate our policies.

Q: What kind of training and resources are available?

A: While we have a responsibility under state and federal regulations to make certain trainings available to students and employees - for example, the "Understanding Title IX at Drexel" training - our office also offers a variety of trainings and educational opportunities to the Drexel community. Each of these are geared specifically to meet the needs of individual groups or bring additional awareness and education that a student organization or department may like to have for their own knowledge or continued work. Some examples include trainings and workshops around being an active bystander to sexual misconduct, how to have difficult conversations with individuals who've experienced harm, and mandated reporting. Mandated reporting workshops and trainings are often the most requested, and we work with the department or group to get the most out of their mandated reporting education for their employees and students. Employees and student leaders are encouraged to look at our educational offerings and reach out to civilrightseducation@drexel.edu with requests or questions.

Additionally, while mandated reporters can reach out to our office with questions, they are highly encouraged to use the Drexel Employee Mandated Reporting Toolkit and Mandated Reporting Quick Guide if they ever need additional support.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to say about training and resources?

A: It’s the University’s responsibility to ensure that members of our community are educated on expectations for their conduct. We want to make sure that folks are informed about their rights and options, and that they feel empowered and supported when taking appropriate next steps.

Under our policy, a complainant would be the one who’s been impacted by potentially prohibited conduct even if they haven’t made a report, and a mandated reporter is someone they might turn to as a trusted resource who is required to make a report for student, coworker or patient welfare. We get a lot of questions about what is ethically and legally required if a student or coworker talks to a mandated reporter about something that’s going on, and a big part of our education is providing answers to those sorts of questions. Complainants are not required to work with our office, but our office is required to reach out to them to give them the opportunity to if they would like it. We ask our community members not to act as gatekeepers between our office and folks who might need our help.

While we do have certain policies we’re required to have by law, the University community has also chosen to have some things written into our policies that are just reflective of our values here at Drexel. Part of the education and training that we do is also around those values. We want to make sure folks understand what the expectations are and the type of environment that they should expect here.

Q: How does someone report something to your office?

A: All members of the University community can report to our office in a number of ways, and we are required to respond to all reports the same way. You can report by phone (215.895.1405) or email (civilrights@drexel.edu); an in-person or virtual meeting; or through our online reporting form, which is our primary and preferred method of reporting. The online reporting form is connected to a system that automatically routes the report based on the information contained in it to a group of people whose job it is to respond in a timely fashion to issues, especially emergency issues.

When we are assessing a report, we look to see if a member of our community is in danger and/or if the community in general is in danger. We also assess if there any emergency steps we need to take immediately. We are required to reach out to any impacted related persons to see if we can get them connected to resources and supports. We also make sure that they have access to the information that they have a right to access, so that they can make an informed decision about the next steps of that matte

Q: Generally speaking, what can people expect to happen after that report is made?

A: The issues that come up under our policies are often because somebody’s agency has been taken away. The way the policies are written gives the agency back to that complainant.

 The complainant tells us what a resolution looks like for them and what they would like us to do. Sometimes, that’s a request for us to do nothing, document the matter and take no additional action. Sometimes it’s a request to do something specific, like investigate the matter or help them with having a difficult conversation. But other than situations where there is an actual imminent danger to the community or to that individual, we’re going to respect what they’re asking us to do. They will have access to the information and resources, and they have a touch point into our office if they ever need anything related to this case. 

Q: Is there anything else besides what you just expressed that you’d like to bring up related to the discrimination, harassment and retaliation policy?

A: So for example, if someone says, “I think I’m being graded differently than other folks in my class based on my race,” we might need to talk to that student before they go to their next class meeting with that professor, and make a plan in place, like moving that student into a different section of the class or having conversations. Or if an employee says, “My coworker has been making specific statements to me because I’m from a foreign country,” we might limit contact between those two people. We work with our campus partners to ensure that the person who is impacted is able to continue with their education or employment, while also preserving the rights of anyone who’s being accused.

Q: Is there anything else besides what you just expressed that you’d like to bring up related to the sexual harassment and sexual misconduct policy?

A: The sexual harassment and sexual misconduct policy is a really important part of what we do in our office. Unfortunately, these things do happen, whether it’s within our community or to members of our community when they’re somewhere else, like on vacation. They still have certain rights and should be receiving certain services from the University in order to make that situation right.

The language underlying that policy all comes from Title IX, which says that you have a right to access your education. If something happens to harm or interfere with your inability to access your education, Drexel must do something about it. If an incident happens and you need assistance from the University, Drexel must provide that assistance.

This includes help connecting with the police or a victim services coordinator, who can help navigate things like getting a protection from abuse order from the city or going to court. We can connect to the Philadelphia Sexual Assault Resource Center (PSARC), which we’re very proud to say is Drexel-affiliated, to provide services, including seeing a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) nurse. SANE nurses collect evidence, like if you’ve heard of rape kits, but they’re also going to ensure that someone has the medical care that they require, such as access to the right medications after an assault happens. They assist whether or not someone decided to move forward with any police process.

If this is something that’s happening within our community, we must pursue next steps as the complainant would like. If they would like to file a formal complaint against another student, such as an intimate partner violence case, we need to connect them to those next steps.

An important thing to note, though, is that our office is impartial. We like to say we’re on everyone’s side. We want to make sure that everybody’s okay. We do run a grievance process through our office that would investigate and then come up with sanctions if someone was found responsible for violating the policies. However, like I said, we’re impartial. We represent the needs and rights of everybody on all sides. Whether you’re a person who’s been impacted by conduct that could violate the policies, or you’re someone who’s been accused of violating those policies, either way, the resources and supports are all there. We’re here to make sure that you’re okay and can navigate that process fairly, ethically and appropriately so that everybody gets a fair shake the way the policies were written and then reviewed by the University community. These policies represent our values, our culture and what we think should happen when there’s an accusation that someone has violated these policies.

Q: Can you explain more about the Office of Civil Rights Compliance’s name changes and what the most recent name change reflects?

A: In my tenure in this office, we have gone through three different names. We had previously been called Office of Equality and Diversity. We then underwent a review and became the Office for Institutional Equity and Inclusive Culture. More recently, we reimagined the office again, and we are now the Office of Civil Rights Compliance. We feel that that more accurately captures what you can expect from our team. 

We are a compliance office, which tends to scare folks away. And people don’t want to be working with us, typically, so if you’re coming in, you might not want to be there. But we get a lot of feedback that it’s a positive experience, that the folks in our team are care-focused and trauma-informed, and that it could be a pleasant experience to work with us. We’re here to solve problems and help.

Q: What common misconceptions would you like to clear up?

A: I do want to acknowledge that there are limitations to the work that we do. We are not the Office of Solving All Problems in the World. We are not a social justice office. We are not a DEI office. Our office has a specific role in some of those things, but we are here to run that civil rights compliance function. You can expect that we are going to do that fairly, equitably and with an eye to what the policies require and what the law requires. If folks aren’t sure where to go, they’re welcome to come in and ask us and we can get you to the right place if we’re not the right place to be.

We have a really specific role and function at the University, and we take that job very seriously. I think that’s another misconception that we sometimes see, with people asking just what is this office about? My answer is always: we’re protecting your rights.