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Reporting Obligations for Responsible Campus Partners

With very limited exceptions (see below), all Loyola faculty and staff employees must report any known, disclosed, alleged, or otherwise reported (formally or informally) incidents of sexual misconduct that satisfies any of the following criteria:

  • Sexual misconduct against any individual who is currently a minor by any individual
  • Sexual misconduct against any individual who is or was a student at the time of the incident
  • Sexual misconduct by any individual who is or was a student or employee (faculty or staff) at the time of the incident

Faculty and staff employees and others with such a duty are referred to as “responsible campus partners,” and are to report such incidents within 24 hours of becoming aware of the incident. In order not to betray the trust of any student or other affected party, responsible campus partners should be forthright and transparent about this obligation at all times.

Responsible campus partners should maintain strict privacy with respect to student disclosures and reports; the OEC will notify individuals with a legitimate business need to know, as necessary. Reporters and/or affected parties may want to consider carefully whether they share personally identifiable details with responsible campus partners, as responsible campus partners must promptly share all details of such reports they receive – including the identities of all known parties – with the Office for Equity & Compliance ("OEC"), preferably via the online reporting form (powered by Maxient™) available at www.luc.edu/equity.

Exceptions to the Reporting Obligation

There are limited exceptions to the reporting obligation, outlined below. 

Exception for Select Designated Employees

At Loyola, students wishing to speak to a member of the University about an experience of sexual misconduct without initiating an OEC report should contact the Sexual Assault Advocates (“Advocates”) of the Wellness Center. Advocates are the only University employees who are designated as “confidential advisors” under the ILPSVHE Act (110 ILCS 155, Section 20), and as such, Advocates can help students access available supports and resources in the University and/or in the local community without triggering a duty to have the matter reported to the OEC. Advocates can be contacted free of charge through the Advocacy Services at the Wellness Center or by calling the Advocacy Hotline at 773-494-3810 during the extended business hours posted online.

In addition, the following categories of employee are also exempt from the reporting obligations of responsible campus partners in certain situations, only when the employee is acting in the professional capacity indicated, and subject to the limitations below:

  • Licensed professional counselors and staff
  • Health service providers and staff
  • Catholic priests (only when offering the Sacrament of Reconciliation/“confession”) and other pastoral counselors

Students and employees seeking confidential services off-campus may also want to consult with local community resources, such as:

It should be noted that even the above-listed individuals may have an obligation to report matters to the University, law enforcement, or others, in cases where either (a) the failure to disclose would result in a clear, imminent risk of serious physical injury to or death of any person, (b) the matter involved the alleged abuse of a minor, or (c) disclosure is otherwise required by law. Additionally, these individuals may still be required to submit anonymous statistical information to the OEC for Clery Act purposes unless they believe it would be harmful to their client, patient, or parishioner.

Exception for Student Workers & Graduate Assistants

Students (including student workers and graduate assistants) are excluded from the responsible campus partner reporting obligation at all times and regardless of whether the student is acting in an employment or student capacity.

Exception for Safe Haven Programs

Programming around sexual assault and harassment, intimate partner and/or domestic violence, and stalking is an important educational tool. At times, it may be appropriate or reasonable to expect that students would disclose personal experiences with these topics during these programs. “Safe Haven” events are events where, even if one or more responsible campus partners are present, a personal disclosure or allegation of sexual misconduct would not trigger an obligation to report the matter to the OEC. When planning to host or facilitate a Safe Haven event (or any educational program about sexual misconduct), planners are encouraged to contact the Wellness Center or OEC to receive information about best practices.

Safe Haven designation must be pre-approved by the Office for Equity & Compliance. Members of the Loyola community can request the Safe Haven designation for an event by submitting this request form.

Several elements must be in place before the event will be designated a Safe Haven event. These requirements include:

  • A trained Advocate must be present for the entirety of the program. To request a trained Advocate to be present at a proposed event, please contact the Advocacy Coordinator in the Wellness Center.
  • Advertisements must label the program as a Safe Haven event and be submitted with the request form.
  • Information about how to report sexual misconduct to the OEC must be provided to attendees during the event.

Exception for IRB-Approved Research

Loyola provides a narrow exemption to its responsible campus partner reporting obligation for research activities that have been approved by the Institutional Review Board (“IRB”). The University will exempt a faculty member who may otherwise be a responsible campus partner from the reporting obligation when acting in a researcher role. This exemption reflects the fact that student participants in research studies would expect confidentiality, which is fundamental to conducting ethical research with human participants.

Student participants in research studies will be informed that relevant disclosures in IRB-approved research will not be shared with the University and do not constitute notice to the University of an allegation or report of sexual misconduct. Applicable disclosures made to researchers in all other settings (e.g., during office hours, academic advising, classroom discussions, informal discussions, or classroom assignments) must still be reported to the OEC. For further information about the limitations of this exemption, see the IRB website.

Extra Obligation for Supervisors & Managers

To the extent required by law, faculty and staff employees who hold supervisory or managerial responsibilities have an obligation to report any known, disclosed, alleged or otherwise reported (formally or informally) incidents of discrimination or retaliation against or by a current Loyola student or faculty or staff employee.

Resources for Faculty and Staff

All responsible campus partners are encouraged to be transparent about their reporting obligations at all times, and especially if approached by a student who asks to speak to you privately or confidentially about any personal matter. Additionally, faculty in particular are encouraged to note this obligation in their course syllabi. Sample syllabus language and other resources to support faculty and staff in responding appropriately to student disclosures of sexual misconduct are available here. 

Importance of Reporting

This video, provided by United Educators, underscores the importance of reporting allegations to University officials (the Office for Equity & Compliance, at Loyola) to ensure that appropriate steps can be taken to ensure a safe, inclusive environment for our entire University community.