FAQs
OURR Case Managers are neutral factfinders. As a result, they do not advocate for any Party, department, or college. They do not decide whether an ASU policy violation has been committed. Rather, a Case Manager gathers relevant evidence, which includes, but is not limited to, obtaining Party and witness statements as well as material documents. At the conclusion of an investigation, the Case Manager prepares factual findings, which are submitted to the appropriate University Authority who decides whether or not a policy violation has been committed. The University Authority also determines whether any further administrative action is warranted (e.g., may refer the matter to a department administrator for discipline consideration).
OURR's Procedures note that an investigation will be completed as promptly as possible and, in most cases, within 90 calendar days of the date the investigation is initiated. If more time is necessary to complete the investigation, the OURR Case Manager will notify the relevant Parties. A number of factors can result in an OURR investigation taking longer than 90 days. For instance, time frames for completing investigations undoubtedly will vary due to the complexity, severity, and/or extent of the issues being investigated. An investigation could be delayed if certain Parties and/or witnesses are temporarily unavailable, e.g., because of a university break, vacation, medical leave, family leave, personal emergency, sabbatical, study abroad, or other legitimate reasons. A pending, corresponding criminal investigation could delay an investigation. Overall, an investigation may be extended beyond 90 days for good cause as necessary to ensure the integrity and completeness of the investigative process.
Occasionally, but not often. As a complainant might anticipate, a person being accused of violating University policy has a right to respond to an allegation or concern filed with OURR. Typically, the specific factual details in the allegation or concern will naturally reveal the identity of the complainant to the person accused. However, even when the identity of the complainant is not obvious from the content of the allegation or concern, OURR may be required by law, policy, or basic principles of fundamental fairness to share the identity of the complainant with the person accused.
Yes. OURR's Procedures note that some matters can best be resolved through training or education. Additionally, OURR's Procedures permit certain types of concerns and allegations, but not all, to be resolved through informal resolution. Informal resolution requires the agreement of all Parties and allows the Parties to consider a full range of possible appropriate outcomes.
Throughout this page, you will see the term “Confidential Resource” being used frequently.''ASU’s three confidential resources for students — ASU Counseling Services, ASU Victim-Survivor Services, and ASU Health Services — are not mandatory reporters. ASU Employees can also connect with the Employee Assistance Office for confidential support. All other university resources, including Student Advocacy and Assistance, The Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities and the Office of University Rights and Responsibilities are mandatory reporters. While these resources are not confidential, they are private and only share information with other university offices and officials who need to be involved in providing support or assisting with the reporting process.
After the investigation has concluded and the Case Manager has submitted the factual findings to the appropriate University Decision Maker, each Party involved in the investigation will recieve a Determination Letter from the University Decision Maker. The Determination Letter summarizes the factual findings and provides the University Decision Maker's decision on whether ASU policy was violated.
Definitions
Works in the Office of University Rights and Responsibilities, has a J.D., and has specialized training to conduct administrative investigations involving allegations of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and other alleged violations under ASU policies ACD 401, ACD 402, ACD 405, and SPP 815.
The Office of University Rights and Responsibilities procedures are entitled P20: Prohibition Against Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation: Report and Investigation Procedure.
Person who was subjected to the alleged wrongful conduct, and also the person who is accused of engaging in the alleged wrongful conduct and violating University policy. For purposes of informal resolution, the University Decision Maker is also considered a Party.
University Provost; Executive Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer; Senior Vice President for Educational Outreach and Student Services; Executive Vice President, ASU Knowledge Enterprise; Chief of Staff, Office of the President; or their designee.