Bias Incident Reporting

BIAS INCIDENT RESPONSE TEAM

For emergencies that need immediate attention and/or support, call CCAD Safety & Security: 614.222.6165 or 911.

Guided by its Core Values of Respect, Accountability, Inspiration, and Positivity, Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) commits to maintaining an environment where its diverse community of students, employees, and guests are met with mutual respect and an appreciation of their individual contributions. CCAD’s Diversity Statement can be found online.

ROLE

The primary role of CCAD’s Bias Incident Response Team (BIRT), composed of faculty and staff, is to respond to reported incidents of real or perceived bias targeting CCAD students, faculty, and/or staff. The team’s fundamental role is to:

Support community members who bring forward a report of bias, making appropriate referrals as necessary in response to the reported incident;
Encourage respect in the CCAD community, stimulate dialogue about the impact of bias, and raise awareness about prevention and bystander intervention; and
Collect and share culture patterns with seniors leaders to help inform CCAD’s strategic planning, policies, and procedures to promote an inclusive college community.

The BIRT does not adjudicate conduct code or policy violations and is not authorized to administer sanctions or take corrective action. It’s also important to note that not every incident will be a violation of college policy, however all reported incidents will be reviewed for an appropriate response.

In the event that a BIRT member is identified in an incident report as an alleged offender, that member will not be involved in that case and will be restricted from information on that case.

BIRT members are required to sign a memorandum of understanding that addresses expectations around confidentiality and privacy and that inappropriate sharing of information received will be addressed through a conduct process.

Please review the BIRT FAQs below for definitions related to this policy:

HOW TO REPORT A BIAS INCIDENT TO THE CCAD BIRT

If this is an EMERGENCY situation, CALL 911 or contact the CCAD Safety & Security at 614.222.6165. Do not use this form to report events that present an immediate threat to health or safety.

If you or someone you know has experienced bias, please let us know. While it is recommended that anyone considering filing a Bias Incident Report first discuss the issues with the person involved and/or the person’s supervisor, we understand this might not always be possible. This step is not required, but ensures the concern has been shared and potentially resolved in a cooperative setting.

A Bias Incident Report may be filed by any student, faculty member, or staff member of the college at any time. However, it’s important to note that when extensive time has passed from the incident occurrence to the filing of a report, the BIRT may be limited in the level of response it can pursue. Reports may be made anonymously, though this limits CCAD’s level of response, if any at all.

COMPLETE & SUBMIT A BIAS INCIDENT REPORT FORM

NOTES ABOUT SUBMITTING A REPORT:

When reporting bias incidents, please note the following:

If you report anonymously, this may significantly limit the college’s and the BIRT’s ability to address concerns. That said, the BIRT will make every effort to use information obtained in an anonymous report to provide support and resources to affected community members and to inform senior leaders about community culture.
Your privacy and trust are very important to us. We will make every effort to respect your privacy. Please be aware however, in certain circumstances involving safety concerns or criminal action we may not be able to guarantee complete anonymity. Regardless of the situations, matters are generally handled discretely and in conformity with the college’s privacy policies. Information about individuals or situations will only be shared with individuals with a legitimate need to know. The college also has a non-retaliation policy that protects individuals who report incidents.
If you have any questions about filing or completing a report, please contact the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs & Dean of Students, who is also the Chair of the BIRT, at studentaffairs@ccad.edu.

INCIDENT REPORT REVIEW AND RESOLUTION PROCESS

When a bias incident is reported, the BIRT will respond in the following ways:

Information from an incident report is received by the BIRT Chair.
Within 48 business hours of receipt of the report, the Chair responds to the individual(s) submitting a report to acknowledge receipt of the report and outlines next steps in the process. The Chair also confirms if the reporting individual would like to meet with a member of the BIRT to discuss the incident in more detail to help the team determine next steps and an appropriate response. Support is also offered at this time.
If the individual would like to meet with a member of the BIRT, the Chair coordinates with the team to assign an appropriate member to schedule the meeting with the reporting individual.
After collecting more information from the reporting individual, the team reviews the report and meeting notes from the interview, as applicable. The BIRT then determines whether a bias incident may have occurred and what next steps might be taken. Reported incidents are reviewed as promptly as possible.
As necessary, the BIRT Chair consults with other college officials (Associate Vice President for Human Resources, Provost, Director of Residence Life & Housing, Director of Safety & Security, etc.) and relevant offices to coordinate responses.
If the reported incident is determined to potentially involve bias, the Chair will follow up with the reporting individual and offer support and resolution options in the most appropriate and restorative way possible. Depending on the reporting individual’s preferences, the Chair will then coordinate next steps, which might include an outreach to the individual alleged to have engaged in bias behavior. The decision to engage the responding individual will be made by the BIRT, whose members also will determine the appropriate team member to engage that individual for a conversation. The alleged offender is not required to engage in this outreach or meet with a member of the BIRT. The BIRT member who communicates with the alleged offender will be able to refer them to other campus resources if they have concerns or questions about the report.
The BIRT can also refer the reporting individual to other offices if they are interested in pursuing a formal conduct complaint and investigation. Depending on the severity of the reported behavior, the BIRT has the authority to engage these offices directly. The BIRT will share any collected reports and information with those authorities.
Resolution of a reported incident is the main goal of BIRT. This can follow a number of avenues, depending on the scale of the incident, the impact, both parties’ willingness to move forward, and the parties’ openness to restorative approaches.
When a reported incident has had a campuswide impact or involves campus risk, a campus wide email may be sent. In certain situations, CCAD’s President may also send a message to the campus community.
The reporting individual will receive a final overview of steps the BIRT took to help resolve the situation and can refer that individual to other campus resources as requested.

CONDUCT IMPLICATIONS

Reported bias incidents on their own do not automatically constitute a violation of any policy or law. The below definition is used primarily for reporting and statistical purposes only. Other CCAD policies, for both employees and students, govern conduct response protocols of the college. The BIRT can refer the reporting individual to the appropriate authoritative office if they wish to initiate a formal investigative process for conduct purposes. For more details on conduct policies and procedures, students can review the Code of Student Conduct and employees can review their respective handbooks or contact Human Resources.

A NOTE ON FREE SPEECH & ACADEMIC FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Please be aware that while an expression or point of view may be offensive or inflammatory to some, it is not necessarily a bias incident. CCAD values freedom of expression and the open exchange of ideas; the expression of controversial ideas and differing views is vital to college discourse. While this value of openness protects controversial ideas, it does not protect actions which violate policies listed in the student or employee handbooks, including the Freedom of Expression and Inquiry Policy.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS & DEFINITIONS

What is bias?

Bias is a personal inclination or temperament based on unreasoned judgment or attitude that inclines an individual to treat someone negatively because of their actual or perceived race, color, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, ethnicity or national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, education, religion, age, creed, genetic information, physical or mental disability, medical or health status, vetran status, or any combination of these or other related intersectional identities. Bias may be reflected in behavior implicitly (nonverbal) or explicitly (verbal or written) that can be threatening, harassing, intimidating, discriminatory, hostile, unwelcoming, exclusionary, demeaning, degrading, or derogatory in nature.

What is a bias incident?

CCAD defines a bias incident as a single or multiple acts toward or about an individual, group, or their property that are so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that they create an unreasonably intimidating, hostile, or offensive work, learning, or program environment, and that one could reasonably conclude are based upon actual or perceived identity or association characteristics as listed above. These incidents may occur on campus, off campus, or online and include CCAD students, faculty, staff, contractors, or visitors to the college. It is important to note that CCAD may be limited in its ability to respond to incidents that involve people who are unaffiliated with the college. Examples of bias-related acts may include:

Name-calling; using a racial, ethnic, or other slur to identify someone; or using degrading language.
Creating racist or derogatory artworks, drawings, writings, etc.
Imitating someone with a disability, or imitating someone's cultural norm or practice.
Making jokes or using stereotypes when talking to someone.
Use of dehumanizing, derogatory, or insulting language based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, or disability in person, in writing, on social media, on whiteboards, etc.
Intentionally misgendering someone, using the incorrect pronoun, or using the incorrect name.

What is a hate crime?

On the most basic level, a hate crime is a crime that is committed based on an actual or perceived characteristic, of a person or group, which is outlined above. For state of Ohio and federal legal definitions of a hate crime, see resource links below.

What types of resolution responses might the BIRT utilize?

The following, are examples of some of the resolution options the BIRT may take to respond to a reported bias incident:

Mediation
Restorative justice sessions
Apologies
Educational sessions
Referral to campus resources

How are privacy and confidentiality handled?

The BIRT recognizes the importance of balancing an individual’s rights to confidentiality and privacy with the community’s need to know how the college is responding to an incident. All incidents reported to the BIRT are handled with privacy and discretion. Any personal information obtained during the response process will be subject to disclosure only to the extent required by law, or as required for the college to respond appropriately.

Who are the BIRT members?

Athena Sanders: Associate Vice President for Students Affairs, Dean of Students & Title IX Coordinator (Chair of BIRT)
Liz Gordon-Canlas, Director of Residence Life & Housing
Kristen Davis, Director of Student Engagement & Inclusion
Craig Campbell, Associate Professor and President - Faculty Council
Cierra Russell, Residential Community Coordinator
Eileen Galvin, Help Desk Manager
Darren Lee Miller, Associate Professor and Chair of Photography