A. General Complaint: Any member of the MIT community may file a complaint alleging that a student or student organization violated any provision in The Mind and Hand Book, The Academic Integrity Handbook, or any other MIT policy, rule, guideline, or regulation. The complaint shall be submitted in writing or by meeting with the OSCCS to give a verbal complaint statement. For complaints of discrimination and discriminatory harassment, a complaint should be submitted in writing to IDHR. A complaint should be submitted as soon as possible after the event takes place. The Institute itself may initiate a complaint. The COD Chair, OSCCS, or, where appropriate, IDHR may determine on a case-by-case basis whether to permit a non-MIT community member to submit a complaint.
- Prior to the submission of a complaint, a complainant may meet with the OSCCS to discuss the options available to resolve the complaint, the steps to follow for each option, and receive answers to any questions.
B. Sexual Misconduct, Sexual Harassment, Intimate Partner Violence, or Stalking Complaint (non-Title IX): Any member of the MIT community may initiate a complaint alleging that a student or student organization engaged in sexual misconduct, sexual harassment, intimate partner violence, or stalking that does not meet the definition of Title IX Sexual Harassment by notifying IDHR. The Institute itself may initiate such a complaint. More information about special complaint handling procedures for cases involving sexual misconduct, intimate partner violence, and stalking are described in Section XIII. The COD Chair, OSCCS, or, where appropriate, IDHR may determine on a case-by-case basis whether to permit a non-MIT community member to submit a non-Title IX sexual misconduct complaint.
C. Title IX Sexual Harassment Complaint: A formal complaint alleging Title IX Sexual Harassment and requesting that MIT investigate the allegation(s) of Title IX Sexual Harassment. A Title IX Sexual Harassment complaint may be filed by a complainant or signed by the Title IX Coordinator. At the time of filing a Title IX Sexual Harassment complaint, a complainant must be participating in or attempting to participate in the education program or activity of MIT. A Title IX Sexual Harassment complaint may be filed with the Title IX Coordinator in person, by mail, or by electronic mail, using the contact information for the Title IX Coordinator on the IDHR website. As used in this paragraph, the phrase “filed by a complainant” means a document or electronic submission (such as by electronic mail or through an online portal provided by IDHR that contains the complainant’s physical or digital signature, or otherwise indicates that the complainant is the person filing the Title IX Sexual Harassment complaint). Where the Title IX Coordinator signs a Title IX Sexual Harassment complaint, the Title IX Coordinator is not a complainant or otherwise a party.
D. Faculty Letter to File: A faculty letter to file is a complaint filed by an instructor alleging a first and low-level violation of MIT’s academic integrity policy that, based on the instructor’s current knowledge, does not require further action by the COD. The Instructor submits this letter to the OSCCS.
- Prior to submitting the faculty letter to file, the instructor is invited to consult with the OSCCS to determine whether the student has had any prior violations of the academic integrity policy.
- The Chair of COD may convert a faculty letter to file to a complaint if the respondent has had prior academic misconduct violations or the alleged misconduct warrants further action from the COD.
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