Reporting a Concern to Equal Opportunity
Appalachian State University is committed to providing an institutional environment free from discrimination and harassment to members of the Appalachian community, including students, faculty, staff, and others who participate in University programs and activities or conduct business on behalf of the University.
Prohibited Conduct: The Equal Opportunity (EO) unit within the Office of Access & Opportunity is the designated office to receive and navigate concerns of:
- Discrimination, Harassment, or related Retaliationpursuant to Policy 110;
- Workplace Violence; and
- Clery Safety Act crimes.
Reporting: Reports may be made by:
- Completing the Access & Opportunity: Equal Opportunity Incident Report Form;
- Phone;
- In-person; or
- Mail directly to the EO office.
Any person may report an allegation of Prohibited Conduct as defined in Policy 110. All University employees are required to report any information that may indicate the occurrence of Prohibited Conduct to EOas promptly as possible, but in no event after forty-eight (48) hours (2 business days) except confidential employees acting in an official confidential role, such as University counseling services, Ombuds, Student Health Service, pastoral counselors, and Student Legal Services.
Resolution Procedures: Please review EO’s applicable resolution procedures to learn more about the University’s response to allegations of Prohibited Conduct along with rights of involved parties.
Other Reporting Options
NOTE: reports to these departments may not be confidential.
Type of Incident or Concern | Report to |
|---|---|
| Any person who is informed of a crime, safety concern, or incidents of harassment that may be a crime under state criminal law, such as a physical, assault, sexual assault, relationship violence, or stalking. | Law Enforcement |
| Concerns for a student’s behavior or conduct | Office of Student Conduct |
| Concerns about a faculty's behavior in association with their position at Appalachian | Senior Vice Provost of Faculty Policies and Development within Academic Affairs |
| Concerns about an employee’s behavior (EPS, SHRA, and student) in association with their position at Appalachian | Office of Human Resources |
| Concerns regarding fraud, waste, or abuse | Internal Audits (may report anonymously) |
| Safety concerns related to environmental health, safety, and emergency management functions. | Office of Environmental Health, Safety and Emergency Management (“EHS&EM”) |
| Concern about reasonably suspecting that a minor has been abused or neglected by a parent, guardian, caregiver, or staff member. | County Department of Social Services (“DSS”). |
| Incident of abuse or neglect related to a University-sponsored/affiliated youth program or activity. | Conference and Event Services and App State Police Reports may involve minors and/or program staff, and should be reported to Conference and Event Services at 828- 262-7273 or minorsoncampus@appstate.edu. |
| Emergencies | call 911 or App State Police (828)262-8000 |
| Grievable Personnel Matters | SHRA: Current or former Employees subject to the State Human Resources Act (“SHRA”) who need to report allegations of Prohibited Conduct must initiate the SHRA grievance procedure pursuant the UNC System SHRA Employee Grievance Policy within 15 calendar days of the action. The SHRA grievance submission will be treated as a report and processed pursuant to the UNC System SHRA Employee Grievance Policy rather than EO Resolution Procedures. Faculty: Faculty who need to report allegations of Prohibited Conduct related to terms and conditions of employment negatively affected by a decision made by an administrator in a supervisory role over the faculty must initiate the applicable grievance process in accordance with Chapter VI, Section 603, 605, and 607 of The Code and any accompanying policies or regulations in the UNC Policy Manual, including but not limited to UNC Policy 101.3.2[R] and outlined in the Faculty Handbook within the designated time frame of the applicable grievance process. Faculty grievance requests will be treated as a report and processed per the Faculty Handbook and pursuant to EO Resolution Procedures. |
External Complaint Processes
An individual may also file a complaint with the appropriate external federal, state, or local agency within the time frame required by law. Depending upon the nature of the complaint, the appropriate agency may be the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Education.
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Headquarters
131 M Street, NE
Washington, DC 20507
Phone: 202-663-4900
Email: info@eeoc.gov
Web: http://www.eeoc.gov(link is external)
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
Office for Civil Rights, National Headquarters
U.S. Department of Education
Lyndon Baines Johnson Dept. of Education Building
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-1100
Telephone: 800-421-3481
Fax: 202-453-6012; TDD: 800-877-8339
Email: OCR@ed.gov