The Office of Equal Opportunity is committed to fostering an inclusive, accessible and diverse intellectual and cultural campus experience related to the mission of North Carolina State University. We facilitate efforts to ensure equity and opportunity, increases awareness of diversity issues through education, and strengthens relationships across diverse groups. Through these efforts, we promotes cultural competence development, thereby fostering a welcoming and respectful campus. By providing guidance, programming, and outreach to constituent groups and the community and by adhering to accountability and compliance standards, we prepare NC State students, faculty, and staff for local, state, national, and global collaboration.

The Goals of our office are to:

• cultivate a community in which individuals demonstrate respect toward one another;
• facilitate campus efforts to increase participation, retention, and success of students, faculty, and staff.
  
• ensure that NC State is an equitable and inclusive environment, one that is free from prohibited discrimination and harassment.
• provide effective awareness and enrichment programming to the NC State community;
• work together, as units of the office to provide a unified, campus-wide approach to ensure that students, faculty, and staff learn and work within a campus defined by best practices.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) states that no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. Title IX applies to any institution receiving federal financial assistance, including NC State University. Educational programs and activities that receive federal funds from the Department of Education must operate in a nondiscriminatory manner. Also, a recipient may not retaliate against any person for opposing an unlawful educational practice or policy, or because a person made charges, testified or participated in any complaint action under Title IX.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin, in programs or activities which receive Federal financial assistance. Furthermore, individuals cannot be retaliated against because they opposed an unlawful educational practice or policy, or made charges, testified or participated in any complaint action under Title VI. Title VI includes employment and employment practices. 

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

While Title VI does address employment, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) expands more fully and looks at cases of discrimination specifically as they relate to employment, regardless of if the entity in question receives federal funding if they have more than 15 full-time employees. Title VII expands upon Title VI to include religion and sex discrimination within its law. Additionally, Title VII requires that entities reasonably accommodate job applicants and employees’ religious beliefs unless doing so would cause an undue hardship.

This aspect of the law is administered on a national level by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC enforces “federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, transgender status, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.”

NC State Policy

NC State works to ensure that its policies accurately reflect Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  NC State POL 04.25.05 -Equal Opportunity and Nondiscrimination Policy defines Protected Status as race; color; religion (including belief and non-belief); sex, including but not limited to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition, parenting, and sexual harassment; sexual orientation; actual or perceived gender identity; age; national origin; disability; veteran status; or genetic information. NC State applicants, employees, students, and other persons who participate in University programs or activities, and/or who are conducting University business are expected to understand and comply with the University’s policies.

In addition to the NC State Policy 04.25.05 – Equal Opportunity, Non-Discrimination, and Affirmative Action Policy, members of the NC State community are expected to uphold other Policies and Regulations related to discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.

The following definitions are defined in NC State REG 04.25.02: Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation Complaint Resolution Procedures:

• Discrimination is defined as “differential treatment of a person because of a person’s Protected Status which denies, limits, or adversely impacts a term or condition of a person’s employment, education, or their participation in University programs or activities.”
• Harassment is defined as “a form of Discrimination that consists of unwelcome conduct due to a person’s Protected Status that creates a situation: (i) where enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of employment or of participation in a Program or Activity, or (ii) that, based on the totality of circumstances, is subjectively and objectively offensive and is so severe or pervasive that it changes an employee’s terms and conditions of employment or limits or denies a person’s ability to participate in or benefit from a Program or Activity.”
• Retaliation is defined as “any adverse action (including but not limited to intimidation, threats, or coercion relating to an adverse action) against a person because that person engaged in a Protected Activity.”

Consultations & Filing a Report

Individuals who feel they may have experienced discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation based on a Protected Status has a right to file a report through the University’s Discrimination, Harassment, Title IX, and Retaliation Report Form. Individuals may also choose a consultation that will include discussing university resources, supportive measures, and the complaint procedures available. Individuals who are interested in a consultation can contact OEO via email at equalopportunity@ncsu.edu or via phone at 919.513.0574. The File a Report page includes additional information regarding reporting options.

For more information about resolution procedures, please see NCSU REG 04.25.02- Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation Complaint Procedure and NCSU REG 04.25.08- Title IX Sexual Harassment Resolution Procedure.

Trainings

All employees are required to complete Discrimination and Harassment Prevention and Response (DHPR), a training designed to educate employees about their rights and responsibilities as to NC State’s policies regarding equal opportunity and non-discrimination. The training covers federal laws, policies and processes about filing a complaint. Employees are required to complete the training within the first six months of employment and then every three years. The training is offered to all new employees at New Employee Orientation and can be conducted virtually.

Employees designated as Designated Title IX Officials and Responsible Employees are required to complete a training program that includes information about the obligations of responsible employees under Title IX with respect to sexual harassment (including sexual assault and sexual violence) within six months of their appointment into a Designated Title IX Official and/or Responsible Employees position. See NCSU REG 04.25.06 – Equal Opportunity, Title IX and Non-Discrimination Training for Employees.

For more information about NC State’s Equal Employment Opportunity Plan (also referred to as the Affirmative Action Plan) and as well as how NC State engages in fair hiring practices, please visit EEO and Hiring Practices. 

Additional Resources