Group of employees

Designated Officials and Responsible Employees

Learn who is considered a Title IX Designated Official and responsible employee.

What is a Title IX Designated Official?

A Title IX Designated Official is personnel authorized by NC State to receive notice of Title IX Sexual Harassment and Retaliation and to institute corrective measures. Individuals may make a Report regarding Title IX Sexual Harassment, whether or not the person reporting is the person impacted by the alleged conduct, by speaking to any of the following personnel:

What is a Responsible Employee?

A responsible employee includes any employee:

  • Responsible Employee placardwho has been given the duty of reporting incidents of sex discrimination to the Title IX coordinator or other appropriate school designee.

Unsure if the person you’re speaking to is a Responsible Employee? Follow these quick and easy steps to find out:

  1. Ask them. REs are trained to identify their responsibilities and tell you if they are required to report.
  2. For further questions about Responsible Employee status, please contact OIED at 919.513.0574.

 

Who Are Responsible Employees?

Responsible Employees at NC State have been identified as the following individuals:

  • All vice chancellors, associate and assistant vice chancellors.
  • The provost, senior vice provosts, vice provosts and associate vice provosts.
  • Colleges: All deans, associate and assistant deans, department heads, associate department heads, directors of undergraduate and/or graduate programs, and selected service professionals, academic advisors, program directors and student career counselors as identified by the college’s dean.
  • All faculty and staff advisors of registered and/or recognized student organizations.
  • Division of Academic and Student Affairs: All DASA personnel with the exception of employees in Student Health Services, Counseling Center professional staff and pastoral counselors, administrative assistants and human resources or finance employees.
  • International Affairs: All professional/EHRA staff.
  • Enrollment Management and Services: Selected personnel as identified by the vice provost for enrollment management and services and the university registrar.
  • Office of Equal Opportunity: All professional/EHRA staff.
  • Park Scholarships: All professional/EHRA staff.
  • Goodnight Scholars Program: All professional/EHRA staff.
  • Caldwell Fellows: All professional/EHRA staff.
  • Athletics: All directors, coaches and trainers.
  • Centers and Institutes: Selected personnel as identified by the vice chancellor for research, innovation and economic development, the executive vice chancellor and provost, and/or deans having supervisory authority over the center or institute.
  • Environmental Health and Public Safety: Selected personnel as identified by the associate vice chancellor for environmental health and public safety.
  • University Police: All personnel.
  • Campus Enterprises: Selected personnel as identified by the associate vice chancellor for campus enterprises.
  • Human Resources: Selected personnel as identified by the associate vice chancellor for human resources.

Current List of Responsible Employees

This list includes all Responsible Employees at NC State currently known on campus.

The Responsible Employee list is updated annually before the beginning of the Fall semester. All colleges/divisions are asked to update their respective lists during that time.

Step 1. College/division leadership should review the “Who Are Responsible Employees?” section above to assist with identifying all Responsible Employees within the college/division.

Step 2. College/division leadership will need to download the Responsible Employee update template.

Step 3. Once the leadership has identified who is or is not considered a Responsible Employee, the college/division leadership should gather the names, email addresses, departments and employee ID numbers of all Responsible Employees and complete the update template. It should be noted that any individuals who are no longer considered responsible employees should be removed.

Step 4. Once the list has been updated by the department, email the updated list to the Equal Opportunity and Equity unit at equalopportunity@ncsu.edu.

Frequently Asked Questions for Responsible Employees

The Equal Opportunity and Equity (EOE) unit has answered some of the most frequently asked questions by Responsible Employees. Information about who are Responsible Employees, what information is required to be reported, and mandatory training can be found below. Any additional questions should be submitted to the EOE unit via email at equalopportunity@ncsu.edu.

A responsible employee includes any NC State employee who has been given the duty of reporting incidents of sex discrimination to the Title IX coordinator or other appropriate school designee. A complete list of responsible employees can be found here.

The term “Responsible Employee” was used previously in federal guidance regarding Title IX. Instead of doing away with the term “Responsible Employee” and their roles when regulations were updated in May 2020, NC State chose to continue to use the term to identify employees who have the duty to report incidents in order to assist in ensuring that we are helping to stop alleged behavior, prevent its recurrence, and to remedy the effects of the alleged behavior.

All incidents of sex discrimination that is reported or shared with you or that you have been made aware of. All incidents should be reported to the Title IX coordinator or one of the Title IX designated officials. More information about reporting can be found on the Equal Opportunity and Equity unit’s reporting page.

Examples of sexual harassment include: Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, sexual exploitation, other verbal, non-verbal, or physical harassment of a sexual nature, quid pro quo harassment, hostile environment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. Specific definitions can be found in the NCSU POL 04.25.05 – Equal Opportunity, Non-Discrimination, and Affirmative Action Policy and NCSU POL 04.25.07 – Title IX Sexual Harassment Policy.

The Equal Opportunity and Equity (EOE) unit will contact the impacted party within 1-2 business days to discuss the nature of the report, available resources, and options for moving forward. The EOE may reach out to the reporter for additional information if necessary, but is not normally required. Learn more about how to File a Report.

As a responsible employee, you must report the incident to the Title IX coordinator or a Title IX Designated Official. Reports must be made within 24 hours or as soon as possible after the information is shared with the Responsible Employee. Failure to file a report in a timely manner can cause additional harm to the involved parties and subject the University to additional legal liability. The Safe at NC State page has additional information and resources.

You are required to report all relevant information shared with you including: the name(s) of the individual reported to have experienced sexual harassment, the name(s) of the individual who is reported to have committed the prohibited conduct, names of any witnesses or additional involved parties, date, time, location of the incident, and a narrative of the alleged harassment.

Before an individual discloses an incident of sexual harassment to you, inform them of your designation as a Responsible Employee and that you are required by the university to report all incidents of sexual harassment to the Title IX coordinator. The Resources and Reporting: Sexual Harassment, Sexual Misconduct and Interpersonal Violence brochure has information on confidential resources as well as additional University and off-campus support resources.

Responsible employees are required to provide their name and contact information when filing a report. The Equal Opportunity and Equity unit may need to follow up with the Responsible Employee for additional information.

It is not up to the responsible employee to determine if the incident falls under prohibited conduct. This determination will be made by the Title IX coordinator. This includes even if you heard the information second-hand, you are still required to report what you heard but you are not required to ask for additional or follow-up information nor should you attempt to investigate the information.

Yes, even if the individual did not disclose in complete detail the incident(s) that occurred, you are still required to report the information that you do possess.

Yes, it is better for the Title IX coordinator to receive the information from several sources than to have those sources have the information but think that someone else already filed the report. The Title IX coordinator will be able to review and combine multiple notifications about the same incident.

If you have questions or concerns about where to report, you are encouraged to contact the Equal Opportunity and Equity unit during normal business hours at 919.513.0574 or by email at equalopportunity@ncsu.edu. Additional information about the reporting offices can be found on the Equal Opportunity and Equity (EOE) unit’s Resources for Reporting concerns website. The EOE works with other reporting units across campus including the Violence Prevention and Threat Management Program, Impact Response Team, and CARES.  EOE meets with these other teams weekly and shares information on a need-to-know basis in order to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our faculty, staff, and students while addressing concerns in a timely manner.

After you file a report an investigator may reach out for some follow up questions after you file the report.  However, unless you are directly involved in the reported incident, you will more than likely not be informed of the status or outcome of the incident reported.  Federal and state laws regarding confidentiality and privacy prevent disclosure of information.

Individuals who are designated as responsible employees must take a training within the first six months of their employment and then annually. Individuals are registered annually through REPORTER based on their designation as a responsible employee, this training is required as a part of REG 04.25.06 – Equal Opportunity, Title IX and Non-Discrimination Training for Employees. Questions regarding the course, enrollment, or completion should be directed to equalopportunity@ncsu.edu.

North Carolina State University (NC State) is dedicated to equality of opportunity and is committed to fostering an environment free from discrimination, harassment and retaliation based upon a person’s

  1. race
  2. color
  3. religion (including belief and non-belief)
  4. sex, including but not limited to
    (i) pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition,
    (ii) parenting; and
    (iii) sexual harassment;
  5. sexual orientation;
  6. actual or perceived gender identity;
  7. age;
  8. national origin;
  9. disability;
  10. veteran status; or
  11. genetic information.

In support of these goals, individuals who are “responsible employees” must complete the training that covers the university’s Title IX obligations to prevent and address incidents of sexual assault within the university community.

The list of completions is updated every Monday morning. If your completion does not appear in REPORTER after two weeks of completing the training, please email a copy of your completion certificate to equalopportunity@ncsu.edu and ask that they update your status.

If you have been designated as a Responsible Employee but do not have access to complete the training for the current academic year, please email your 1) full name, 2) email address, 3) employee ID number, and 4) Unity ID to equalopportunity@ncsu.edu. The EOE unit will then upload your information to the training vendor and you should have access to the training.