Sexual Misconduct

Your Rights

1. You can choose whether or not to file a complaint with the appropriate university department or with law enforcement or both.
2. You do not have to identify the alleged perpetrator, unless the information is necessary to respond to your request for a specific form of assistance.
3. Before making a report to a university official, you can request information about university policies and procedures for releasing personally identifiable information about you.
4. You can request assistance from a confidential advocate or the Title IX coordinator in filing a report with law enforcement.
5. You can access confidential physical and mental health care at UW-Platteville’s Student Health Services, University Counseling Services, Family Advocates, or a health care facility of your choice without consenting to an investigation.
6. You can request a No Contact Order between you and the alleged perpetrator through the Dean of Students Office.
7. You can request a change in your class schedule to avoid contact with the alleged perpetrator through the Dean of Students Office.

Bystander Intervention

Bystander intervention is recognizing a potentially harmful situation or interaction and choosing to respond in a way that could positively influence the outcome. 

You can attend a workshop presented by the Prevention & Education Coordinator in the Dean of Students Office to learn how to:

• Identify potential barriers to intervention
• Use the five steps of stepping up
• Use safe and effective strategies to confront harmful situations

Conduct Process

You are expected to make yourself aware of and comply with the law, and with university policies and regulations. You are a maturing adult, capable of making your own decisions, as well as accepting the consequences of those decisions. 

The student conduct process has been established to respond to incidents involving allegations of inappropriate behavior within our community.  This process provides educational opportunities which encourage you to:

• Evaluate your own actions
• Consider your own decision making
• Acquire new skills to improve your choices in the future

Chapter UWS 17 - Student Nonacademic Disciplinary Procedures
UW-Platteville Sexual Violence & Sexual Harassment Policy
Sexual Violence & Sexual Harassment Reporting and Investigation Procedures Flowchart

Reporting Obligations

There are designated employees at the university who are considered “responsible employees” for the reporting of sexual violence or sexual harassment under Title IX, unless they are specifically designated as “confidential employees”.

If a responsible employee becomes aware of an act of sexual violence or sexual harassment involving a student or employee, they are required to report it to the university which will prompt an investigation.

If the name of an alleged perpetrator (called the respondent) is disclosed to a UW-Platteville responsible employee, victims and complainants should be advised that this will initiate contact with the respondent by an official of the university.

A responsible employee is defined as an employee who has any of the following:

1. Authority to act to redress sexual misconduct
2. The duty of reporting incidents of sexual misconduct by students or employees to the Title IX coordinator or other appropriate school designee
3. A position where a student could reasonably believe that the person has this authority or duty

UW-Platteville has designated individuals with the following titles as responsible employees:

• Title IX Coordinator and Deputy Title IX Coordinators
• The Chancellor, Vice Chancellors, Assistant Chancellors, and Assistant Vice Chancellors
• Dean of Students & Assistant Dean of Students
• Chief of Police, Sergeant, Officers, Program Assistants, & University Resource Officers
• Director of Residence Life, Assistant Director of Residence Life, Resident Directors, Senior Assistants, & Resident Assistants
• Director and Assistant Director of Human Resources
• College Deans, Associate Deans, and Assistant Deans
• Coaches and Assistant Coaches
• Athletic Director and Assistant Athletic Director

UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County and UW-Platteville Richland have designated individuals with the following titles as responsible employees:

• Ad Hoc Program Specialist
• Athletic Director 
• Campus Administrative Specialist
• Campus Dean & Assistant Campus Dean
• Coach
• Continuing & Strategic Program Coordinator
• Development Skills Specialist
• Financial Specialist
• International Coordinator
• Lecturer (Assistant, Associate, Senior)
• Library Services Assistant
• Professor (Assistant, Associate)
• Senior Academic Librarian
• Student Success Coordinator
• Student Success Specialist
• Woodman Learning Center Director

An employee’s obligations as a responsible employee are determined by the campus on which they receive the report of sexual violence.

For example, if a faculty member is teaching a course on the main campus and receives a report of sexual violence, they are not a responsible employee and not required to report this information. However, if that same faculty is also teaching on a branch campus and receives a report of sexual violence while on that campus, under this policy, they are a responsible employee and required to report this information through the Sexual Violence & Sexual Harassment Reporting Form.

If you have further questions about this form or the process, please contact Linda Mulroy-Bowden, Title IX Coordinator, at mulroy@uwplatt.edu or Kate Demerse, Deputy Title IX Coordinator at demersek@uwplatt.edu.

Know Your Rights

As an employee of UW-Platteville, you have the right to a workplace free of discrimination, discriminatory harassment, sexual misconduct, and retaliation. Please read UW-Platteville’s full discrimination policy.

If you experience, observe, or learn about discrimination, harassment, or retaliation, please contact Linda Mulroy-Bowden, Title IX Coordinator, at 608.342.1845 or mulroy@uwplatt.edu. 

You may also contact Sarah Vosberg, Director of Human Resources, at 608.342.1176 or vosbergsara@uwplatt.edu.edu, with any concerns about workplace conduct.

How to Support Students

If a student shares information about a sexual assault or other sexual misconduct, or seems like they might do so, do not promise confidentiality.

• If you are a responsible employee, remind the person as soon as possible that you have an obligation to report sexual misconduct to the university, so that they can choose whether or not they want to share more details. If they want to speak to someone confidentially, refer them to our list of confidential resources.
• If they do choose to share more, listen actively and respectfully, and believe them without questioning, judgment or victim-blaming.
• Acknowledge and respect their disclosure; it is not easy for someone to share personally traumatic experiences.
• Be aware of common responses to trauma. Depending on many personal factors, people experience different reactions: fear, anxiety, depression, sleep loss, emotional numbness, difficulty remembering details.
• Don't assume the role of deciding what the person should do next. Let them make their own decisions. For many survivors of trauma, there is a need to assert control, personal agency, and empowerment.

Bystander Intervention

Bystander intervention is recognizing a potentially harmful situation or interaction and choosing to respond in a way that could positively influence the outcome. 

You can attend a workshop presented by the Prevention & Education Coordinator in the Dean of Students Office to learn how to:

• Identify potential barriers to intervention
• Use the five steps of stepping up
• Use safe and effective strategies to confront harmful situations