Priority

Create and implement a bias response plan and protocol which is transparent, accessible and easy to use. Create a clear and direct reporting process which the campus community can be trained and educated to use and which will allow for reports to be submitted, investigated, and adjudicated as necessary.

Goals

Create a robust Bias Response Protocol and disseminate education about the protocol across campus. This process will centralize bias-related concerns and provide a seamless and transparent look into how the College responds to bias-related incidents. Rework online resources about bias-related incidents and response protocol. All of this will allow the College to collect more data on bias-related incidents.

Recommended Strategies

  • Replace the Bias Response Team with a Bias Response Protocol.
    After looking at benchmark and aspirational colleges and universities, best practice showed us that bias response should be process-tied, not personnel-tied. By relying on a process, the College can train new employees and students effectively and manage incidents with clarity of roles within the process. The protocol will be modeled after the Sexual and Gender-based misconduct Protocol.
  • For bias incidents between students the protocol will utilize the Bias-related Misconduct policy, created and implemented through the Dean of Students Office.
  • For bias incidents between students and faculty the protocol will mirror the academic grievance procedure, though involving specialized training in bias response for department chairs.
  • For bias incidents between faculty or staff, a process will be created that mirrors other such processes when personnel are involved.
  • Create space on the website to include a centralized page to include all information pertaining to bias-related incidents and the Bias Response Protocol. Assess the current Website traffic and determine the best place for the information of the Bias Response Protocol to be located and what pages should link to this information. Build this webpage on the new Wheaton web interface. Look into the College’s current mechanisms for online confidential reporting and assess its viability. This includes Campus Safety anonymous tips and reports through the LiveSafe phone application.

Progress

  • Bias Response Protocol has been created and implemented through the Dean of Students Office. Established protocol was modeled on the college’s policies for responding to sexual misconduct and informed by best practices from other institutions.
  • Bias Incident Policy & Reporting page has been added online.
  • A standing Bias Incident Response Team  has been created with students, staff, and faculty representation.