May 15, 2024  
2023-2024 Catalog 
  
2023-2024 Catalog

Equal Employment, Harassment & Unlawful Discrimination



Policy 2110

This policy can be found in its entirety on the NPC website, www.npc.edu/policies-procedures.

Northland Pioneer College, consistent with its commitment to provide a healthy working and learning environment for all professors, staff members and students, will not tolerate sexual harassment or discrimination that violates federal or state law.

I. Definitions

  1. Sexual Harassment

The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the State of Arizona regard Sexual Harassment, a specific form of discriminatory harassment, as an unlawful discriminatory practice.

Northland Pioneer College has adopted the following definition of Sexual Harassment in order to address the special environment of an academic community, which consists not only of employer and employees, but of students as well.

Sexual Harassment is:

  • unwelcome,
  • sexual, sex-based and/or gender-based,
  • verbal, written, online and/or physical conduct.

Sexual harassment means conduct on the basis of sex that satisfies one or more of the following: (1) An employee of the recipient conditioning the provision of an aid, benefit, or service of the recipient on an individual’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct; (2) Unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the recipient’s education program or activity; or 2015 (3) “Sexual assault” as defined in 20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(6)(A)(v), “dating violence” as defined in 34 U.S.C. 12291(a)(10), “domestic violence” as defined in 34 U.S.C. 12291(a)(8), or “stalking” as defined in 34 U.S.C. 12291(a) (30).

  1. Discriminatory Harassment

Discriminatory harassment constitutes a form of discrimination that is prohibited by Northland Pioneer College’s policy. Discriminatory harassment is defined as unwelcome conduct by any member or group of the community on the basis of actual or perceived membership in a class protected by policy or law. Northland Pioneer College does not tolerate discriminatory harassment of any employee, student, visitor, or guest.

Northland Pioneer College will act to remedy all forms of discriminatory harassment when reported, whether or not the harassment rises to the level of creating a hostile environment. When discriminatory harassment rises to the level of creating a hostile environment, Northland Pioneer College may also impose sanctions on the respondent through application of the grievance process, below.

A hostile environment is one that unreasonably interferes with, limits, or denies an individual’s educational or employment access, benefits, or opportunities.

This discriminatory effect results from harassing verbal, written, graphic, or physical conduct that is severe or persistent or pervasive, and objectively offensive.

Northland Pioneer College reserves the right to address offensive conduct and/or harassment that 1) does not rise to the level of creating a hostile environment, or 2) that is of a generic nature not based on a protected status. Addressing such conduct will not result in the imposition of discipline under Northland Pioneer College’s policy, but may be addressed through respectful conversation, remedial actions, education, effective conflict resolution, and/or other informal grievance mechanisms. For assistance with conflict resolution and other informal resolution techniques and approaches, employees should contact the Chief Human Resource Officer, and students should contact the Director of Student Services.

II. Reporting Discrimination, Harassment and/or Retaliation

  1. Duty to Report

Any person may report sex discrimination, including sexual harassment (whether or not the person reporting is the person alleged to be the victim of conduct that could constitute sex discrimination or sexual harassment), in person, by mail, by telephone, or by electronic mail, using any of the following options:

  1. Report directly to the EEO/Title IX Coordinator or Deputies:

Dr. Michael Solomonson
Vice President for Learning and Student Services
Title IX Coordinator
Office of Vice President for Learning and Student Services
1611 S Main Street, Performing Arts Center, Rm 114
Snowflake, AZ 85937 • (928) 536-6217
michael.solomonson@npc.edu

Chief Human Resources Officer
Title IX Deputy Coordinator - Employees
EEO and ADA/504 Coordinator
Office of Human Resources
Tiponi Community Center, Human Resources Room 302,
Painted Desert Campus, Holbrook • (928) 524-7871

Josh Rogers
Director of Student Services
Title IX Deputy Coordinator - Students
Office of Student Services
Student Center, Room 109, Sliver Creek Campus,
Snowflake • (928) 536-6227
joshua.rogers@npc.edu

  1. Report online, using the reporting form posted at www.npc.edu/title-ix.
  2. Report to any supervisor or instructor.

Reports may be made at any time (including during nonbusiness hours) by using the telephone number or electronic mail address, or by mail to the office address, listed above for the Title IX Coordinator, or by any means that results in the Title IX Coordinator receiving the person’s report.

All reports are acted upon promptly, and every effort is made by Northland Pioneer College to preserve the privacy of reports.

  1. Anonymous Reporting

Reports may also be made anonymously, without identification of the complainant. Anonymous reports will be preliminarily investigated to the extent possible, both to assess the underlying allegation(s) and to determine if remedies can be provided. However, anonymous complainants typically limit the Northland Pioneer College’s ability to investigate, respond, and provide remedies, depending on what information is shared. Additionally, all employees of Northland Pioneer College, with the exception of those who are designated as confidential resources, are mandated reporters and must promptly share all known details of a report with the Title IX Coordinator.

Confidentiality and mandated reporting are addressed more specifically below.


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