NWC Reaches Agreement on Sexual Misconduct Issue

Northwest College last week completed an agreement with the Office for Civil Rights regarding two allegations of sexual misconduct and retaliation.
College President Stephanie Hicswa sent out a press release noting that the agreement concludes the investigations that the OCR has been conducting for the last two years regarding compliance with Title 9 at Northwest.
Hicswa says that the process has been helpful for NWC as an institution, in that it identified ways of further strengthening their policies and processes for members of the community. She said that they look forward to making additional improvements to the procedures by which the administration responds to allegations of sexual misconduct and retaliation.
Improvements will include adding contact information of the Title IX Coordinator to the non-discrimination statement; clarifying that an individual may file a complaint with the OCR at any time; and ensuring that all individuals associated with the Title IX sexual misconduct policy have adequate training.
Additionally, Hicswa expressed her appreciation to the individuals who came forward to share their feedback with the office of Civil Rights, whether as complainants or as participants in the investigation. She acknowledged that their courage in sharing their experiences was critical to obtaining a candid evaluation of what the college does well, and the ways they can do better.