Institutional Responsiveness
- UMLPD and members of Bias Incident Response Team will respond immediately to the needs of the affected party or parties and notify members of the campus community as appropriate and/or as required by federal law. For incidents that affect the immediate health and safety of the campus community, UMLPD will be notified for response.
- All reports of an alleged bias incident or hate crime will be forwarded to the appropriate university office with a summary given to the Bias Incident Response Team (BIRT) by that office as soon as possible.
- UMLPD will conduct an investigation and will inform the BIRT of the outcome when appropriate.
- Coordinated campus responses may include, but are not limited to:
Identification of and referral of affected individuals and communities and/or alleged accused to appropriate support resources and services on or off campus;
Disciplinary action if appropriate will be administered based on the Student Conduct Code, Residence Life Guidelines, University Guidelines, and/or any local, state or federal laws and regulations.
Informal resolutions, if appropriate, will be used; examples include mediation, facilitated dialogue between parties, discussions; and/or
Educational awareness programs for the university community. - UMLPD, the Office of Equal Opportunity and Outreach, and the Office of Student Conduct maintain a record of reports that occur on campus or at college sponsored events or programs. The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (The Clery Act) requires the university to publish statistics in certain types of crimes, including Hate Crimes. For annual UMass Lowell crime statistics, visit the Police website and click on the “Annual Security Report.”
- Additional members of the Bias Incident Response Team may be added as part of the Response Protocol as need arises to include:
An individual with authority, experience or essential perspective relevant to the reported incident - The BIRT team will be responsible for determining if a university response to the incident is necessary and will recommend, as appropriate, the University response when it is deemed warranted. The team will consider:
Relevant legal standards with special regard to the First Amendment and academic freedom concerns
Concerns and requests of the alleged victim, especially in regard to anonymity and desired outcome(s)
Available University resources relevant to the situation
Whether the incident is a violation of any university policy, which would require following established University procedures - The BIRT team will identify and contact appropriate departments and offices necessary to implement an appropriate intervention.
