NSU Title IX/Sexual Misconduct Policy

Nova Southeastern University (“NSU”), in compliance with the spirit of various federal and state laws (e.g., Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (“Clery Act”) and the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (“VAWA”)), is committed to fostering a safe, healthy, and effective educational environment free from discrimination and harassment. The following policy and accompanying procedures are designed to ensure NSU is compliant with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681) and its implementing regulations (34 C.F.R. 106) which prohibit sex discrimination and sexual harassment in all NSU education programs and activities, including admission and employment. Title IX states:

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

Any questions about Title IX or its application to NSU may be directed to the Title IX Coordinator, the Assistant Secretary of Education of the United States of America, or both. NSU’s Title IX Coordinator is:

Name: Laura Bennett
Title: Title IX Coordinator and Managing Director of Title IX Compliance & Institutional Response to Sexual Misconduct

Email: laura.bennett@nova.edu

Website & Online Incident Reporting Form: http://nova.edu/title-ix

Phone: 954-262-7858

This policy describes sexual harassment prohibited by Title IX as well as other forms of sexual misconduct prohibited by NSU, and applies to both committed or attempted acts, as well as facilitation of others’ engagement in misconduct. If a report of sexual misconduct appears subject to Title IX (both in the nature of the allegation and the context in which it occurred), the Title IX Sexual Harassment Resolution Procedures apply. For any report of sexual misconduct that falls outside of the federally mandated definitions of sexual harassment under Title IX, NSU reserves the right to consider the matter as another form of sexual or other misconduct subject to policies and procedures such as those outlined in the NSU Student Code of Conduct, NSU Employee and Faculty Policy Manuals, NSU University School Student/Parent Handbook and any other applicable policies and procedures within academic colleges and departments. When engaging with NSU, visitors, applicants for admission or employment, volunteers, preceptors, families of students, and others are expected to align their behavior with the standards outlined in this policy, although the response to reports involving these individuals will vary depending on the relationship between the individual and NSU.

This version of the Title IX/Sexual Misconduct Policy and procedures takes effect for incidents reported to have occurred on or after August 14, 2020. Any changes to the policy and/or procedures will be reflected on the Title IX website at http://nova.edu/title-ix. Any misconduct reported to have occurred prior to August 14, 2020, will be subject to the policy and procedures in effect at the time of incident. Some content in this policy was incorporated with permission from the ATIXA 2020 One Policy, Two Procedures (1P2P) Model ©2025 ATIXA.

The following types of sexual misconduct (referred to as “Title IX Sexual Harassment”) are prohibited under Title IX and this policy:

1. Quid Pro Quo Harassment by an Employee: An employee of NSU conditions the provision of an aid, benefit, or service on an individual’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct (e.g. “If you do this sexual activity for me, I will give you a good grade”).
2. Denial of Access: Unwelcome sexual conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive[1] that it effectively denies a person equal access to the NSU education program or activity.
3. Title IX Sex Offense: Conduct on the basis of sex including:
   1. Non-consensual sexual penetration: penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person or by a sex-related object, without consent of the victim including when a victim is incapable of giving consent due to age or incapacitation.
   2. Non-consensual sexual contact: the intentional touching of a victim’s clothed or unclothed body part(s) and/or forcing a victim to touch a respondent’s clothed or unclothed body part(s), for the purpose of sexual degradation, sexual gratification, or sexual humiliation, without consent of the victim including when a victim is incapable of giving consent due to age or incapacitation.
   3. Non-forcible sexual offenses:
      1. Statutory rape: sexual intercourse with a person under the age of consent[2].
      2. Incest: sexual intercourse between persons who are directly related (i.e. blood relatives).
   4. Dating violence: violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim. The existence of the relationship is determined by the reporting party’s statement with consideration of the length of relationship, type of relationship, and frequency of interaction between the persons in the relationship.
   5. Domestic violence: felony or misdemeanor level crime of sex-based violence or the threat of violence committed—

1. 1. By a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim;
   2. By a person with whom the victim shares a child in common;
   3. By a person who is cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the victim as a spouse or intimate partner; or
   4. By a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred. 

6. Stalking: Engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for the person’s safety or the safety of others or suffer substantial emotional distress.

1. 1. “Course of conduct” means two or more acts, including, but not limited to, acts in which the stalker directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method, device, or means; follow, monitors, observes, surveils, threats, or communicates to or about a person, or interferes with a person’s property.
   2. “Reasonable person” means a reasonable person under similar circumstances and with similar identities to the individual the stalking is directed
   3. “Substantial emotional distress” means significant mental suffering or anguish that may, but does not necessarily, require medical or other professional treatment or counseling.

 

Footnote.

1. For allegations of workplace harassment towards an employee, or harassment of a residential complainant in an NSU owned residence, see the definition of sexual and gender-based harassment under Other Sexual Misconduct.

2. The age of consent is 18 in Florida, 16 in Puerto Rico, and 17 in Colorado.

No person nor NSU may intimidate, threaten, coerce, or discriminate against any individual for the purpose of interfering with any right or privilege secured by Title IX, or because    the individual has made a report or complaint, provided information, assisted, participated or refused to participate in any manner in a Title IX investigation or proceeding. Complaints alleging retaliation under Title IX may be filed with the Title IX Coordinator and are resolved according to NSU’s grievance procedures for complaints of discrimination.

When all of the following circumstances are met, the Title IX Sexual Harassment Resolution Procedures will be applied:

1. A formal complaint has been filed by an affected individual/student (or parent on behalf of a student under 18) indicating they have experienced one or more forms of Title IX Sexual Harassment and requesting that NSU investigate the incident. The Title IX Coordinator may also file a formal complaint if warranted.
2. At the time of filing the formal complaint, the complainant must have been participating in or attempting to participate in an NSU education program or activity¹.
3. NSU must have had substantial control over the alleged perpetrator (i.e. respondent) and the context where the sexual harassment occurred.
4. The sexual harassment must have occurred towards a person in the United States.

Footnote.
1. For the purposes of the Title IX Resolution Procedures, “education program or activity” includes locations, events, or circumstances over which NSU exercised substantial control over both the respondent and the context in which the sexual harassment was reported to occur. This includes any building owned or controlled by a student organization officially recognized by NSU. 

In addition to the above forms of sexual harassment designated under Title IX, there are additional behaviors that are prohibited at NSU in order to promote a safe, healthy, and effective learning environment for all students. These forms of sexual misconduct are outside the scope of Title IX (including any Title IX jurisdictional requirements or limitations) and thus may be referred for response through the procedures in the Discrimination Grievance Procedures, NSU Employee and Faculty Policy Manuals, NSU University  School Student/Parent Handbook or other such applicable NSU procedure(s):

Non-Title IX Sex Offense is conduct reported to constitute a type of Title IX Sexual Harassment but does not meet the jurisdictional requirements (i.e. where and when) under Title IX. Examples include but are not limited to:

• A sexual assault by one student of another while on an NSU sponsored study abroad trip,
• Dating violence or stalking by one student of another occurring a few blocks from NSU and affecting a student’s ability to feel safe on campus,
• Sexual harassment by a faculty member reported by student who has already graduated. 

Sexual or Gender-Based Harassment, is unwelcome conduct on the basis of sex, gender, or sexual orientation, that is so severe, pervasive, or objectively offensive that unreasonably interferes with, limits, or denies an individual’s educational or employment access, benefits, or opportunities. . Such harassment can be verbal, non-verbal, electronic, and/or physical. It may be motivated by sexual interest or intent, hostility towards, or a desire to make the target feel unwelcome. Examples include but are not limited to:

• Aggressive or intimidating acts towards person(s) because of their sex, sexual orientation, or gender
• Verbal communications such as jokes or innuendo about sexual topics; repeated phone calls or propositions after a person has expressed disinterest; or vulgar sex-based or related language;
• Obscene and/or physically intimidating gestures; whistling, leering, ogling, making suggestive or insulting sounds, obscene gestures; display of pornographic and/or obscene materials, sex-based graffiti.
• Sexual cyber-harassment, which is publishing or sharing a sexually explicit image of a person without their consent and contrary to the depicted person’s reasonable expectation that it would remain private, if the image contains or conveys personal information of the depicted person, or if a person viewing it would reasonably know that it relates to the depicted person.[1]
• Slurs, insults, or name-calling demeaning specific individuals because of their sex or gender

Sexual exploitation occurs when a person takes sexual advantage of another person for the benefit of anyone other than that person without that person’s consent. Examples of behavior that could rise to the level of sexual exploitation include but are not limited to:

• Voyeurism (including digital voyeurism) - observing an individual’s intimate areas in a place where the person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, (e.g., undressing, using the bathroom, or engaging in sexual acts) without consent of the person being observed.
• Recording images, video, or audio recording of another person in a sexual act, or in any other sexually related activity or position when there is a reasonable expectation of privacy during the activity, without the consent of all involved in the activity; or exceeding the boundaries of consent (such as allowing another person to hide in a closet and observe sexual activity; or disseminating sexual pictures without the photographed person’s consent)
• Creating, threatening to distribute, or distributing (sharing or displaying for others to see) authentic or digitally manipulated, falsified, or faked non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII)[2]
• Forcing a person to take an action against that person’s will by threatening to show, post, or share information, video, audio, or an image that depicts the person’s nudity or sexual activity
• Sharing sexual images or content with another person without their consent in an attempt to cause arousal, offense, or sexual feelings
• Knowingly engaging in sexual activity with and/or transmitting a disease or infection to someone by means of sexual contact without their knowledge or consent
• Coercing someone into sending intimate photos of him/her/themselves
• Causing or attempting to cause the incapacitation of another person (through alcohol, drugs, or any other means) for the purpose of compromising that person’s ability to give consent to sexual activity, or for the purpose of making that person vulnerable to non-consensual sexual activity
• Misappropriation of another person’s identity on apps, websites, or other venues designed for dating or sexual connections (e.g., spoofing)

A hostile environment created by unwelcome sexual conduct that is sufficiently serious to deny or limit a person’s ability to participate in or benefit from an NSU education program or activity. While Title IX prohibits unwelcome sexual conduct that effectively denies a student access to an education program or activity, NSU may also respond to those behaviors of a sexual nature which limit, adversely affect, otherwise disrupt a person’s ability to participate in an educational activity or program, regardless of the location where the conduct occurs.

Sex-based discrimination is different treatment with respect to a person’s employment or participation in an education program or activity based, in whole or in part, on the person’s actual or perceived sex, which excludes a person from participation, denies a person the benefits of, or otherwise adversely affects a term or condition of participation in a program or activity. All of the other above prohibited behaviors are forms of sex-based discrimination, and discrimination also may occur in the form of disparate treatment which is the intentional differential treatment of a person(s) on the basis of sex.

Footnote.
3. For the purposes of the Title IX Sexual Harassment Resolution Procedures, “education program or activity” includes locations, events, or circumstances over which NSU exercised substantial control over both the respondent and the context in which the sexual harassment was reported to occur. This includes any building owned or controlled by a student organization officially recognized by NSU.

4. Definition from Florida Statutes, §784.019.

5. Non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII) includes sexually explicit, nude, or intimate videos, photos, or audio recordings of an individual(s) created or distributed without consent, including digitally forged content with sexually related actions or behaviors that never happened, or placing identifiable individuals in pornographic, nude, or sexual situations without their consent. Definition adapted from Florida Statutes § 836.13 & ATIXA model policy.

In determining whether behaviors were consensual, welcome or unwelcome, denied access to an NSU program or otherwise created a hostile environment, NSU evaluates the behaviors (both in Title IX Sexual Harassment Resolution Procedures and in the other applicable NSU procedures) in accordance with the following definitions and standards:

Consent: Consent is informed, voluntary, and mutual agreement to engage in a sexual activity. Giving consent means that a person understands a specific behavior that someone wants to do with them and they voluntarily give that person permission to engage in that behavior. In addition:

• Consent must be sought by the initiator of each act, as consent for one act (such as kissing) cannot be assumed to be consent for another act (e.g., fondling or intercourse).
• Consent can be withdrawn at any time, as long as the withdrawal is reasonably and clearly communicated.
• Consent must be voluntary. There is no consent when force, coercion, intimidation, threats, and/or duress - whether expressed or implied - is Force is the use of physical violence, physical imposition, and/or threats to gain sexual access. Coercion is the unreasonable pressure sexual activity, and is evaluated based on the frequency, intensity, isolation, and duration of the pressure involved.
• While consent may be given by words or actions, the absence of resistance and/or silence alone does not indicate consent. Further, resistance is a clear demonstration of non-consent.
• Whether a person has taken advantage of a position of influence over another person may be a factor in determining
• If a person is mentally or physically incapacitated so that such person cannot understand the fact, nature, or extent of the sexual situation, there is no consent. This includes being unable to make rational, reasonable decisions due to alcohol or drug consumption that reaches the level of incapacitation, being asleep or unconscious, or being under the legal age to give An objective, reasonable person standard is used to evaluate whether an initiator knew, or should have known, if a victim was incapacitated.  

Hostile Environment: In assessing whether a hostile environment has been created, and/or the extent to which a person was denied access to an educational program or activity, due to sex-based discrimination, the following factors are considered:

• Subjective and objective consideration of the conduct in question – not just that the conduct was unwelcome to the receiver but that a reasonable person in the receiver’s position would have perceived the conduct as undesirable or offensive,
• Severity, type, frequency, and duration of the conduct,
• Identity, number, and relationships of persons involved,
• Location of the conduct and the context in which it occurred, and
• Degree to which the conduct affected one or more student’s

Motivation for Sexual Contact: In evaluating whether sexual contact was for the purpose of sexual degradation, gratification, or humiliation, the following factors will be considered: the context, ages and relationship of the parties, and nature of the contact. The following are examples of when contact with body parts may not have sexual motivation:

• Proven to be inadvertent and/or involves a respondent who is pre-sexual or cannot developmentally understand sexual contact,
• Occurs in the context of a life-saving or other emergency, or
• For a legitimate medical, coaching, or academic instructional reason for which consent should have been sought and obtained.

Unwelcome Conduct: Conduct is considered unwelcome If the person did not request or invite it and considered the conduct to be undesirable or offensive. In addition, unwelcome conduct:

• May occur through a variety of forms, including, name-calling, graphic or written statements (including the use of cell phones or the Internet), or other conduct that may be physically threatening, harmful, or humiliating.
• Does not have to include intent to harm, be directed at a specific target, or involve repeated
• May involve persons of the same or different sexes or gender
• May have occurred even if an individual participated in the conduct (such as following coercion) or failed to report/complain about the
• May have occurred, even if a person welcomed similar conduct previously or welcomed a portion of the conduct but not all of it.

Violence: For the purposes of this policy, violence (e.g., dating violence or domestic violence) includes situations where a respondent intentionally or recklessly causes a victim serious physical, emotional, or psychological harm. This includes threats to seriously harm the complainant or those they care about which cause serious emotional or physical harm.  In addition,

• Intent is evidenced when a reasonable person would be more likely to act with the purpose of causing serious harm rather than for any other reason.
• Recklessness is evidenced by a disregard of obvious risk to the safety of the complainant.
• Legitimate use of violence for self-defense is not considered a violation.
• Consensual use of violence, such as in kink relationships, is not considered a violation, unless a respondent engages in violence beyond the agreed upon terms.

Threats to harm oneself are not considered violence under this definition but may be considered as part of pattern of emotional or psychological harm. They may also be addressed under other NSU policies and procedures.