On August 10, 2016, department administrators received an email from the Senior Vice Provost informing faculty and graduate assistants they should include a statement about Title IX reporting obligations on their syllabi. That message contained recommended language for syllabi that would notify students of the obligation for any faculty member, TA, or GA to report gender discrimination—including sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, and sexual violence—to the Title IX Coordinator in the Office of Equal Opportunity, in accordance with current University Administrative Policy 2740. The proposed language for syllabi (two versions are provided here: http://oeo.unm.edu/title-ix/reporting_obligations.html) was recommended as a way to fully inform students about instructors’ reporting requirements under current UNM policy.

Although UAP 2740 remains in effect, it should be made clear that including the above referenced language on syllabi is optional, and not required by UNM policy or federal law. The Faculty Senate passed a resolution in November (https://facgov.unm.edu/ResolutionsList.html#674) articulating faculty concerns about mandatory reporting requirements, and consequently that policy is under review.

You can find more information about mandatory reporting, faculty engagement and other sample statements for instructors at the Faculty SAFE UNM website (https://facultysafeunm.wordpress.com/).

We will keep you updated on any changes to that policy during the upcoming academic year.