CU Denver Title IX Lawyer: A University of Colorado Denver Student Respondent Guide

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Students who look for a CU Denver Title IX lawyer usually want to know what happens after a notice from the Office of Equity arrives. This page explains, in general terms, how the University of Colorado Denver handles a sexual misconduct complaint against a student under its posted documents. Your own notice, and the policy and procedure versions that apply to your case, control the actual deadlines.

Which policy applies

Sexual misconduct complaints against CU Denver students are handled by the Office of Equity (OE) under two documents:

  • APS 5014, Sexual Misconduct, Intimate Partner Violence, and Stalking, a University of Colorado system policy that applies to all CU campuses. The posted policy (PDF) is the version effective September 2, 2021. A CU system news story dated September 24, 2026 says APS 5014 was updated, effective October 1, 2026, to change the definitions of domestic and dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. The posted policy page now lists an October 1, 2026 technical update alongside the September 2, 2021 effective date. A 2024 version of APS 5014 also exists, but a 2024 CU system notice said CU Denver and CU Anschutz would not implement it and would continue to follow the 2021 version.
  • The OE Resolution Procedures, the campus procedures. The OE policies page links the 2026-2027 Resolution Procedures, effective August 3, 2026. Older versions dated August 1, 2024 and September 23, 2024 are still online and count time differently; this page does not use their figures.

The procedures state their own rule: "The OE’s response to the report will be governed by the current Procedures and the applicable Policy in effect at the time the alleged Prohibited Conduct occurred." So the version that applies to you depends on the date of your notice and the date of the alleged incident. The procedures also say the University may modify them "at its discretion and without notice." Check which versions your notice names and confirm them with the Office of Equity.

CU Denver and CU Anschutz

One Office of Equity, with offices at the Lawrence Street Center in Denver and the Fitzsimons Building in Aurora, serves both CU Denver and CU Anschutz, and one set of Resolution Procedures covers both. The procedures define "University" as "The University of Colorado Denver and University of Colorado Anschutz." This page is written for CU Denver students. The procedures treat CU Anschutz students differently in a few places: other conduct matters for Anschutz students go to "the respondent’s school, college, or program," the Anschutz sanctioning board is appointed differently, Anschutz exclusions are recommended to the CU Anschutz Chief of Police, and a referral to the Office of Adaptable Resolution is available only for CU Anschutz. The Anschutz schools’ own conduct and professionalism codes are not covered here.

Title IX and conduct outside Title IX

APS 5014 and the OE’s Title IX jurisdiction page divide cases into "Title IX Sexual Misconduct" (conduct in an education program or activity against a person in the United States, which must use "the Title IX Sexual Misconduct procedures as prescribed by the Title IX regulations") and other "Sexual Misconduct" that falls outside Title IX but that the University can still address. The 2026-2027 procedures do not use those two labels when they describe the resolution steps; they set out one process, with a live hearing offered, for all complaints under the Sexual Misconduct Policy. Check which category and which procedures your notice names.

The student code

The CU Denver Student Code of Conduct (AY 2026-2027, in effect August 17, 2026) lists the Sexual Misconduct Policy as a separate policy "overseen by the Office of Equity," under an older name (Sexual Misconduct, Intimate Partner Abuse, and Stalking Policy). The main Student Conduct page still links the AY 2025-2026 code in one place, while the Know the Code page links the 2026-2027 code. Under the procedures, the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards handles "all other student conduct matters" for CU Denver students. When a case could involve both the Sexual Misconduct Policy and the student code, the OE and the conduct office "shall have the discretion to jointly determine the most appropriate way to proceed," which can mean concurrent or joint investigations or relying on one office’s findings.

Report vs. formal complaint

Anyone can report sexual misconduct to the OE online, by mail, phone, e-mail, or in person. The OE says that submitting the online form "does not constitute a formal complaint." The procedures say "There is no time limitation for reporting a concern to the OE," although what the OE can do depends on the University’s control over the respondent when the report is made. After any report or complaint, the OE will conduct a Preliminary Inquiry to look at whether the conduct would violate the policy and whether the OE has jurisdiction.

A formal complaint of sexual misconduct starts the investigation. The procedures say a complainant or the Title IX Coordinator or designee "must submit a signed Formal Complaint Form to the OE alleging Prohibited Conduct under the Sexual Misconduct Policy against a respondent for the University to initiate the Investigation." The Coordinator can start a complaint without the complainant after weighing factors such as the risk of further violence, the seriousness of the conduct, use of a weapon, and whether other evidence exists, and must document that decision.

Besides a formal investigation, the OE can resolve a matter through an Educational Remedies Process (no written report and no finding; it can include an educational policy compliance meeting with the respondent, and the OE may notify Student Conduct and Community Standards) or through informal resolution (see below).

Early steps after notice

For a sexual misconduct complaint, the Preliminary Inquiry "will typically occur within thirty (30) calendar days," counted from submission of the Formal Complaint Form, with extensions for good cause. After a Formal Complaint Form, both parties receive a Notice of Allegations. It names the parties, the policy sections and conduct alleged, and the dates and places involved, describes the available processes, and states that you are presumed not responsible until a determination is made at the end of the process. It also tells you that you may have an advisor "of their choice, including an attorney." The notice can be e-mailed, mailed, or delivered in person, and "Notice will be considered furnished on the date of physical delivery or on the date emailed."

The first deadline for a respondent comes from that notice: "A respondent must contact the investigator(s) within seven (7) calendar days of the issuance of the notice to schedule a meeting." After that, parties and witnesses are expected to answer an investigator’s request for an interview or materials "generally within seven (7) days of the investigator’s request." If you do not respond, the investigation can continue without your information. The OE’s website says a respondent "may choose not to participate in the investigative process," but that the OE may complete the investigation, sanctioning, and appeal stages without the respondent.

The procedures define a day as a calendar day. The OE will not require you to submit anything or attend a meeting on a weekend, holiday, or campus closure, and a deadline that falls on one of those days moves to the next business day. That definition applies to OE procedure deadlines. APS 5014 states its own units ("business days" or "calendar days"), and the student code uses "working days."

A few other points from the procedures:

  • The OE process is separate from any police or court case, and OE investigations "are not postponed while criminal or civil proceedings are pending unless there are extenuating circumstances, as determined by the OE."
  • The standard is preponderance of the evidence: whether the allegation is more probably true than not. The University, not the parties, carries the burden of gathering evidence and of proof.
  • You receive written notice of the date, time, location, participants, and purpose of your own interviews and meetings.
  • The procedures set targets, not deadlines: 30 days for a Preliminary Inquiry; 90 days for evidence gathering and the report; 90 days for the hearing, determination, and sanctioning; and 30 days for an appeal, each extendable for good cause with written notice. APS 5014 instead asks for resolution "within an average of 90 calendar days."

Dismissal

The procedures describe two kinds of dismissal, with different appeal steps:

  • Before a Notice of Allegations. If a Formal Complaint Form is subject to mandatory dismissal, both parties receive a Notice of Complaint and Dismissal. The procedures do not list the mandatory dismissal grounds in that part; APS 5014 says a complaint must be dismissed if the alleged conduct would not be sexual misconduct under the policy or the University lacks jurisdiction. Either party may appeal on three grounds (a procedural irregularity, new evidence that was not reasonably available, or a conflict of interest or bias, each affecting the dismissal). The parties may submit a written statement "within seven (7) days of the Notice of Complaint and Dismissal," and the appeal decision is due "within seven (7) days of the appeal deadline."
  • After a Notice of Allegations. The University must dismiss conduct that would not be Prohibited Conduct even if proved, and may dismiss if the complainant withdraws in writing, the respondent is no longer in the University’s program or employed, or circumstances prevent gathering enough evidence. To appeal, a party submits a written appeal to the Deputy Title IX Coordinator or designee "within seven (7) calendar days of the notice of dismissal." The decision maker can uphold the dismissal or order the investigation to continue, and issues a written decision within fourteen (14) calendar days.

A dismissal does not stop the University from acting under another policy or the student code. After a Notice of Allegations, a dismissal (other than one that follows a signed resolution agreement) does not stop the complainant or the Title IX Coordinator from starting the investigation again later. Use the deadline in your own dismissal notice.

Investigation and evidence

The investigator interviews the parties and witnesses separately. You can identify fact and expert witnesses, offer evidence that helps or hurts either side, and suggest questions for the investigator to ask others; the investigator can decline some witnesses or questions for reasons the procedures list. Neither party is barred from discussing the allegations or gathering evidence.

Some evidence is excluded: privileged information, treatment records unless the party gives voluntary written consent, and evidence about the complainant’s sexual interests or prior sexual conduct, except to show that someone else committed the conduct or, for specific prior sexual conduct with the respondent, to prove consent.

When the investigation is reasonably complete, the investigator prepares an Investigative Summary and makes the investigative file available to both parties and their advisors. The two documents give different response periods:

  • The procedures: "The parties will have at least fourteen (14) calendar days to submit a written response to the Investigative Summary and investigative file to the investigator(s)." An extension request must be in writing before the original deadline, with a reason and a proposed date; it is not automatic, and if granted everyone gets the same extension.
  • APS 5014: "the parties must have at least ten business days to submit a written response."

In a hearing case, the investigator then prepares a Final Investigative Report. The procedures give the parties fourteen (14) calendar days to submit a written response to it for the hearing officer. APS 5014 says the report is sent at least ten business days before the hearing for the parties’ review and written response. Use the dates in your own notice. You can also ask to inspect the file at any time, and the OE provides that opportunity within a period "not to exceed forty-five (45) calendar days."

Advisor and hearing

You may have an advisor of your choice, including an attorney, throughout the process and at OE meetings. "During a meeting with the OE, a party’s advisor may not speak on behalf of the party." An advisor cannot be a potential witness and can be barred for harassing or retaliatory conduct.

A live hearing "will be offered for investigations of complaints of Prohibited Conduct under the Sexual Misconduct Policy." Both parties may choose to waive it, but "Both parties must waive their right to a hearing or a live hearing will be held." If it is waived, the hearing officer decides based on the investigation file.

How the hearing works under the procedures:

  • A trained hearing officer, who is not the investigator, presides, alone or with a panel. You receive the names of the hearing officer and any panelists before the pre-hearing conference.
  • The hearing officer holds a pre-hearing conference to plan the hearing; your advisor must attend at minimum. Before it, each party gives the hearing officer a list of witnesses and evidence.
  • Each party may bring one advisor to conduct cross-examination, after telling the OE the advisor’s name. "A party may not personally conduct cross-examination during the hearing." If you have no advisor, the University provides one without charge, and even a party who declines to work with an advisor has one appointed for cross-examination. The University advisor "may be, but is not required to be, an attorney."
  • Advisor timing: the procedures say the University will try to assign an advisor at least fourteen (14) calendar days before the pre-hearing conference; APS 5014 says at least ten calendar days.
  • The hearing officer decides whether each question is relevant and permissible before it is asked, and must explain any exclusion.
  • If a party or witness refuses to answer relevant questions, the procedures say the hearing officer "may place less or no weight" on that person’s statements but "must not draw an inference about whether Prohibited Conduct occurred based solely on a party’s or witness’s refusal to respond to such questions." APS 5014 says the hearing officer "may consider any relevant prior statement of a party or witness, whether or not they submit to cross-examination" and decides how much weight to give it.
  • "Live hearings will be conducted virtually, with parties located in separate locations." Hearings are closed to the public. The University makes an audio or audiovisual recording or a transcript of the hearing, and APS 5014 says parties and advisors may not make their own recordings.

The hearing officer issues a written determination with findings of fact, conclusions, and reasons for each allegation. It may be reviewed by University Counsel for legal sufficiency before it goes to the parties. The determination becomes final on the date of the written appeal result if there is an appeal, or when the time to appeal runs out.

Sanctions

If a violation is found, the notice of the determination tells both parties they may send an optional impact statement within seven (7) calendar days of its issuance. The case then goes to a three-member Sanctioning Board (an OE representative as chair and two University employees not affiliated with the OE), which must decide sanctions "by unanimous decision" and notifies both parties at the same time. APS 5014 describes the order differently: the hearing officer refers the case for sanctioning before issuing the written determination and includes the sanction in it. Watch for the Notice of Sanction, because the appeal deadline for a responsible finding runs from it.

The Board considers factors such as severity, "The impact of separating a student from their education," the relationship between the parties, force or weapons, any prior history, acceptance of responsibility, and ongoing safety risk. Possible sanctions include a warning or written reprimand, educational sanctions, residence hall reassignment or termination, disciplinary probation, restriction of University services, withholding of an official transcript for students who have graduated, disciplinary suspension (with a transcript notation during the suspension), exclusion from property, and disciplinary expulsion (with a permanent transcript notation). Under the procedures, a suspension or expulsion applies at all University of Colorado campuses, and a disciplinary hold blocks admission and registration until the suspension ends and sanctions are complete. If no violation is found, the University can still address other conduct under other policies or the student code.

Informal resolution

Informal resolution (the procedures call it Participatory Resolution) is voluntary and requires both parties’ written agreement. It is offered after a Preliminary Inquiry finds that the allegations, if true, would be a policy violation, and the Title IX Coordinator may refuse it depending on the nature or severity of the allegations. Options include mediation and restorative justice where available and shuttle diplomacy. An agreement cannot include an admission of criminal or civil liability, payments between the parties, a non-disclosure clause, or revocation of an earned degree. Either party can withdraw before signing. A signed agreement "is enforceable, final, and is not appealable by either Party," and neither party can then file another complaint about the same allegations.

Supportive measures

Supportive measures are non-disciplinary, non-punitive, and free, and both complainants and respondents can ask for them whether or not a formal process goes forward; witnesses in a formal process may also ask. Examples in the procedures include academic support (retaking a course, excused absences, extensions, section changes, or withdrawing from a class without penalty), help reaching medical and counseling services, transportation and parking changes, safety escorts, University-enforced no-contact orders, and housing relocation in CU Denver Housing and Dining. To change or reverse a measure that applies to you, write to the Director of Investigations/Deputy Title IX Coordinator or designee "within seven (7) calendar days of when the supportive measures were provided." Someone other than the person who put the measure in place reviews the request.

Emergency removal and interim suspension

The OE can remove a student respondent on an emergency basis, including by interim suspension or an exclusion order for part or all of campus. Under the procedures, removal follows an individualized safety and risk analysis and a finding of "an imminent and serious threat to the physical or mental health or safety" of others arising from the allegations. APS 5014 uses a different standard: "an immediate threat to the physical health or safety" of any student or other individual.

  • If the removal does not include a campus exclusion, you receive written notice and can ask to meet with the Title IX Coordinator or designee, and that meeting is offered "within seven (7) calendar days of their request." The removal can then be lifted or continued, possibly until the process ends.
  • If it includes a campus exclusion at CU Denver, the procedures say the CU Denver Exclusion of Persons from University Property policy (Campus Policy 3052D) is followed at the same time, including a right to request a hearing by the Chief of Police or designee within seven (7) calendar days and a written appeal within thirty (30) calendar days. Other CU campuses decide for themselves whether an exclusion applies to their property.

The student code has its own interim measures, including interim suspension, for code cases. Follow the steps and dates in your own removal notice and confirm them with the Office of Equity.

Appeals

Under the procedures, the appeal deadline depends on the outcome:

  • "In the event that no policy violation is found, either party may appeal the Determination Regarding Responsibility within seven (7) calendar days of its issuance."
  • "In the event that a policy violation is found, either party may appeal the Determination Regarding Responsibility within seven (7) calendar days of the issuance of the Notice of Sanction."

Appeals go in writing to the Title IX Coordinator or designee and must state one or more grounds:

  • a procedural irregularity that affected the outcome;
  • new evidence that was not reasonably available at the time of the determination or dismissal and could affect the outcome; or
  • a conflict of interest or bias by the Title IX Coordinator, investigators, or other decision-maker(s) that affected the outcome.

"All appeals are documentary reviews, and no interviews are conducted." New evidence is allowed only if it could not have been found or produced during the investigation with reasonable diligence. The other party gets seven (7) calendar days to respond. A trained CU employee who is not affiliated with the OE, who may come from any CU campus or the system office, serves as Appeal Officer and can uphold the decision or send the case back for reconsideration and possibly re-investigation, but "shall not make new findings of fact." The written Notice of Appeal Decision is due within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of all documents associated with the appeal.

The student code has a separate appeal route for code cases: an appeal form submitted "within five (5) working days of the date the Conduct Decision Letter is issued by the Conduct Educator." Use the deadline in your own outcome letter and confirm which route applies.

FAQ

Can my advisor be a lawyer?
Yes. The Notice of Allegations tells you that you may have an advisor of your choice, including an attorney. In OE meetings the advisor may not speak for you. At a live hearing, cross-examination must be done by an advisor, and the University will provide one if you do not have one.

How long do I have to respond to the Notice of Allegations?
The procedures say a respondent must contact the investigator within seven (7) calendar days of the notice’s issuance to schedule a meeting. Because the procedures count calendar days but move a deadline that falls on a weekend, holiday, or campus closure to the next business day, check the exact date in your notice.

What if there is also a criminal case?
The OE process is separate from any criminal or civil case, and the procedures say it is not postponed while those cases are pending unless the OE finds extenuating circumstances.

Which version of the rules applies to my case?
It depends on the dates. The procedures say the OE applies the current procedures and the policy in effect when the alleged conduct occurred, and an update to APS 5014 is announced as effective October 1, 2026. Check the versions named in your own notice and confirm them with the Office of Equity.

What if I am a CU Anschutz student?
The same Office of Equity and Resolution Procedures apply, with the differences noted above. Conduct matters outside the policy go to your school, college, or program, whose rules are not covered on this page.

More guides for Colorado schools: Colorado Title IX lawyer.

Legal Review: Reviewed by Attorney T. Matthews, Esquire

Disclaimer

This page is general educational information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the University of Colorado Denver, the University of Colorado Anschutz, or the University of Colorado system. Policies and procedures change, so confirm every deadline against your own notice and the currently posted documents, and with the CU Denver | CU Anschutz Office of Equity.

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