A Kutztown Title IX lawyer can help you navigate EC-007, track the calendar day deadlines, and prepare for advisor-led questioning.
Kutztown assigns Title IX enforcement to its Office of Compliance in Old Main, with deputies for students, housing and residence life, and Greek life and student organizations. The governing text is Sexual Misconduct Policy EC-007, renamed from DIV-007 in June 2026 with a July 2026 revision and an August 14, 2020 effective date. The 2026-27 Code of Conduct also touches student cases, but EC-007 controls the path below.
Intake: reports, formal complaints, and early support
Any person may report to the coordinator in person, by mail, phone, or email at any time, or through the online Maxient form. Anonymous reports limit what the university can do. A report brings outreach and supportive measures. A formal complaint is a written signed complaint describing the alleged facts, filed by the complainant or signed by the coordinator. Filing starts a clock that usually runs no longer than 90 days, extendable for good reason. Early mechanics are at how do Title IX hearings work.
Supportive measures are open to both sides with or without a formal complaint, including counseling, schedule changes, escorts, no contact orders, housing and work changes, leaves, and monitoring. Campus resources include police escorts, the Counseling Center, the Dean of Students Office, the KARE Team, the Health and Wellness Center, and the Womens Center, plus Safe Berks off campus. Confidential help includes Health and Wellness clinical staff and the Womens and LGBTQ Resource Centers.
EC-007 day counts are calendar days and all periods are minimums, with extra time at coordinator discretion granted equally. Code clocks below use business days as written in that code. Employees must report to the coordinator, with narrow classroom and confidential-resource exceptions that never cover suspected child abuse, which must go to university police and the state ChildLine.
Investigation: how the record is built
The coordinator sends a written notice of allegations no more than 10 days after the formal complaint absent extenuating circumstances, with known parties, conduct, date and location, the presumption of non-responsibility, and advisor and evidence rights. The university carries the burden of proof and gathering evidence, and nonparticipation does not shift it. Both sides may present witnesses plus inculpatory and exculpatory evidence. Medical records stay out unless the holder provides them. The standard is preponderance, meaning more likely than not. Mechanics are at title-ix-investigation.
Two review windows protect respondents. Both sides and advisors receive the directly related evidence plus a draft report, with 10 days to respond in writing with any new evidence. Each side then sees the other response and gets 5 days to reply. The investigator then has 10 days to generate the report or sends extension notice. The final report goes out at least 10 days before any hearing, with responses shared with the decision makers and the other side. Do not copy review material outside the process.
Regulatory charges need US location, education program connection, and covered conduct. Dismissed regulatory counts can continue as non-regulatory or code charges. Dismissal notices go to both sides with reasons and appeal rights. Under the code, respondents book a preliminary briefing by the deadline in the charge notice, typically two to ten business days out.
Hearing and advisor: who asks the questions
No sanction issues without a hearing unless the case closes through voluntary informal resolution or another process the policy permits. Informal resolution needs a filed formal complaint and written agreement, can end before final signing with a return to the formal path, cannot be appealed once finally signed, and is never available where a student complaint names an employee, volunteer, or official. Hearing notice arrives no less than 10 days ahead and defaults to video, with separate-room video on request made at least 3 days ahead. See title-ix-advisor and title-ix-disciplinary-hearings.
The hearing is not public and is recorded, with the recording or transcript available on request. After opening statements, the investigator presents the final report without credibility opinions. Decision makers question first, then each advisor cross-examines live, orally, and in real time. Parties never question each other. Relevance is ruled before each answer, and sexual history evidence is limited to the two narrow exceptions. The university provides an advisor where a party has none. Hearsay alone cannot establish a needed fact, and credibility turns on demeanor, plausibility, consistency, and corroboration rather than party status.
EC-007 emergency removal needs an individualized risk finding of immediate threat to physical health or safety, with written notice and appeal to the president within 10 days. Code interim suspension carries separate business day clocks, so confirm which action your notice imposes.
Sanctions and appeal
If no extenuating circumstances exist, the written determination arrives within 14 days after the hearing and becomes final after appeal or when the appeal window closes unused. Student sanctions can combine and include disciplinary reprimand, educational activities, university restrictions, restitution, disciplinary probation of up to one year, deferred and active housing suspension, deferred suspension with loss of representation privileges, suspension of up to four years with reentry meeting and form before return, and dismissal with a minimum four-year exclusion from property. Earlier history enters only at the sanction stage. Outcomes are at consequences of a Title IX violation.
Student appeals go to the vice president for student affairs or a designee with no prior role in the case, in writing within 5 days of the decision, stating grounds with detail and documents. EC-007 counts 5 calendar days, while the older appeal form says 5 business days, so meet the earlier date. The form also names a different vice presidential office as the filing destination, so use the address stated in your own decision notice and confirm with the office before filing. Grounds are new and previously unavailable information, deviation from policy or procedure that affected the outcome, conflict or bias, and appropriateness of the sanction. Filing stays sanctions during review, with supportive measures and remote learning still available. The other side gets 5 days to respond after notice. Review is confined to the stated grounds without reweighing evidence, though a granted sanction ground can modify the sanction with notice to the other side. Both parties receive the written outcome together, which is final.
Employee cases differ. Appeals go to the chancellor in writing within 5 days, on the first three grounds above without a standalone sanction ground, with the chancellor or designee deciding faculty matters and the president or designee deciding other employee matters. EC-007 counts 5 calendar days while the older appeal form says 5 business days, so meet the earlier date and use the address stated in your own decision notice. The older appeal form routes qualifying appeals to the chancellor and demands a checked ground with evidence, a statement with reasons plus remedy sought, signature, and submission to the named office, with incomplete forms rejected. Students should follow the EC-007 vice presidential route for the filing destination while using the form attention to paperwork. Tactics are at title-ix-appeals.
Checklist: what to do in the first week
- Save the notice, the EC-007 version, and every email from compliance and conduct staff.
- Preserve messages, photos, location history, and class records before they auto-delete.
- Write a private timeline with dates, places, and witness names, stored off shared accounts.
- Choose an advisor now, since only advisors cross-examine witnesses.
- Answer the 10-day evidence review in writing and calendar the 5-day rebuttal plus the 10-day pre-hearing report date.
- Request supportive measures in writing and book any code briefing by the deadline in your notice.
Speak with a Kutztown Title IX lawyer
Kutztown cases turn on the EC-007 calendar day evidence windows, the 14-day decision clock, and the student versus employee appeal route. Contact us to discuss your notice.
FAQ
Which office runs Title IX at Kutztown?
The Office of Compliance, with deputies for students, housing and residence life, and Greek life and student organizations.
Where is the current policy?
In the register as EC-007, renamed from DIV-007 in June 2026. The old address redirects there.
Can I bring a lawyer?
You may choose any advisor for meetings and hearings. Only advisors cross-examine, the university appoints one if you have none, and a trained roster is published.
What happens at the preliminary briefing?
A case officer meeting by the deadline in your charge notice, typically two to ten business days out.
What sanctions do students face?
Reprimand and education through restrictions, probation up to one year, housing actions, deferred suspension, suspension up to four years, and dismissal.
How do I appeal?
Students file within 5 days to the vice president for student affairs or designee. Employees file within 5 days to the chancellor. EC-007 counts calendar days and the older form says business days, so meet the earlier date. Sanctions wait during review.
Sources (checked 2026-09-22)
- Sexual Misconduct Policy EC-007: reporting, formal complaint, investigation, hearing, sanctions, student and employee appeals
- Title IX hub: office role, deputies, advisors, resources, supportive measures, rights, FAQs
- Student Code of Conduct 2026-27: briefing, interim suspension, hearings, sanctions, appeals
- Sexual Misconduct appeal form: grounds, five-day clock, filing paperwork, stay rule
- Reporting responsibilities: employee reporting duties and training
Disclaimer
This page is general information only, not legal advice, and reading it creates no attorney-client relationship. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. Policies change; confirm the current procedure text before acting.
