If you are a student looking for a Mississippi Title IX lawyer, this page links to our guides for three Mississippi public universities. Each guide explains, in general terms, how that university handles a Title IX or sexual misconduct complaint against a student.
Each university runs its own process under its own policy. The written notice you receive, and the policy version it names, control your case.
How Mississippi universities handle Title IX cases
The Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) sets a baseline, not a procedure. As our Southern Miss guide explains, the IHL Policies and Bylaws require each university to maintain and publicize a sexual harassment policy and procedure, and make the university president responsible for student conduct and discipline. IHL policy does not set Title IX steps, deadlines, hearing rules or a board-level appeal for students.
So each school writes its own rules:
- Mississippi State University uses OP 03.04, its sexual misconduct and Title IX policy. Its Code of Student Conduct, OP 91.100, says OP 03.04 controls in sexual misconduct cases when the two differ.
- The University of Mississippi has two separate policies: the Title IX Policy, ACA.EO.100.012, and the Interpersonal Violence and Sexual Misconduct Policy, ACA.EO.100.022, which generally covers sex-based misconduct outside the federal Title IX scope.
- The University of Southern Mississippi uses its Sexual Harassment Policy And Procedures. Its Code of Student Conduct sends sexual misconduct allegations to that policy.
All three schools say a Title IX dismissal does not necessarily end the matter. The conduct may still be handled under another policy or another part of the same policy.
At a live hearing at all three schools, advisors, not the students, question the other side. Each school provides for a university advisor if you do not have one. At Mississippi State you request one, and the policy says an advisor cannot be guaranteed if you ask less than ten calendar days before the hearing.
The schools count days differently. Mississippi State’s OP 03.04 uses calendar days for the deadlines in our guide. The University of Mississippi’s policies and Southern Miss’s policy use business days.
Mississippi university guides
- Mississippi State University: OP 03.04 separates broader sexual misconduct from the narrower Title IX Sexual Harassment category. For matters governed by OP 03.04, it requires written notice of appeal to the Title IX Coordinator within seven calendar days of issuance of the written determination or dismissal notice. The Code’s general appeal rule is different.
- University of Mississippi: the Equal Opportunity and Regulatory Compliance office (EORC) applies either the Title IX Policy or the Interpersonal Violence and Sexual Misconduct Policy. Under the Title IX Policy, a student respondent has 10 business days from receipt of the decision to appeal to the Appellate Consideration Board. See the school page for dismissal appeal timing, because the policy’s sections describe it differently.
- University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss): the Title IX Office handles cases under the Sexual Harassment Policy And Procedures, with a single Hearing Officer. The policy gives five business days from delivery of the Notice of Outcome to request an appeal. Code of Student Conduct cases use a different appeal route.
Common questions
Do all Mississippi public universities follow the same policy?
No. The IHL board requires each university to have a sexual harassment policy and procedure, but each school on this page writes its own.
Is the appeal deadline the same everywhere?
No. Mississippi State’s OP 03.04 says seven calendar days. The University of Mississippi’s Title IX Policy says 10 business days from receipt of the decision. Southern Miss’s policy says five business days from delivery of the Notice of Outcome. Use the date in your own decision.
Does the IHL board hear student appeals?
Our Southern Miss guide found that IHL policy does not set a board-level appeal for students and leaves student discipline to the university president.
What should I check first in my notice?
Check which policy and category your notice names. At Mississippi State, the notice should say whether the case is Title IX Sexual Harassment or broader sexual misconduct. At the University of Mississippi, it should say which of the two policies applies.
Talk to a Mississippi Title IX lawyer
If you have received a notice from a Mississippi university, you can contact us to talk about your situation and the documents you have.
Disclaimer
This page is general information only and is not legal advice. This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any university named on this page, or by the IHL board. Reading this page or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. University policies and procedures change. The notice you receive and the policy version it names control your case, so check your notice.
