An SIU Carbondale Title IX lawyer can help you read your notice letter, tell whether your case runs under Process A or Process B, and build a steady record from the first interview through any appeal.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale handles reports through the Office of Equity and Compliance, with online reporting at safe.siu.edu and an interim policy covering both Title IX cases and other prohibited conduct. If you received a notice of investigation and allegations, that notice and the policy linked in it control your case. General background is at how do Title IX hearings work.
Intake: where an SIUC case begins
Anyone may report possible prohibited conduct to the Title IX Coordinator or online at safe.siu.edu, and an online report alone is not treated as a formal complaint. After a report arrives, the Title IX Coordinator runs an initial assessment, typically within five business days, and reaches out through a Confidential Advisor to offer supportive measures. The coordinator then lays out the three possible responses, which are supportive measures only, informal resolution after a formal complaint, or a formal grievance process.
Supportive measures are non-disciplinary and non-punitive, and they are available with or without a formal complaint. Examples include academic, living, dining, transportation, or working modifications and no contact orders. Early preparation notes are at after you have been accused.
Respondents should know about emergency removal. After an individualized safety and risk analysis, the Title IX Coordinator may remove a student respondent on an emergency basis, using the least restrictive action available. The respondent may then show cause within three days why the removal should change, and may appeal a standing removal in writing to the Chancellor within three days.
Investigation: Process A, Process B, and the evidence file
The SIUC procedures apply the same grievance steps to all prohibited conduct, then sort cases into two lanes. Matters meeting the federal jurisdictional tests run as Process A, the Title IX process, while matters dismissed from Process A on technical grounds may still proceed as Process B under SIU policy or the Student Code of Conduct. The written notice of investigation and allegations, called the NOIA, spells out the allegations, the policies implicated, the potential sanctions, the presumption of non-responsibility, advisor rights, and the ban on knowingly false statements.
Investigations are to finish expeditiously, normally within thirty business days from the NOIA, while the full resolution process including any appeal is to conclude within ninety business days from the NOIA, with written notice of any good cause extension. Investigators interview the parties and relevant witnesses, gather relevant evidence, and let each side suggest witnesses and questions. Investigators gather, assess, and summarize the evidence but make no findings or recommendations in their report. Background on the build is at title-ix-investigation.
Two review windows protect respondents. Before the investigation closes, both sides and their advisors receive the draft report plus all directly related evidence for a ten business day review and comment period. The finalized report then goes to both sides at least ten business days before the hearing. The standard throughout is preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely true than not, and the respondent is presumed not responsible until a violation is found.
Hearing and advisor: who asks the questions
No sanction issues without a hearing unless the matter resolves informally. The hearing notice goes out no less than ten business days before the hearing, hearings may use separate rooms or remote testimony, and the Chair may hold a pre-hearing meeting to rule on relevance questions in advance. Each side must name its hearing advisor at least two business days before the hearing.
Questioning belongs to advisors and the panel. Each proposed question goes through the Chair for a relevance ruling before it is answered, and parties never question each other directly.If you arrive without an advisor, the university appoints one for questioning, and every party must have an advisor present with no exceptions. No inference may be drawn solely from a party or witness staying away or declining cross-examination. Advisor roles at hearings are covered at title-ix-advisor and title-ix-disciplinary-hearings.
Sanctions and appeal
After deliberation the decision makers apply the preponderance standard, then weigh the impact statements and conduct history at the sanction stage. Student sanctions range from probation and housing changes through suspension and expulsion, with transcript notation recorded for suspension and expulsion. The Chair’s written deliberation statement goes to the coordinator within seven business days after deliberations end unless the coordinator grants an extension, and the Notice of Outcome follows to both sides simultaneously within seven business days after that. Sanction effects are discussed further at consequences of a Title IX violation.
Either side may appeal within seven business days of the Notice of Outcome on four grounds: procedural irregularity, new and previously unavailable evidence, conflict of interest or bias, or disproportionate sanctions. A single Appeal Chair with no prior role in the case screens the request, circulates approved grounds for a seven business day response, and decides in no more than seven business days. Appeal review is deferential rather than a fresh rehearing, and the outcome is final. Mechanics shared across schools are at title-ix-appeals.
Conduct outside a university program or activity, outside the United States, or by a respondent SIUC does not control can fall outside Title IX yet still proceed under Process B or the Student Code of Conduct, so confirm your lane in writing at the start.
Respondent checklist for SIUC students
- Save your NOIA, every scheduling message, and every evidence link the day each arrives, and confirm in writing whether your case runs as Process A or Process B.
- Preserve messages, photos, location records, and receipts, and list witnesses early with what each one saw.
- Choose an advisor before your first interview and name your hearing advisor at least two business days before the hearing.
- Calendar the thirty business day investigation target, both ten business day evidence windows, and the ten business day hearing notice.
- Honor any no contact order and any emergency removal exactly as written while the show cause and Chancellor appeal clocks run.
Speak with an SIU Carbondale Title IX lawyer
SIUC cases turn on the Process A or Process B lane, the two evidence windows, and advisor-led questioning. Contact us to discuss your notice and what comes next.
FAQ
Where do I report or respond if I am accused under Title IX at SIUC?
Reports go to the Title IX Coordinator in the Office of Equity and Compliance or through safe.siu.edu. Confirm whether a formal complaint exists and get the NOIA.
What is the difference between Process A and Process B?
Process A is the Title IX track. Conduct dismissed from Process A on technical grounds can still proceed as Process B under SIU policy or the Student Code of Conduct.
Can I bring a lawyer?
You may choose any advisor for every stage. Only advisors question the other side at the hearing, and SIUC appoints one for questioning if you have none.
What must the university prove?
That a violation more likely than not occurred. The respondent is presumed not responsible until the decision makers find otherwise.
What sanctions do student respondents face?
Probation and educational measures through housing changes, suspension, and expulsion, with transcript notation for suspension and expulsion.
How do I appeal?
File a written appeal with the Title IX Coordinator within seven business days of the Notice of Outcome stating one of the four grounds. Expect a screening decision, a response round, and a decision in no more than seven business days.
Sources (checked 2026-09-22)
- Interim Policy and Procedures on Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault, Sexual Misconduct, Dating Violence, Domestic Violence and Stalking, effective August 14, 2020: reporting, Process A and B, emergency removal, investigation, hearing, sanctions, appeal
- Title IX Coordinator page: coordinator role, office address in Woody Hall, phone and email contacts
- Office of Equity and Compliance hub: office role, policy links, reporting options
- Student Conduct Code: Student Rights and Responsibilities conduct process for referred matters
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 Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Policies change; confirm the current procedure text before acting.
