If you are looking for a University of Oregon Title IX lawyer after receiving, or expecting, a written Notice of Allegations, start by identifying the procedure named in that notice. This page gives general educational information about UO’s published discriminatory-misconduct and Title IX sexual-harassment procedures. It is not case-specific legal advice and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the University of Oregon.
Start With the Written Notice of Allegations
If you received a Notice of Allegations from UO’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Access (OEOA), read it carefully. The notice should identify the specific alleged Conduct Code and policy violations and state whether the matter is being handled as a Title IX Sexual Harassment Claim. That classification changes the steps that follow. A discriminatory-misconduct matter may end with a Final Investigation Report and a decision. A Title IX Sexual Harassment Claim adds an Evidence File, a separate decision-maker, and a live hearing. Not every sex-based complaint at UO becomes a Title IX hearing matter; the notice’s classification controls which path applies to your case.
Do not ignore or delay responding to a notice. Preserve it, along with any related emails, texts, scheduling messages, and dates of contact. These records matter throughout the process.
Which Policy and Procedure Version Applies
UO’s OEOA investigation-process index states that the current Student Standard Operating Procedures apply when the respondent is a student, regardless of the complainant’s relationship to UO. The current SOP is effective January 1, 2026. UO also maintains the Prohibited Discrimination and Retaliation Policy, amended effective December 18, 2025, and the Student Conduct Code, effective September 12, 2023 to present.
UO states that the policy and code in force at the time of the alleged conduct govern a given case. This means the policy and code versions applicable to your matter depend on the alleged conduct date, not today’s date. Confirm which student procedure UO identifies in your notice as well. Archived 2024 or 2022 student procedures are not the current procedure; they should not be treated as governing without a specific version reason. If the current SOP and the Conduct Code conflict, the SOP states the Conduct Code controls.
Report Intake and Early Steps
Once OEOA receives a report, it may proceed to a written Notice of Allegations if it determines that step is appropriate. Early on, you are presumed not in violation until the process determines otherwise, and you remain eligible for supportive measures regardless of where the case stands.
Practical early steps include:
- Read the notice fully and note every alleged violation and classification stated in it.
- Preserve all related communications, dates, and documents.
- Identify and contact an advisor early, since an advisor may attend administrative meetings with you.
- Contact OEOA with procedural questions at (541) 346-3123 or eoa@uoregon.edu.
- Contact the Dean of Students respondent-resource line at respondenthelp@uoregon.edu for support and help navigating the process.
Investigation, the Draft Report, and the Evidence File
After investigation, OEOA issues a Draft Investigation Report. Under the current SOP, parties have ten calendar days to respond in writing to the Draft Investigation Report. The SOP specifies that unqualified references to "days" mean calendar days unless stated otherwise, so confirm which type of day applies whenever a deadline is given to you in writing.
If your matter is classified as a Title IX Sexual Harassment Claim, a directly related Evidence File becomes available at the same time as the Draft Investigation Report, and parties have ten calendar days to review that Evidence File and respond. This is a separate step from, though it runs alongside, your response to the Draft Investigation Report itself. Neither of these ten-day windows is an appeal deadline; they are steps within the investigation stage.
After a Final Investigation Report is issued in a Title IX Sexual Harassment Claim, pre-hearing submissions are due ten calendar days after receipt of the report. Separately, UO must give at least ten calendar days’ notice before the hearing itself. One is a party submission deadline; the other is the university’s minimum hearing-notice lead time. Do not treat them as the same period.
Advisors and the Hearing
Each party may have an advisor throughout the process. UO’s respondent-rights page states that an advisor may attend administrative meetings with you but generally does not speak for you during those meetings. This is different at a hearing in a Title IX Sexual Harassment Claim: there, the advisor’s role includes questioning the other party and witnesses. UO provides an advisor without charge for Title IX Sexual Harassment Claims, and if a party’s designated advisor does not attend the hearing, UO will supply one to conduct that questioning.
In short, an advisor’s role is not the same at every stage. Confirm with OEOA or your advisor what role they will play at each specific meeting or hearing step in your case.
Supportive Measures
Supportive measures are available to a respondent independent of the outcome of the case. UO’s respondent-rights page confirms that a respondent is presumed not in violation until the process determines otherwise, and is eligible for supportive measures during the process. The Dean of Students respondent-resource page describes help navigating the process. If you need a measure, ask OEOA or the Dean of Students office what is currently available.
Appeals: Separate Windows, Separate Triggers
UO’s current SOP provides more than one appeal-related deadline, and they are not interchangeable:
- Appeal of a final decision or Action Plan: either party may appeal within ten business days of receiving the decision, by written appeal to OEOA at eoa@uoregon.edu. The non-appealing party then has seven calendar days to respond to that appeal.
- Appeal of an early dismissal: this is a separate window of seven calendar days after receipt of the dismissal notice. It is not the same deadline as the final-decision appeal above, and the two should not be combined or confused.
The Conduct Code separately lists a ten-business-day conduct-decision appeal for ordinary student conduct matters. That Conduct Code appeal rule is not automatically the same as the SOP’s Title IX or discriminatory-misconduct appeal rules described above. Do not assume the ordinary conduct-appeal timeline applies to your Title IX or discriminatory-misconduct case without confirming which procedure governs your specific decision.
These periods run from different events, and the SOP distinguishes business from calendar days. Confirm each actual date against the written notice or decision you receive instead of relying on a generic example.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every sexual-misconduct report at UO lead to a Title IX hearing?
No. The Evidence File, separate decision-maker, and live-hearing steps are described in Section IV of the SOP for Title IX Sexual Harassment Claims, a category defined in Appendix A. Other discriminatory-misconduct matters may end with a Final Investigation Report instead. Check the classification in the written notice.
Which procedure version applies to my case?
UO says the policy and Conduct Code in force at the time of alleged conduct govern. Check the conduct date against the policy and code versions, then confirm the procedure identified in the written notice. The current student SOP took effect January 1, 2026, but that alone does not establish which version governs a particular matter.
Can my advisor speak for me at every meeting?
Not generally. UO’s respondent-rights page states an advisor may attend administrative meetings but generally does not speak for the respondent in those meetings. At a Title IX hearing, the advisor’s role expands to questioning the other party and witnesses.
What if I miss the ten-calendar-day response window for the Draft Investigation Report?
The SOP sets this as a calendar-day deadline tied to your receipt of the Draft Investigation Report. Missing it may affect your ability to respond before the report becomes final, so treat any notice with a stated deadline as time-sensitive and confirm the exact date with OEOA.
Is the early-dismissal appeal the same as the final-decision appeal?
No. The SOP treats these as separate windows: seven calendar days after receipt of an early dismissal notice, versus ten business days after receiving a final decision or Action Plan. Confirm which type of notice you received before calculating your deadline.
Who do I contact with procedural questions?
OEOA can be reached at (541) 346-3123 or eoa@uoregon.edu. The Dean of Students respondent-resource line, respondenthelp@uoregon.edu, offers support and help navigating the process.
More guides for Oregon schools: Oregon Title IX lawyer.
Disclaimer
This page is general educational information about publicly available University of Oregon procedures as published in September 2026. It is not legal advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the University of Oregon. Procedures, effective dates, and contact information change; verify all deadlines and requirements directly against your own written notice and UO’s current official pages before taking action. Confirm the procedure and policy versions that apply to your case with OEOA.
If you have questions about your specific notice, you may contact us for general information about how this type of process works.
Sources
- OEOA Investigation Processes Index
- Current Student Standard Operating Procedures (effective January 1, 2026)
- OEOA Policies Index
- Prohibited Discrimination and Retaliation Policy (amended effective December 18, 2025)
- Student Conduct Code (effective September 12, 2023 to present)
- OEOA Respondent Rights
- Dean of Students Respondent Resources
