Any person has the right to decline participation in the investigation or a resolution process.

All participants named in the process are responsible for the communications they receive. All communication will be sent via “Linfield.edu” email unless other plans for communication have been established. Parties and/or witnesses no longer enrolled and/or employed by Linfield, or not part of the Linfield community, will be required to provide a reliable email address to communicate with staff. Title IX Administrators will make good faith efforts to communicate with participants before moving forward but will ultimately proceed without a participant if there is no response.

In the interest of fairness and efficient resolution, information should not be intentionally withheld during any part of the process. The University expects participants to be honest and act with integrity and provide information as they have it available; this includes submitting known witnesses and/or relevant materials such as emails, texts, or pictures as their existence becomes known. Failure to submit information in a timely manner may result in the material being excluded from the investigative report and may not be used later as “newly discovered and relevant information” during an appeals process.

The University may choose to interview or call other witnesses the University believes may have relevant information to share about the allegations at any point in the resolution process. Witness statements must pertain to the specific incident and/or complaint. In some cases, witnesses may provide a statement to discuss a pattern of behavior from a party. The Investigator and a Title IX Administrator will determine if this is relevant to the complaint.

Any Witness scheduled to participate in a resolution process (e.g. hearing) must have been interviewed first by investigator(s). Any Witness who declines to participate in or cooperate with an investigation will not be permitted to offer evidence or testimony during the resolution hearing unless all Parties consent to the participation of that witness in the hearing.

Parties in need of supportive measures and/or accommodation due to a documented disability must complete an accommodations request with the Accessibility Services Coordinator. Accommodations requests must be documented by a medical provider and approved by the Accessibility Services Coordinator.