All Parties are entitled to a Process Advisor of their choosing to guide and accompany them throughout the resolution process. The Process Advisor may be a University employee, friend, mentor, family member, attorney or any other person a party chooses to advise them.

The Parties are entitled to be accompanied by their Process Advisor in all meetings, interviews, and hearings at which the party is entitled to be present. In some circumstances, the University may need to meet with a party before they have established a Process Advisor; this is typically in cases when a party is being put on notice that a complaint has been made. The staff person meeting with the party will not require the party to answer questions and/or give a statement unless they choose to do so.

All Process Advisors are subject to the same campus policies and procedures. Except as permitted during Title IX specific hearings, a Process Advisor is not permitted to engage in the grievance process on a party’s behalf or participate directly in any related meeting or proceeding. Process Advisors may quietly consult with their advisees during a related meeting or proceeding in a way that does not disrupt or interfere with it. Process Advisors should request or wait for a break in the proceeding if they want to have a longer or more involved discussion with their advisee or wish to interact with campus administrators.

All Parties are expected to be the main source of communication with campus administrators. Process Advisors may not initiate communication with campus administrators on behalf of their advisee in person or via technology (i.e.: phone and/or email). Campus administrators will not be expected to communicate with the Process Advisor whenever a communication is made to the party and expect each party to take responsibility to share communications with their Process Advisor as appropriate.

Process Advisors should help their advisees prepare for each meeting, and are expected to advise ethically, with integrity, and in good faith. The University cannot guarantee equal Process Advisor rights, meaning that if one party selects a Process Advisor who is an attorney, but the other party does not, or cannot afford an attorney, the University is not obligated to provide a Process Advisor who is an attorney.

Process Advisors are expected to refrain from interference with the University investigation and resolution. Any Process Advisor who steps out of their role in any meeting under the campus resolution process will be warned once. If the Process Advisor continues to disrupt or otherwise fails to respect the limits of the Process Advisor’s role, the Process Advisor will be asked to leave the meeting. When a Process Advisor is removed from a meeting, that meeting will typically end unless the party agrees to participate without their Process Advisor present. Subsequently, the Title IX Coordinator or a Deputy Coordinator will determine whether the Process Advisor may be reinstated or will need to be replaced by a different Process Advisor.

Process Advisors are expected to maintain the privacy of the records shared with them by the University. These records may not be shared with third Parties, disclosed publicly, or used for purposes not explicitly authorized by the University. The University may seek to restrict the role of any Process Advisor who does not respect the sensitive nature of the process or who fails to abide by the University's privacy expectations.

The University expects a Process Advisor to adjust their schedule to allow them to attend University meetings when scheduled. The University does not typically change scheduled meetings to accommodate a Process Advisor's inability to attend. The University will, however, make provisions to allow a Process Advisor who cannot attend in person to attend a meeting by telephone, video and/or virtual meeting technologies as may be convenient and available.

A party may elect to change Process Advisors during the process and is not locked into using the same Process Advisor throughout. The Parties must advise the University of the identity of their Process Advisor at least two (2) business days before the date of their first meeting and notify the University if there is a change to who they have chosen as their Process Advisor.