Nichols College will not tolerate sexual assault of or by students. For the purposes of this policy, sexual assault includes forcible rape, forcible sodomy, sexual assault with an object, forcible fondling, incest and statutory rape. Nichols uses the National Incident-Base Reporting System Edition of the Uniform Crime Reporting Program to define each act. The College will not tolerate sexual assault, either by students or by members of the faculty, administration or staff, and any person found to have engaged in such conduct will be subject to discipline, up to and including expulsion or termination, as appropriate, from the Nichols College Community.
In the interest of creating a climate of behavior that nurtures and encourages civility and respect for others' rights and safety in the campus community, the College provides educational programs designed to promote awareness of rape that are presented in new student orientation programs, the Professional Development Seminar, Residence Life programming, guest speaker events, and student-targeted publications throughout the academic year.
Victims are urged to report the assault as soon as possible to College authorities in order to preserve evidence and to receive timely, appropriate and confidential assistance. They will be encouraged to provide information to police authorities so that the perpetrator(s) can be brought to justice with outcomes proportional to their crime. If the victim chooses not to pursue this remedy, they will be offered full opportunity to use the campus judicial system to seek justice. As a minimum, our counselors and medical personnel will assist the victim in strictest confidence.
In most situations, the victim's primary responder would be either a member of the resident staff or Public Safety. They will assist with the response of local police authorities, if the victim so desires. The alleged offense should be formally reported, as well, to the Dean of Student Services, as soon as possible.
Should a victim pursue on-campus disciplinary procedures, both the accused and the accuser are entitled to the same opportunity to bring forth witnesses to provide written and/or oral statements. Both accused and accuser are also entitled to provide statement to the College Official hearing the case. Both parties will be informed of the outcome at the conclusion of the hearing.
Counseling services at the Health Services Center in Merrill Health Center are available by telephoning (508) 213-2108 or in person.
Finally, the College will assist victims in every way possible to restore their sense of empowerment and personal safety. This includes, as a minimum, arranging for changing classes and living situations subsequent to an alleged sexual assault to the extent that they are reasonably possible. Confidentiality will be respected and preserved to the fullest extent possible in all circumstances.