Initial Assessment: Frequently Asked Questions

An Initial Assessment is a process IDHR engages in to determine whether a complaint filed by the Impacted Party/Complainant may implicate a potential policy violation within IDHR’s purview and thus can proceed with a Resolution Pathway. An Initial Assessment is not an investigation and is not conducted to prove or disprove allegations, but rather to assess if there is sufficient information to potentially implicate a policy violation within IDHR’s purview or if the matter is better suited to be managed by a partner office (e.g. Human Resources (HR) or Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (OSCCS)).

An Initial Assessment generally starts with an interview of the Impacted Party/Complainant by members of the IDHR Resolutions Team. The Resolutions Team reviews the information collected in the interview, along with any evidence or supporting documents provided. The IDHR Resolutions Team may consult with other campus partners (e.g. HR or OSCCS) to review information gathered and Institute policies.

The Initial Assessment allows IDHR to determine whether the alleged conduct implicates a policy within IDHR’s purview or whether the matter is better suited for a partner office. (Conduct that does not implicate discrimination or discriminatory harassment may be referred to HR or OSCCS for further review and/or Investigation.) An Initial Assessment also assists IDHR in determining which Institute Office, if any, is best positioned to assist the Impacted Party/Complainant in addressing or resolving the matter.

IDHR resolves formal complaints of protected class discrimination and/or discriminatory harassment, which includes sexual harassment and sexual misconduct. The status of the Respondent as a staff/faculty member or student will dictate the applicable policies and review processes. To read more about policies within IDHR’s purview, please review Policies and Procedures, Section 9.0 (complaints raised against staff and faculty members) and the Mind and Hand Book, Section II (complaints raised against students).

For formal complaints, the Initial Assessment forms the basis of the Investigation or an Adaptable Resolution. An Initial Assessment does NOT constitute a final determination of any matter brought forward by the Impacted Party/Complainant, but rather provides a first step for a Resolution Pathway.

A Resolution Pathway is a process to resolve a complaint of protected class-discrimination or discriminatory harassment. Resolution Pathways are terminal, meaning once the process has concluded the matter cannot be pursued again, either informally or formally.

IDHR offers two Resolution Pathways:

1. Adaptable Resolution offers voluntary, remedies-based, structured processes—like mediation or restorative conferencing—that allow the Parties to agree to a resolution without disciplinary action against the Responding Party. Both Parties must agree to resolve their concerns via Adaptable Resolution. At this time, Adaptable Resolution is not available for complaints raised against staff or faculty members, though there are other informal resolution options for these cases. Adaptable Resolution is a Resolution Pathway currently available only for matters involving student respondents.
2. An Investigation is conducted by trained IDHR investigators who are neutral factfinders. The investigators gather evidence and assess whether a protected class discrimination or discriminatory harassment policy has been violated. The Investigation is available for any complaint that has passed an Initial Assessment.

Resolution Pathways cannot be used simultaneously, but parties may generally pursue one pathway and then switch to another.

No. In order to pursue a Resolution Pathway, the complaint must pass the Initial Assessment.

Not necessarily. IDHR only conducts Initial Assessments for matters implicating potential policy violations within its purview—protected class discrimination and/or discriminatory harassment. For example, IDHR would not conduct an Initial Assessment for a complaint of bullying or unprofessional conduct that does not contain allegations of protected class discrimination or discriminatory harassment but would refer that matter to Human Resources or OSCCS.

IDHR endeavors to conduct Initial Assessments in a timely manner. The process of scheduling and conducting the Initial Assessment interview, along with gathering and reviewing the available materials, can take several weeks. Please communicate with the Case Management team and/or the Resolutions Team if you anticipate delays in scheduling a meeting and/or submitting materials.

When an Impacted Party/Complainant has a concern of protected class discrimination and/or discriminatory harassment, and would like to request an Initial Assessment, they should first connect with IDHR’s Case Management Team (by emailing idhr@mit.edu) to learn more about IDHR’s Resolution Pathways offerings and the Initial Assessment.

The Initial Assessment process includes the following initial steps for the Impacted Party/Complainant: 1) Reporting a matter related to protected class discrimination or discriminatory harassment to IDHR; 2) Meeting with the IDHR Case Management Team; 3) Indicating they are interested in a Resolution Pathway; and 4) Scheduling an Initial Assessment interview with the Resolutions Team.

After the Impacted Party/Complainant meets with Case Management Team and it is determined that the allegation(s) involve protected class discrimination and/or discriminatory harassment, the Case Management Team will connect the Impacted Party/Complainant to the Resolutions Team to schedule an Initial Assessment interview.

No. An Investigation does not start until a complaint passes Initial Assessment, the Complainant indicates they are interested in pursuing an Investigation, and the Respondent is provided a Notice Letter.

An Initial Assessment interview is where the Resolutions Team meets with the Impacted Party/Complainant to discuss their complaint. This is meant to be a conversation where the Impacted Party/Complainant shares their experience. The Resolutions Team may ask questions to further understand the contours of the complaint.

Yes. The Impacted Party/Complainant has the right to bring an advisor and/or support person to the Initial Assessment interview. The advisor must be a member of the MIT community and cannot be an attorney. The Impacted Party/Complainant may only have an attorney advisor for matters involving sexual misconduct.

An Initial Assessment Interview is generally scheduled for two hours. This allows enough time for the Impacted Party/Complainant to share their experience and concerns without feeling rushed, and for the Resolutions Team to ask questions. Additional time can be scheduled as needed.

IDHR will carefully review any information provided as part of the Initial Assessment. This includes the interview, and documentary evidence including files, emails, text messages, chats, photographs, etc.

IDHR does not typically speak to the Respondent or witnesses as part of the Initial Assessment.

To determine if a complaint passes an Initial Assessment, IDHR carefully reviews and assesses all of the information gathered from the Impacted Party/Complainant during the Initial Assessment to understand if there is sufficient information and allegations to support a potential policy violation within IDHR’s purview. The IDHR Resolutions team carefully assesses the alleged facts and the elements of specific policies to make its determination. The burden of making this assessment and understanding the nuances of Institute policy is not on the Impacted Party/Complainant. The Impacted Party/Complainant need only share their experience and provide supporting information.

If the Initial Assessment yields enough information that may implicate a policy violation within IDHR’s purview, the complaint has passed Initial Assessment. If the Initial Assessment yields insufficient information to implicate a potential policy violation within IDHR’s purview, the complaint does not pass Initial Assessment.

Importantly, the Initial Assessment is NOT an investigation and is not conducted to prove or disprove allegations, but rather to assess if there is sufficient information to potentially implicate a policy violation within IDHR’s purview.

The Impacted Party/Complainant will be informed of the Initial Assessment determination in writing.

If a complaint does not pass Initial Assessment, the matter may be referred to another Institute Office to review the concerns for any other possible policy violations outside the scope of IDHR. These offices include:

• Human Resources;
• The Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards;
• The Office of the Vice President for Research; and
• A department, lab or center.

If a complaint passes Initial Assessment, and the matter involves a staff or faculty member Respondent, the Impacted Party/Complainant can choose to pursue an Investigation. If the matter involves a student Respondent or Complainant, along with a Investigation, Adaptable Resolution is also an available Resolution Pathway. At this time, Adaptable Resolution is not available for matters involving staff or faculty member respondents; however, in those matters, other informal processes, such as mediation, through Human Resources or the Ombuds Office, may be available.

After a complaint passes Initial Assessment, if the Impacted Party/Complainant would like to pursue a Resolution Pathway, they will be asked to complete a Formal Complaint Form, if they have not done so already. Please note that if an Investigation is being pursued, the Formal Complaint Form will ultimately be shared with the Respondent.

No. Initial Assessment determinations are final and cannot be appealed, with the limited exception of matters involving Title IX. Dismissal of Title IX matters can be appealed with in five (5) business days for the following grounds:

1. Procedural irregularity that affected the outcome of the matter;
2. New evidence that was not reasonably available at the time the determination regarding dismissal was made, that could affect the outcome of the matter; and
3. IDHR had a conflict of interest or bias for or against Complainants or Respondents generally or the specific Complainant or Respondent that affected the determination regarding dismissal.

If after a matter passes Initial Assessment and the Impacted Party/Complainant decides they do not want to pursue any Resolution Pathway, the Impacted Party/Complainant can withdraw their complaint. While timely resolution of a complaint is ideal, the Impacted Party/Complainant is under no obligation to proceed at this time. The Impacted Party/Complainant can decide to move forward with a Resolution Pathway at a later time as long as the Respondent remains an MIT community member. Delays in moving forward with a Resolution Pathway, however, may limit IDHR’s ability to address and/or resolve the matter.

If after an Initial Assessment, the Impacted Party/Complainant does not want to file a formal complaint or have their identity disclosed, IDHR may determine that in order to ensure the safety of the campus and to comply with state or federal law, the matter warrants investigation. Under these circumstances, IDHR may pursue an Administrative Complaint, as describe in the IDHR Investigation Guide.

If a Complainant does not wish for their name to be shared, does not wish for an Investigation to take place, or does not want a Formal Complaint process, they may make such a request to IDHR, who will evaluate that request in light of the duty to ensure the safety of the campus and to comply with state or federal law. When IDHR determines that a Complainant’s request not to proceed with a Formal Complaint process cannot be honored, IDHR will initiate an Administrative Complaint. In such cases, IDHR will notify the Complainant that the Institute intends to proceed with a Formal Complaint process, but that the Complainant is not required to participate in the Investigation or in any other actions undertaken by the Institute.

If the complaint passes Initial Assessment and an Investigation is chosen as the Resolution Pathway, all materials gathered from the Impacted party/Complainant, including the interview and any evidence, will become part of the Investigation record and ultimately viewed by the Respondent. If the complaint passes Initial Assessment and Adaptable Resolution is chosen as the Resolution Pathway, materials gathered during the Initial Assessment may be used as background information by the Adaptable Resolutions Team in assessing and/or facilitating an Adaptable Resolution.

With the permission of the Impacted Party/Complainant, IDHR will share materials provided during the Initial Assessment with any Institute Office to which the matter is being referred. This practice helps prevent the Impacted Party/Complainant from having to tell their story multiple times.

Under certain circumstances, IDHR may need to share information collected during the Initial Assessment with an Institute Office(s) on a need-to-know basis, to ensure the safety of the community, or adhere to applicable law.

In general, IDHR does not share information about an ongoing Initial Assessment or an Initial Assessment determination with Institute Offices, academic advisors, supervisors, or departments, labs, or centers. Information gathered during an Initial Assessment is only shared with the Respondent if an Investigation is opened.

During an Initial Assessment, IDHR may consult with Institute Offices, such as the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (OSCCS) or Human Resources. Information gathered during an Initial Assessment and/or the Initial Assessment determination may be shared with an Institute Office such as OSCCS or Human Resources on a need-to-know basis, to ensure community safety, or to comply with federal law.