Reporting to MIT
All MIT community members are encouraged to report any concern about discrimination, discriminatory harassment, and bias. To report incidents—including making an anonymous report—of discrimination, discrimination harassment, and bias, including sexual misconduct, intimate partner violence, and stalking, online File an Incident Report.
All MIT community members are encouraged to report concerns regardless of when or where the incident occurred or who was involved. Whether or not the conduct at issue may be subject to MIT’s jurisdiction for disciplinary action, supportive measures and resources are available to members of the MIT community impacted by discrimination, discrimination harassment, and bias. Learn more about supportive measures.
An IDHR staff member will contact you to schedule a time to meet or talk. IDHR can provide information on available support resources, (on or off-campus); discuss informal remedies; and explain the procedure for formal complaint resolution (such as investigation or adaptable resolution processes). | |
Submit the IDHR Incident Report Form | You can submit this form to let IDHR know about an incident of discrimination or discriminatory harassment. You may submit this form anonymously. This is not a formal complaint. |
File a Formal Complaint | A formal complaint begins the complaint resolution process. IDHR handles formal complaints of discrimination or discriminatory harassment. |
Why report to IDHR?
You may want to connect with IDHR because:
• You want to know more about your resolution options and resources
• You want MIT to know something is happening that is making you uncomfortable/unsafe
• You want access to supportive measures
• You would like to file a formal complaint – to access either the investigation or adaptable resolution processes
What happens when I contact IDHR?
When you reach out to the IDHR Office directly, someone from IDHR will contact you and ask if you’d like to schedule a time to meet or talk by phone. This meeting will serve as an opportunity for you to learn more about the full range of resources and options available to you. Additionally, you can talk with our staff about supportive measures including academic support, housing transfers, and no-contact orders, or to learn more about the adaptable resolution and investigation processes.
IDHR will conduct a preliminary review of the reported information and respond to any immediate health or safety concerns raised by the report. In this preliminary review of the initial report, IDHR will generally:
1. In cases involving recent physical or sexual assault, inform the Complainant of the right to seek medical treatment, and explain the importance of obtaining and preserving forensic and other evidence;
2. In cases involving allegations of possible criminal conduct, inform the Complainant of the right to contact law enforcement, decline to contact law enforcement, and/or seek a court ordered protective order;
3. Assess the information provided regarding the Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment, including whether it contains the names and/or any other information that personally identifies the Complainant, the Respondent, any witness, and/or any other third party with knowledge of the reported incident;
4. Inform the Complainant about Institute and community resources, the right to seek appropriate and available supportive measures, and how to request those resources and measures;
5. Inform the Complainant of the two Formal Complaint resolution pathways available to them: Adaptable Resolution and Investigation; determine the Complainant’s expressed preference at this time; and discuss with the Complainant any concerns or barriers to participating in the Institute's Formal Complaint process;
6. Explain the Institute’s prohibition against retaliation and that the Institute will take prompt action in response to any act of retaliation;
7. Ascertain the ages of the Complainant and the Respondent, if known, and, if either of the parties is a minor (under 18), determine whether to contact the appropriate child protective service agency;
8. Assess the information provided to determine if it triggers any Clery Act obligations and, if so, submit a Clery Report Form to MIT Police; and
9. Assess the matter for possible emergency removal of the respondent, administrative leave, or other appropriate interim actions in conjunction with appropriate Institute officials. See, COD Rules, Section III, for further information regarding student respondents.
If IDHR receives a report of misconduct that is not Discrimination or Discriminatory Harassment, IDHR will refer the report to the appropriate Institute office, which may include MIT Human Resources, the Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards, the Office of the Vice President for Research, or the department, lab or center.
Reporting employee concerns via HR
Contact your Human Resources Officer (HRO) | HROs are the primary contact for employment-related issues. HROs can provide information on available resources, discuss the informal resolution process, and explain the procedure for formal investigations. |
File a Formal Complaint | A formal complaint begins the complaint resolution process outlined in P&P Section 9.8. Human Resources handles formal complaints of inappropriate conduct that are not based on protected class. |
File a Request for Review of Non-Conduct Policy | This form is used to file a complaint about a violation of an employment policy that does not involve any allegations of employee discrimination, or discriminatory harassment conduct. |
Reporting concerns via Ethicspoint
Anonymous Reporting Hotline | MIT has established an anonymous reporting hotline for whistleblowers or other complaints about wrongdoing and violations of Institute policy. The reporting system is hosted and maintained by a third-party vendor called Ethicspoint. Please note that MIT may be limited in its ability to respond to anonymous complaints. |
Connect with the IDHR Office via Private Resource (Responsible Employee)
Specifically in the context of gender-based discrimination including sexual assault, sexual harassment, intimate partner violence, and stalking, MIT has designated a category of employees as Private Resources. These include most employees including Residential Area Directors, the staff of Student Support Services, the Office of Graduate Education, Faculty, Teaching Assistants, and the Deputy Title IX Coordinators. We recognize it may not feel comfortable to contact our office directly or fill out an online form, so you may choose to speak first with a Private Resource, otherwise known as a Responsible Employee at MIT.
Private Resources, otherwise known as “Responsible Employees,” have a duty to inform IDHR if they learn of an incident related to gender-based discrimination. (They will inform us by email or phone.) One of the Institute Title IX Coordinators will then send an email to the individual who experienced harm, asking if they would like to meet and learn more about resources and reporting options.The individual can also decide whether they would like to meet with IDHR. Learn more about Responsible Employees.
Fill out the IDHR Online Formal Complaint Form
File a Formal Complaint | A Complainant may submit a Formal Complaint alleging Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment against a Staff or Faculty Member or against a Student by clicking the applicable button below or any Complainant may submit a Formal Complaint against any member of the MIT Community to IDHR by submitting a signed, written document identified as a Formal Complaint requesting that MIT investigate the allegation. Submissions to IDHR may be made by email to idhr@mit.edu. |
Who has access to this information?
The IDHR Office staff will have access to this information. This information will not be shared publicly, nor will it be published in any external documents of IDHR. IDHR may share information as necessary on a need-to-know basis, but will only share the identity of individuals as necessary to carry out supportive measures or a disciplinary process or as permitted by law.
Inquiries or complaints concerning the application of Title IX may be referred to the Title IX Coordinator, idhr@mit.edu, and/or the United States Department of Education: United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, Region I 5 Post Office Square, 8th Floor Boston, MA 02109-3921 617-289-0111, or emailing OCR.Boston@ed.gov.
Learn more about IDHR's policies and procedures.