The Office of Equity encourages faculty members to include statements in their syllabi regarding USU's discrimination and sexual misconduct policies, employee reporting obligations, and bystander intervention practices. Below is suggested syllabi language for the three topics.

Suggested Syllabi Language

General Overview

USU strives to provide an environment for students and employees that is free from discrimination and sexual misconduct. If you experience sexual misconduct or discrimination at any point during the semester inside or outside of class, you are encouraged to contact the USU Title IX Coordinator via Distance Education room 404 in Logan, 435-797-1266, titleix@usu.edu, or at equity.usu.edu/report. You can learn more about the USU resources available for individuals who have experienced sexual misconduct at sexualrespect.usu.edu. Resources for individuals who have experienced discrimination are listed at equity.usu.edu/resources.

Required Reporting of Sexual Misconduct

The instructor is designated by USU as a "reporting employee." This means that if you share information about sexual misconduct (sexual harassment, sexual assault, relationship violence, sexual exploitation, or sex-based stalking) with the instructor, they will report that information to the USU Title IX Coordinator. The instructor is also required to tell you about designated confidential resources, supportive measures, and how you can file a report with the USU Title IX Coordinator.

Bystander Intervention

Short Version

USU encourages students to be Upstanders when they witness problematic situations or behaviors. Bystander intervention can happen before, during or even after an incident occurs. You can be an Upstander in five ways: direct, delegate, distract, delay, or document. More information about being an Upstander is available at upstander.usu.edu.

Long Version

USU encourages students to be Upstanders when they witness problematic situations or behaviors. Bystander intervention can happen before, during or even after an incident occurs.

You can be an Upstander in five ways:

1. Addressing the situation directly by talking to the individuals involved.
2. Delegating by asking others to help or referring the individuals to a campus or community resource.
3. Creating a distraction to disrupt or stop the situation.
4. Delaying your response to the situation by waiting to address it until after it has happened.
5. Documenting what is happening or what happened in the situation.

More information about being an Upstander is available at upstander.usu.edu.

Suggested Language to Share Before a Class or Training Related to Sexual Misconduct

As of February 10, 2023, instructors (as reporting employees) are required to share sexual misconduct disclosures that occur as part of work submitted in course assignments and discussions related to course materials, including if the claimant was not a student or employee when the sexual misconduct occurred.

Instructors are encouraged to share the Sexual Respect website as part of their course. Instructors who would like physical copies of USU’s Sexual Misconduct Resource Guides to distribute can contact the Office of Equity at 435-797-1266 or titleix@usu.edu.

Today’s class content is related to sexual misconduct. This is an important topic for us to discuss in our class. I want to remind you that as an instructor at USU, I’m required to share information about student experiences of sexual misconduct (sexual harassment, sexual assault, relationship violence, sexual exploitation, and sex-based stalking) with USU’s Title IX Coordinator. Sharing the information allows the Title IX Coordinator to connect students to support services and additional reporting options.

You are welcome to share these experiences during today’s discussion or in the assignment, but know that I will not be able to keep what you share confidential. If you would rather talk to a confidential resource, you can contact the SAAVI Office or CAPS for confidential support.