The Sexual Assault Dean-on-Call may speak with a student survivor in confidence, and report only to the University that an incident occurred without revealing any personally identifying information. Personally identifying information will only be shared after obtaining the reporting student’s consent.

Disclosures to any Sexual Assault Dean-on-Call may lead to the University launching an investigation into the incident, even in the absence of any identifying information or the reporting student’s consent. If an investigation does proceed, the reporting student will not be identified and will not be compelled to participate. The reporting student may use the support provided by the Sexual Assault Dean-on-Call for as long as needed.

However, when the Sexual Assault Dean-on-Call honors a student’s request for confidentiality, the student must understand that the University’s ability to meaningfully investigate the incident and pursue disciplinary action against the alleged respondent may be limited. For more information on resources and confidentiality, see the Equal Opportunity Program’s page on confidential resources. 

Mandated Reporting

When minors are involved, all University personnel are “mandated reporters” who are required by law to report child abuse and neglect to the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services.

For this reason, confidential resources (Sexual Assault Deans-on-Call, Student Counseling Service, Student Health Service, ordained religious advisors) cannot maintain complete confidentiality when they learn of the possible abuse and/or neglect of a person under the age of 18. For more information, see the University’s Policy on the Safety of Children.

Clery Notifications

The federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, also known as the Clery Act (Act), is designed to:

• • Inform students, employees, prospective students and employees, and the interested public of safety information at the nation’s federally-funded institutions of higher education;
  • Broadly require certain policies be disclosed;
  • Deliver awareness programming to the school and its community;
  • Communicate with the campus and larger communities about safety issues;
  • Provide statistics on campus crime and discipline to interested parties and the federal government.

Regardless of the ages of individuals involved, these confidential resources must notify the University officials specified in the aforementioned policy of threats to the physical safety of any person. For more information, see the Department of Safety and Security’s page on Clery Notifications.