What is Title IX?

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) prohibits discrimination based on gender in educational programs that receive federal financial assistance. Programs and activities that may be included are admissions, recruitment, financial aid, academic programs, athletics, housing, and employment. Title IX also protects men and women from unlawful sexual harassment in school programs and activities. Under Title IX, discrimination on the basis of sex can include sexual harassment; unwelcomed sexual advances; or sexual violence, such as rape, sexual assault, sexual battery, and sexual coercion.

Azusa Pacific University is committed to providing a learning, working, and living environment that promotes personal integrity, civility, and mutual respect in an environment free of discrimination on the basis of sex, which includes all forms of sexual misconduct. Sex discrimination violates an individual’s fundamental rights and personal dignity. APU considers sex discrimination in all its forms to be a serious offense. This policy refers to all forms of sex discrimination, including, but not limited to, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual violence by employees, students, or third parties.

Title IX at APU

A Title IX investigation begins when Azusa Pacific’s Title IX Coordinator and/or Title IX Deputy Coordinator receive a report of behavior that may violate Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination, including sexual violence, in educational programs and activities.

Title IX Committee

Duties and Responsibilities of the Title IX Coordinator and Deputy Coordinators

The university has, in accordance with Title IX, appointed a Title IX coordinator and a team of deputy coordinators, who assist the Title IX coordinator. The university’s Title IX coordinator is the individual designated by the university president with responsibility for carrying out the university’s responsibilities under Title IX, including receiving reports of alleged violations of Title IX from responsible employees, overseeing the university’s response to Title IX complaints, and identifying and addressing recurring or systemic violations. The coordinator has knowledge of the requirements of Title IX and the university’s related policies and procedures.

Together, the coordinator and deputy coordinators comprise the university’s Title IX Committee. The committee, or some combination of some members of the committee, is aware of and investigates all Title IX complaints raised at the university, evaluates a complainant’s request for confidentiality, reviews the university’s disciplinary procedures to ensure that procedures comply with the prompt and equitable requirements of Title IX, and ensures that training is provided to university students and employees as required by Title IX.

Questions or concerns related to this policy may be directed to the Title IX coordinator.

Deputy Coordinators

Sexual Harassment, Stalking, and Sexual Violence Policy

Statement of Nondiscrimination

Azusa Pacific University’s mission statement describes the university as “an evangelical Christian community of disciples and scholars.” Deep convictions about how we treat one another, anchored in the biblical truth that all human beings are created by God and bear His image, are foundational to our identity as a Christ-centered community. In keeping with those convictions, the University is committed to providing a learning, working, and living environment that promotes personal integrity, civility, and mutual respect and is free from discrimination on the basis of sex, which includes all forms of sexual violence.

Sex discrimination violates an individual’s fundamental rights and personal dignity. APU considers sex discrimination in all its forms to be a serious offense. This policy refers to all forms of sex discrimination by employees, students, or third parties, including, but not limited to, sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual violence, domestic and dating violence, and stalking.

The University has additional policies regarding sexual misconduct; refer to the Community Expectations for undergraduate students and graduate and professional students, and/or the Employee Handbook, for policies and expectations.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX), which prohibits discrimination based on sex in educational programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance, reads as follows: “No person in the United states shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, or be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or any activity receiving Federal financial assistance...” (Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, codified at 20 U.S.C. section 1681, and its implementing regulation at 34 C.F.R. Part 106.)

Under Title IX, discrimination on the basis of sex can include sexual harassment; unwelcomed sexual advances; or sexual violence, such as rape, sexual assault, sexual battery, and sexual coercion. The Campus SaVE Act, federal legislation enacted in 2013, adds domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking as categories of behavior that are expressly in violation of Title IX.

The University does not tolerate unlawful sex discrimination and will endeavor to keep the community free of such conduct through education, training, clear policies and procedures, and appropriate consequences for those who violate this policy. When an instance of sex discrimination is reported, the University will take action to promptly and equitably investigate the complaint, address its effects, and prevent further discrimination or retaliation.

View the “Sexual Harassment” Under Title IX, and Other Instances of Sexual Misconduct Policy (PDF).