What is a bias incident?

A bias incident is any conduct, speech, or expression, motivated in whole or in part by bias or prejudice (whether intentional or unintentional) that is meant to intimidate, demean, mock, degrade, marginalize, or threaten individuals, groups, or their property based on that individual or group’s actual or perceived memberships and identities.

To be a bias incident, the act is not required to be a crime under any federal, state, or local laws, nor does it have to violate university policy. In fact, not all acts of bias are a crime or violate university policy; however, they may contribute to creating a hostile, intimidating, or unwelcoming campus environment.  The course of action taken by MSOE will depend on the facts and circumstances involved in each individual bias incident report, as there are some types of bias, including harassment, discrimination, and hate crimes, that are prohibited under law and/or university policy.

What are examples of bias incidents?

Examples of bias incidents include, but are not limited to, homophobic or sexist jokes, racial epithets, religious slurs, offensive graffiti, demeaning remarks on social media, or vandalism that is directed toward (or affect) a targeted individual or group based on an actual or perceived membership in a group or demographics. Bias incidents may or may not be intended to cause harm.  Incidents of bias contribute to a hostile campus environment and can occur even if the act itself is unintentional or delivered as a joke, prank, or having humorous intent.

How do I file a bias incident report?

MSOE community members who believe they have been the target of bias or have witnessed a bias‐related incident may report the incident online or can submit a hard copy of the bias report form to the Office of Student Affairs and Campus Equity (Campus Center: CC347), Attn: Seandra Mitchell. Please note, while reports may be submitted anonymously, it may impact our ability to fully respond to your concerns, as we will be unable to follow up with questions or to get any additional information; if you choose to submit a bias incident report anonymously, be sure to provide sufficient detail. Should you provide your name, every effort will be maintained to protect confidentiality.  However, information provided within our report may be shared with University officials for any subsequent monitoring, investigation, or resolution of the situation. It is expected that all reports are made in good faith.

What happens once I file a report?

Step 1: When a bias report is received through the electronic bias reporting form, the information is received by the Vice President of Student Affairs and Campus Inclusion. If the bias report is submitted via hard copy, then the document will be uploaded into the bias reporting system in PDF format.

Step 2: Information will be forwarded to the Bias Response Team for review to determine if a report is actionable and, if appropriate, forward the report to the department with jurisdiction over the matter.  For example, staff related reports may be routed to Human Resources and student‐related reports may be routed to the Department of Student Affairs and Campus Inclusion. If no action is warranted, the report is documented and closed. All reports are reviewed within 2‐3 business days.

Step 3: In the case of actionable reports, one or more members of the Bias Response Team will gather additional information related to the incident and strategize how to address the incident and provide additional support to affected parties, as appropriate.

Step 4:  Once a bias incident report has been addressed, resolution will be documented, and the report will be closed.  In some instances, a report may remain open for continued monitoring. All bias incident report files are located in the Department of Student Affairs and Campus Inclusion unless it was determined that the incident was not subject to this policy and was addressed under a different MSOE policy/procedure.