Roane State Community College

1. Introduction
   1. It is the intent that Roane State Community College (RSCC) will promote and ensure equal opportunity for all persons without regard to race, color, religion, creed, ethnic or national origin, , sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, age (as applicable), status as a covered veteran, genetic information, and any other category protected by federal or state civil rights law, and shall fully comply with Executive Order 11246, as amended; the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Act of 1974, as amended; the Equal Pay Act of 1963, as amended; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Pregnancy Discrimination Act; applicable state statutes and all regulations promulgated pursuant thereto.
   2. It is the intent the institution shall be free of harassment on the basis of sex and race, and shall fully comply with the provisions of Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended; the federal and state constitutions; and all other applicable federal and state statutes.
   3. The full cooperation of all managers, supervisors, and other employees with regard to the Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action program is expected.
2. Statement of Policy
   1. Roane State will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, creed, ethnic or national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, age (as applicable), status as a covered veteran, genetic information, and any other category protected by federal or state civil rights law, and shall fully comply with Executive Order 11246, as amended.
   2. Similarly, the institution shall not, on the basis of a protected status, subject any student to discrimination under any educational program. No student shall be discriminatorily excluded from participation in nor denied the benefits of any educational program on the basis of a protected status.
   3. The college will take affirmative action to ensure that all individuals are treated during the employment process without regard to their race, color, religion, creed, ethnic or national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, age (as applicable), status as a covered veteran, genetic information, and any other category protected by federal or state civil rights law. Such action shall include, but not be limited to, actions to:
      1. Recruit, hire, train, and promote persons in all job titles, without regard to any of the foregoing prohibited factors.
      2. Base decisions on employment so as to further the principle of affirmative action and equal employment opportunity.
      3. Ensure that promotion decisions are in accord with principles of equal employment opportunity by imposing only valid requirements for promotional opportunities.
      4. Ensure that all personnel actions such as compensation, benefits, transfers, layoffs, return from layoff, and college sponsored training, education, tuition assistance, and social and recreation programs will be administered without regard to any of the foregoing prohibited factors.
      5. It is the policy of the college to maintain each campus as a place of work and study for faculty, staff, and students, free of sexual and racial harassment. Harassment is a form of discrimination and harassment in the workplace or the educational environment is unacceptable conduct and will not be tolerated.
3. Administrative Responsibility
   1. The president will appoint an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action (EEO/AA) Officer and a Title IX Coordinator for the college. The president shall ensure that the following actions occur:
      1. Equal Employment and Affirmative Action
         1. Equal employment opportunity and affirmative action program plans are prepared by the institution’s EEO/AA Officer and these plans must be effectively administered by the institution’s EEO/AA Officer within the requirements of this policy and applicable laws and regulations.
            
            Access the college’s Affirmative Action Report here: Affirmative Action Report.
         2. The institutional EEO/AA Officer/Title IX Corrdinator will receive, review, and investigate institution equal employment opportunity complaints and appeals and make recommendations regarding their disposition to the president.
      2. Harassment
         The college president is responsible for the final resolution of a harassment complaint. The chancellor and president shall ensure the following actions occur:
         1. Investigation of Harassment Complaints
            The Tennessee Board of Regents' General Counsel will supervise the investigation and give legal advice to the college EEO/AA Officer who will receive, review, and investigate all charges of harassment arising from the institution.
         2. The college EEO/AA Officer/Title IX Coordinator will investigate and resolve all complaints of unlawful harassment as required by applicable policy and/or TBR Guideline P-080 and will communicate all facts to the General Counsel for legal advice.
         3. It is the intent of this policy that the review and investigation process conducted by the campus Affirmative Action Office will be under the direct supervision and control of the General Counsel and is intended to be a confidential communication which will result in counsel giving legal advice.
   2. Duties of the President
      The president shall be responsible for the development and implementation of the equal employment opportunity and affirmative action program on each campus as well as assuring that unlawful harassment is investigated and educational efforts regarding harassment take place. In carrying out this responsibility, the president shall comply with the following:
      1. Appoint an EEO/AA Officer who will be responsible for promoting and ensuring compliance with this policy and with all applicable laws and regulations, policies, and guidelines, reviewing the effectiveness of the program and recommending improvements to the college president.
      2. Ensure that affirmative action plans are developed annually and implemented as a means of aggressively pursuing the principles of equal employment opportunity.
      3. Develop affirmative action goals and timetables directed toward correcting situations contributing to the under-utilization or inequitable treatment of minority or women employees in the institution.
      4. Provide positive leadership in the implementation of the affirmative action program on the campus and ensure that appropriate attention is devoted to the program in staff and faculty meetings.
      5. Inform all management officials and supervisors that their performance evaluation will be partially determined by the effectiveness of their participation in the equal employment opportunity program and in board approved access and diversity initiatives.
      6. Designate a person on the campus to be responsible for gathering and reporting data related to the equal employment opportunity program.
      7. Ensure policies and procedures are instituted to deal with all forms of harassment, including a procedure for the EEO/AA Officer to receive and investigate complaints and recommend necessary action to the president.
      8. Designate the EEO/AA Officer as the staff person responsible for the development and implementation of educational efforts regarding all types of harassment.
   3. Duties of the EEO/AA Officer
      1. Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Program
         The EEO/AA Officer will develop and maintain an EEO/AA program which shall include but not be limited to the following responsibilities:
         1. The college EEO/AA Officer will receive, review, and investigate equal employment opportunity complaints and appeals and make recommendations to the president regarding their disposition, unless policy or guideline requires otherwise.
         2. Equal employment opportunity or affirmative action complaints made to external agencies; i.e. EEOC or THRC, will be investigated by the institution EEO/AA Officer in conjunction with the Office of the General Counsel. All complaints will be forwarded to the Office of the General Counsel and any reports to the external agency will be prepared by the institution and submitted to the Office of the General Counsel for approval and forwarding to the agency. The attorney/client relationship will apply to the investigation and preparation of those reports.
         3. The EEO/AA Officer will develop and maintain an EEO/AA program which shall include:
            1. Developing or reaffirming the institution's equal employment opportunity policy in all personnel actions
            2. Formal internal and external dissemination of the policy
            3. Establishing responsibilities for implementation of the program
            4. Identifying problem areas by organizational units and job classifications
            5. Establishing goals and objectives by organizational units and job classifications, with timetables for completion
            6. Developing and executing action-oriented programs designed to attain established goals and objectives
            7. Ensuring compliance of personnel policies with the sex discrimination guidelines
            8. Active support of local and national community action and community services programs designed to improve the employment opportunities of minorities and women
            9. Internal audit and reporting systems designed to ensure compliance and to permit monitoring of the program
            10. Internal complaint procedures designed to expeditiously process and resolve complaints and grievances by employees or applicants for employment
         4. Updating the EEO/AA plan annually, and reporting progress in meeting the established goals and objectives, with such report submitted at least annually to the chancellor as directed by the system EEO/AA Officer. The EEO/AA Officer shall discuss the success of the EEO/AA program with the president and make recommendations regarding desirable changes.
      2. Harassment Program
         1. The EEO/AA Officer will be responsible for implementing Guideline P-080 Discrimination and Harassment – Complaint and Investigation Procedure.
         2. The EEO/AA Officer will ensure the development of an educational program alerting students and employees to the non-harassment policy and guideline.
         3. Under the direction and guidance of the TBR General Counsel, the college EEO/AA Officer will investigate all harassment complaints. The institution’s EEO/AA Officer will receive, review, and investigate all complaints of harassment based on sex, race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, or other protected status.
         4. The EEO/AA Officer will ensure that complaints involving discrimination or harassment between students are investigated and resolved by the Student Services, which resolves all student disciplinary problems.

Should there be a conflict between this policy and TBR policy or guidelines then the TBR policy or guideline will supersede.