NCHERM can assist you off-site in developing policies, assessing compliance and revising procedures. Our off-site services extend beyond the services listed here, so please let us know how we can meet your needs. For example, we have been engaged to review student government constitution, to assess FERPA compliance for judicial affairs procedures, and to audit crisis management plans by clients who wanted us to address these issues.

Faculty Consensual Relationships Policy Development
Faculty are resistant to limitations on their abilities to fraternize with students and amongst each other. Rightfully so. Faculty often view these policies are as attempt to take away their power or rights. Another perspective is to see these policies as strong self-protection. Different policy models are offered, and rational language is proffered. Extending the policy to staff, to RAs, and creating exceptions is all in the details. Sometimes, the faculty believes that if they enter into a relationship with a student, there might be penalties. Our policies are designed to be more about eliminating power differentials and the potential for ugly legal consequences for pursuing romantic liaisons at work.

Clery Act Compliance—Is Your Campus Reporting Crime Accurately?
This law was passed fourteen years ago, and most colleges still don't get compliance 100% right. This off-site nuts & bolts assessment assures accurate, full and correct compliance with the mandates of this campus crime reporting and recordation law. Do you have the 15 Clery Act crime categories right? Are the geographic requirements met correctly? Are you using the hierarchy rule to rank crimes? Are you reporting non-forcible sex offenses in the right category? How does your crime log look? It is complete and available? Are annual reports made available correctly, and are they distributed to prospective students and employees? What are the new requirements for reporting campus registered sex offender information? Brett Sokolow wrote the book on Clery Act compliance (The 1999 Clery Act Compliance Manual), and he can make sure you’ve got it right.

Code of Conduct Revision
Has it been more than a year since you revised your student conduct code? If so, it's time to take a look, and update your code. Let NCHERM's expertise make it easier for you. Policy writing is what we do, and the four options below describe how we do it. Send us your conduct code, and we'll provide you with a written report, identifying areas of weakness, suggesting policies that you may want to consider adding, and highlighting areas where recent cases or legislation suggest or demand changes. We'll help to bring you up to date on both policies and judicial procedures, and we'll do it for a fraction of the cost that others might charge.

NCHERM POLICY REVISION SERVICE: This is our most popular revision service, offering you a written report detailing the areas of your policies (policies only—this service does not revise procedures-see below) that need attention, and offering guidance for how improvements can be made. The report offers suggested language to help improve your code and address ever-changing trends in student behavior and ethical development. Language is not based on cookie-cutter models, but is custom-crafted to suit your institutional policy style and philosophy.

NCHERM POLICY AND PROCEDURE REVISION SERVICE: This revision service offers you a written report detailing the areas of your policies and student conduct procedures that need attention, and offers guidance for how improvements can be made. The report offers suggested language to help improve your code and address ever-changing trends in student behavior and ethical development. Language is not based on cookie-cutter models, but is custom-crafted to suit your institutional policy style and procedural philosophy, with special attention on reducing risk via streamlined procedures, modifying legalistic procedures, and making your proceedings transparent and accessible.

TIME TO RESTRUCTURE THE CODE OF CONDUCT: You need help and you know it. The policies of your code of conduct haven't been revised in 7 years or so, and are no longer adequately serving your community. Yes, you could borrow codes from other institutions (thereby perpetuating their possible mistakes), or use the ever-popular model code (which too few institutions take the time to modify and adapt to fit their communities). Or, you can work with policy experts at NCHERM to custom-create a code of conduct that speaks directly to the needs of your community. An option to restructure conduct procedures can be added to this service.

UNDER FIRE? MAKE SURE YOUR CONDUCT CODE WON'T BE SEEN BY THE COURTS AS A SPEECH CODE: This policy review service is for colleges and universities that value free speech and want to ensure that their codes of conduct do not inadvertently prohibit speech protected by the first amendment. Today, colleges are being attacked and sued by interest groups such as the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and the National Association of Scholars. It is possible to create reasonable expectations for campus civility without trampling on the rights of free speech. Let NCHERM help you strike a constitutional and workable balance. This policy review service examines only those areas of your code that address speech and expressive conduct (such as discrimination codes, creeds, mission statements, freedom of speech statements, harassment provisions, and the like) to help you guarantee the constitutional rights of your students. You may be surprised at what we might find. A written report will detail problem areas and offer suggestions for alternative language and phraseology.

Setting up a Civil Rights Investigation Structure
This off-site service provides a job description for investigators, and describes the qualities that make for a good investigator. An investigation checklist is provided, thoroughly reviewing each step of a comprehensive investigation. A sexual misconduct investigation protocol is included, featuring witness forms and other important documentation. Also, a strategy and investigation tip guide is included, along with off-site consulting time for follow-up and implementation assistance.

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