Compliance Resources

Title IX

Title IX applies to institutions that receive federal financial assistance from the Department of Education, including state and local educational agencies. In addition to WVU, these agencies include approximately 16,500 local school districts, 7,000 post-secondary institutions, as well as charter schools, for-profit schools, libraries, and museums.

WVU’s Title IX obligations touch all areas of the campus community including, recruitment, admissions, and counseling; financial assistance; athletics; sex-based harassment; treatment of pregnant and parenting students; discipline; single-sex education; and employment. WVU and members of the campus community may not retaliate against any person filing a complaint against the University or another campus community member for participating in an investigation of a complaint.

Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 were established in order to provide a clear comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Section 504 is the section of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that specifically created civil rights to individuals with disabilities.

Youth Protection Initiatives

West Virginia University is committed to the protection of youth participating in programs and activities on campus, as well as in WVU-sponsored off-campus events. In furtherance of this commitment and consistent with Board of Governors Rule 1.7, the Division of Campus Engagement and Compliance will:

• Stay informed on developments impacting youth protection in West Virginia and nationally;
• Be an active resource for WVU units planning to host programs involving visiting children (“youth participants”), in an effort to create a positive, safe experiential learning environment for youth participants;
• Partner with Host Units to ensure they develop, implement and regularly review guidelines for the supervision and safety of youth participants; and
• Facilitate an adult authorization program to ensure that adults who have Direct Contact with youth participants have undergone required background checks and training.

Civil Rights Act

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is often hailed as the most significant piece of Civil Rights legislation since the Reconstruction period following the Civil War. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its amendments are responsible for prohibiting unequal application of voter registration requirements, ending racial segregation for public schools, expanding the Civil Rights Commission, preventing discrimination in federally assisted programs, such as higher education, and employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

WVU Policies and Procedures

WVU is committed to holding individuals accountable for acts of discrimination, harassment, sexual and domestic misconduct, stalking and retaliation against those seeking redress from the University. It is the duty of the Division of Campus Engagement and Compliance to protect students and employees of the University from and remedy all forms of discrimination, harassment, sexual and domestic misconduct, and retaliation in accordance with WVU’s non-discrimination statement.

WVU Policies and Procedures

We support the choices individuals make — whether or not to report, and to whom to report — and recognize that these choices are particularly difficult in some cases. If you are unsure whether or not you'd like to file a formal report, you can meet with a private Title IX Specialist to discuss your reporting options first. If you wish to speak to someone anonymously.

The Division of Campus Engagement and Compliance and the legal system work independently, but in coordination with one another. Individuals may file a report with the University, law enforcement, both or with neither. The standards for determining a violation of criminal law are different than the standard in WVU’s grievance procedures, neither the results of a criminal investigation, nor the decision of law enforcement to investigate or decline to investigate a matter, is a determinative factor of whether a violation of Board of Governors Governance Rule 1.6 has occurred.