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6.17 Discrimination, Harassment, and Student Mistreatment
For questions and/or additional information please contact the Office of Technology Development at 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Smith Campus Center #727; 617-4953067; or, at HMS, Gordon Hall, Suite 414; (617) 432-0920; hms_otd@harvard.edu.
Harvard Medical School (HMS) takes issues of mistreatment seriously and aspires to a culture of zero tolerance for instances of abuse, mistreatment, and disrespect. HMS is committed to maintaining an environment free from discrimination, sexual harassment, unprofessional relationships, and abuses of authority. It is the strong and consistent policy of Harvard Medical School to treat all members of our community with respect, to provide an environment conducive to learning and working, and to ensure equal access to rights, privileges and opportunities without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected category. Discrimination or harassment on the basis of these characteristics is inconsistent with Harvard’s principles and policies. Harvard expects that all those who interact with members of our community will comply with our policies and with all applicable anti-discrimination laws.
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See also the HMS Ombuds website.
Policies
Harvard Medical School has adopted the University-wide Interim Title IX Sexual Harassment Policy and Interim Other Sexual Misconduct Policy. In addition, the University’s Sexual and Gender Based Harassment policy addresses sexual harassment and other sexual misconduct alleged to have occurred between September 1, 2014 and August 14, 2020.
Copies of all policies and their associated grievance procedures can be found here. To the extent any existing HMS policies or procedures interfere with compliance with these policies and procedures, application of such HMS policies and procedures shall be suspended.
The policy can be reviewed on the University Title IX Website.
Non-Discrimination
HMS is committed to maintaining an environment free from discrimination. Discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin, age, ancestry, veteran status, disability unrelated to job requirements, genetic information, military service, or any other legally protected basis is prohibited. Please see: Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Dental Medicine Anti-Discrimination Policy
Abusive and/or Intimidating Behavior
HMS is committed to maintaining an environment free from abusive and/or intimidating behavior, defined as harmful mistreatment by works or actions that humiliate, degrade, demean, intimidate and/or threaten an individual or a group. To violate this policy, the behavior must be sufficiently severe, pervasive, or persistent such that a reasonable person would find it creates inhospitable working conditions and/or impairs the ability to carry out responsibilities to the institution. Please see: Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Dental Medicine Abusive and/or Intimidating Behavior Policy
Consensual romantic relationships that might be appropriate in other circumstances have inherent dangers when they occur between any HMS faculty member, fellow, or officer and any person over whom they have a professional responsibility (e.g., teacher, advisor, preceptor, or supervisor). Such relationships are fundamentally asymmetric and are considered to be unprofessional, because among other things, they may create an impression of inappropriate or inequitable academic or professional advantage or favoritism that can be destructive in the learning and working environments. These relationships may also be considered an abuse of authority. See also Section 4 generally and Section 4.08 specifically: Policy and Procedures for Consideration of Unprofessional Conduct; the HMS Ombuds website.
Academic Retaliation for Union Activity Policy and Process
Using an academic assessment or other academic action as a means to retaliate against a student for engaging in conduct protected by the HGSU-UAW bargaining agreement is unacceptable and prohibited. Examples of prohibited academic retaliation include basing a grade, academic credit, authorship, or other academic judgment on a student’s participation in activities protected by the HGSU-UAW bargaining agreement.
A student who believes that they have been the subject of a retaliatory academic action as a result of union-related conduct that is protected under the HGSU-UAW bargaining agreement should initially discuss their concern with their academic dean, the Director of Graduate Studies or Director of Undergraduate Studies in the course or program in question. That individual will notify a representative from The Office of Labor and Employee Relations. The representative from The Office of Labor and Employee Relations, in consultation with the academic dean, the Director of Graduate Studies or Director of Undergraduate Studies, will determine if the student has engaged in conduct that is protected from retaliation under the HGSU-UAW bargaining agreement. If so, the representative from The Office of Labor and Employee Relations and the academic dean will engage with the student and relevant faculty member to attempt to resolve the matter informally. A matter will be deemed satisfactorily resolved when both parties expressly agree, in writing, to an outcome.
If the parties do not come to an informal resolution, the academic dean, the Director of Graduate Studies or Director of Undergraduate Studies in the course or program in question or a designee (the “Reviewer”) will conduct a review, which will include the following steps as relevant to the alleged retaliatory action:
(1) Ask the faculty member who took the academic action to explain the basis for the action.
(2) Identify a faculty member with subject matter expertise, and no involvement in the matter at issue, to review the student’s work product or the action and advise as to whether the action was reasonable.
(3) If the faculty member with subject expertise does not find that the action was reasonable, they will review other recent assessments of comparable student work by the same faculty member.
(4) Taking into account the information gathered by the faculty member with subject expertise, the Reviewer will issue a determination as to whether the challenged action was retaliatory.
Students who raise a concern under this policy may have a personal advisor (including, for members of the HGSU-UAW bargaining unit, a union representative) with them throughout this process.
In the event of a finding of academic retaliation, the Reviewer will forward their finding to the student’s Administrative Board which will determine the appropriate resolution. The
Reviewer will forward their finding to the Dean of Harvard Medical School who will determine what action to take with respect to a faculty member found to have engaged in academic retaliation. The outcome of this process is final.
Reporting Allegations
Online Reporting
Any instances of mistreatment can be reported anonymously via phone or online through the ALERT Reporting Hotline—the Anonymous Learning Environment Reporting Tool. ALERT is a 24/7 anonymous mechanism for reporting mistreatment or any other student concerns. This reporting portal allows students to submit concerns to an outsourced third party that directs reports to the appropriate office: Title IX concerns to the HMS Title IX officer and all other student concerns to the Dean for Graduate Education, the Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Education, and the Director of Administration and Student Affairs. Reported incidents are treated seriously and responded to appropriately, fairly and expeditiously. HMS has a zero-tolerance policy for student mistreatment.
HMS Ombuds Office
The Ombuds Office is a confidential resource and will maintain anonymity.
Direct Reporting to Dean for Graduate Education
Students have the option, and are encouraged, to report incidents to the immediate attention of the Dean for Graduate Education, who will treat such reports with discretion.
Allegations of Sexual and Gender Based Harassment
HMS students wishing to report a violation of the University Policy should begin in all cases by contacting the Harvard University Office for Sexual and Gender-Based Dispute Resolution (“ODR”) or an HMS Title IX Coordinator.
The Program in Graduate Education (PGE) works with offices at the affiliated hospitals, e.g., the Center for Professionalism and Peer Support at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital, to address complaints of mistreatment. In addition, PGE leadership communicates with residency and fellowship directors for complaints against residents
and fellows, with division chiefs and/or department chairs for complaints about faculty, and with hospital leaders for complaints about department chairs.
In cases where there is significant uncertainty and ambiguity, the Dean for Graduate Education appoints a joint faculty-student ad hoc committee to consider the complaint of mistreatment and relies on the committee’s recommendation for reporting and remediation.
For allegations against students: Cases of alleged harassment by medical students are adjudicated by the Harvard Medical School Promotion and Review Board (see Section 4).
For reports of sexual and gender-based harassment or other sexual misconduct:
Harvard Medical School has adopted the University-wide Interim Title IX Sexual Harassment Policy and Interim Other Sexual Misconduct Policy. In addition, the University’s Sexual and Gender Based Harassment policy addresses sexual harassment and other sexual misconduct alleged to have occurred between September 1, 2014 and August 14, 2020. Copies of all policies and their associated grievance procedures can be found here.
Additional Resources
A student may seek counsel in a matter involving mistreatment, discrimination, affirmative action, or harassment through an appropriate officer, such as the University Title IX Coordinator or an HMS Title IX Resource Coordinator; a faculty advisor/mentor; a course director; the Director of Disability Services; the Associate Dean; the Director of Administration and Student Affairs. Students may wish to consult with the following offices which can provide information, assistance and support.
• Office for Dispute Resolution
• University Title IX Office
• HMS Title IX Resource Coordinators (Section 10.16)
• Office of Advising Resources
• Office of Recruitment and Multicultural Affairs
