The Community Board on Sexual Misconduct is the College body charged with adjudicating complaints of sexual misconduct. The Board hears formal sexual misconduct cases in panels selected from the Board as a whole.
The Board consists of four faculty, three staff, and five students. Faculty are appointed by the Faculty Affairs Committee to serve a three-year term. Staff are appointed by the President’s Office to serve a three-year term. Students apply to serve on the Board through the Carleton Student Association application process and are then are selected by the Title IX Coordinator. Students serve one or more years, depending on their availability.
The Title IX Coordinator serves on the Board in an ex officio, non-voting capacity. The Title IX Coordinator chairs the committee and arranges and leads meetings and trainings.
Parties in a hearing process have the opportunity to indicate if they have a conflict with a Board member. They may request that the Board member not serve on the panel in their case.
The Board meets four to five weeks per term for comprehensive training related to their work, covering such topics as:
- The formal complaint process
- Carleton’s Policy Against Sexual Misconduct
- Incapacitation
- Consent
- Legal requirements
- Evaluating credibility
- Evaluating evidence
- Bias in decision-making
- Resources for students
Meetings may also involve mock hearings and debriefs of recent cases.