Community Bias Response Program

The teams are composed of trained members of the VCFA community that reflect various constituency groups. The Incident Screening Team includes the Title IX Coordinator and representatives from Human Resources and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to help provide the first level of confidentiality, if necessary. The Community Support Team is made up of administrative and program staff, faculty, and students. The DEI Action Group members also serve as the Institutional Data team. This arrangement enables the flow and leverage of the data and insights to inform the institutional work of advancing equity, inclusion, and belonging at VCFA.

Many members of these teams are fixed appointments, with the exception of the student and faculty appointments on the Community Support Team. Students and faculty can serve up to one year and are selected through an application process.

Your trust is important to the Community Bias Response Program (CBRP). We will maintain your privacy and confidentiality to the extent possible. All reports through the bias incident reporting form will be handled as sensitively and discreetly as possible. Information about individuals or situations and follow-up conversations will be shared only with those who have a legitimate need to know. The CBRP cannot guarantee anonymity in any circumstances.

Although we cannot guarantee anonymity or confidentiality, we will make every effort to respect your privacy. You have the option of submitting reports anonymously. However, the College’s actions in response to a complaint may be limited if the complaint is submitted anonymously.

If this is an emergency, please contact an emergency service listed in this contact reference.

The Community Bias Response Program reviews reports during business hours on weekdays. There are no set parameters for responding timeframes or action steps. The decision and approach to responding, if at all, to reported incidents depends on the content of the report, the nature of the incident, the parties involved, the severity, and the College’s obligation under the law. Some incidents may activate a different set of policies and protocols that may need immediate attention from another department, area, or individual at the college, such as the Human Resources office, Title IX Coordinators, or the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Some incidents may be referred externally, such as to law enforcement. There may be cases where the Community Response Team may decide not to respond and will wait to monitor and track the pattern of incidents and behaviors.

Although not every report will meet the definition of bias incident or be a violation of College policy or law, all reports will be reviewed for an appropriate response.

Discrimination is an act carried out by an individual, policy, or procedure that produces unfair and unjust treatment of people based on characteristics such as race, color, sex, gender identity, genetic information, age, ancestry, national origin, place of birth, religion, sexual orientation, veteran or military service status, HIV-positive test result status, disability, or any other legally protected characteristic.

As defined in our Discrimination & Harassment Policy, “Harassment may include, but is not limited to, verbal or physical attacks, written threats or slurs, e-mail messages or social media postings, unwelcome banter, teasing, or jokes that are derogatory, or depict individuals in a stereotypical and demeaning manner, or any other conduct which has the purpose or effect of interfering unreasonably with an individual’s work or educational performance, and which create an offensive, hostile, or intimidating working environment based on or because of an employee’s or student’s race, color, sex, gender identity, genetic information, age, ancestry, national origin, place of birth, religion, sexual orientation, veteran or military service status, HIV-positive test result status, disability, or any other legally protected characteristic, as and to the extent that such characteristics are defined by applicable law.”

A microaggression is a behavior, in the form of an insult, action, or comment, that reflects a subtle, indirect prejudice, intolerance, or bigotry (intentional or unintentional) against an individual or group of individuals. Such behavior may create a hostile environment or unwelcoming experience.

A hate crime is a criminal act (against a person or property) that is motivated in whole or in part by the offender’s hate or bias towards a particular individual or group because of membership in that group (as defined by law). Bias incidents are sometimes considered to be hate crimes, but not always.