Print Page
Protection of Minors Policy
The online Student Handbook is produced as a resource for the
students, faculty, staff, and administration of Dickinson College. Content
is subject to change. Please contact the appropriate person or office to obtain
the most current information.
Policy: Dickinson College is committed to the
protection and safety of all visitors to its campus, and particularly to
those who are minors. It is the obligation of every member of the
college community to report suspected instances of the
abuse of minors as soon as possible.
Procedure: While the vast majority of the members of
the Dickinson community are adults age 18 and over, minors may also be
members of our community and are frequently visitors to our campus. They
may be matriculated or prospective students,
participants in camp programs, participants in volunteer programs or
children in our Children’s Center.*
A. Duty to Report: Every member of the Dickinson
community must report suspected sexual or physical abuse of minors
committed on or off campus by members of our campus community or
suspected abuse on campus by any visitors. A valid report
means conveying all relevant information regarding the suspected abuse
immediately to the Director of Human Resource Services or to the Chief
of Public Safety. These officials, in turn, have the obligation to
insure that appropriate authorities are notified
and appropriate investigations are initiated. Failure by any member of
the Dickinson community to report information related to suspected child
abuse as soon as possible to the designated officials will result in
discipline up to and including termination
for employees and dismissal for students. Failure of these officials to
initiate timely notice and timely and appropriate investigation will
result in discipline up to and including termination. Examples of
“abuse” include rape, sexual assault, molestation,
indecent exposure, sexual exploitation of a person under the age of 18
and acts that result in non-accidental serious physical injury to
minors.
B. Permission to Report: In addition to the duty to
report as described in the foregoing section, any member of the
Dickinson community may also report suspected abuse directly to the
appropriate authorities responsible for receiving such
reports. In Pennsylvania, reports of suspected abuse can be made to
Child Line at 1-800-932-0313.
C. Consequences of Abuse: Any college employee who
is convicted of the abuse of a minor will be terminated, whether the
abuse occurred on or off campus. Any employee against whom a credible
accusation of child abuse has been made as determined
by a preponderance of the evidence, on or off campus, is subject to
college discipline up to and including termination. Any Dickinson
student who is convicted of abuse, on or off campus, will be dismissed
from the college. Any Dickinson student against whom
a credible accusation has been made as determined by a preponderance of
the evidence, on or off campus, is subject to discipline up to and
including dismissal.
Related Information
Sexual harassment policy – Administrative and Support Staff Handbook
Sexual misconduct policy
History/Revision Information
Responsible Division/Office: Human Resource Services
Effective Date: February 7, 2012
Also Found In: Administrative and Support Staff Handbook; Academic Handbook
* Nothing in this policy is intended to supersede the policies
and procedures in place in the Children’s Center for the reporting of and
response to situations of suspected child abuse. Moreover, nothing in this
policy is intended to supersede obligations imposed by law regarding the
maintenance of privilege by specified professionals