{"id":602,"date":"2025-09-29T13:24:21","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T17:24:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eoo\/?page_id=602"},"modified":"2026-02-02T16:47:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T21:47:33","slug":"alternative-resolution","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eoo\/conflict-management\/process-overview\/alternative-resolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Alternative Resolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alternative Resolution is an interactive process in which reports of harassment, discrimination, and sexual misconduct are resolved through a designated facilitator rather than through investigation. Participation in Alternative Resolution is voluntary – EOO will not pressure anyone to participate or condition their continued enrollment or employment on participation.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Initial Request<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you are interested in exploring options outside of the investigatory process, inform a member of EOO to discuss available options.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Notification and Consent<\/strong><\/p>\n

Following a request for Alternative Resolution, EOO will notify all parties and explain their options. If all Parties agree to engage, EOO will determine whether Alternative Resolution is appropriate and, if so, which form is most likely to lead to a successful resolution.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Facilitation<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span>EOO will facilitate a dialogue with both parties to explore options. Parties are not required to meet with each other.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Types of Alternative Resolution:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Alternative Resolution<\/strong> – a mutually agreed upon way to resolve a dispute without an investigation. Typically, this is accomplished through mediation, restorative practices, or facilitated dialogue.<\/li>\n
  • Accepted Responsibility<\/strong> – resolution reached because a Respondent accepts responsibility for conduct alleged in the complaint and any recommended sanction(s) in order to end the administrative resolution process.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    <\/div>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Resolution<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Parties reach a resolution by finalizing an alternative resolution agreement, which describes terms that must be met or implemented within a certain time period. Failure to abide by those terms may result in disciplinary action.<\/p>\n

    Resolution examples include training or education requirements, no contact orders, and changes to class schedules.<\/p>\n

    <\/span>EOO will consider the matter to be resolved and close the case, provided the signed agreement is followed.<\/span><\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n

    Impact on Investigations<\/h3>\n

    Parties are not required to engage in Alternative Resolution prior to pursuing an investigation, and either Party participating in Alternative Resolution may stop the process at any time and begin or resume an investigation.<\/p>\n

    If the Parties are already engaged in an investigation at the time the Alternative Resolution process begins, EOO will determine whether the investigation will be paused, continued, or limited in some fashion while Alternative Resolution is underway.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Alternative Resolution is an interactive process in which reports of harassment, discrimination, and sexual misconduct are resolved through a designated facilitator rather than through investigation. Participation in Alternative Resolution is voluntary – EOO will not pressure anyone to participate or condition their continued enrollment or employment on participation. Impact on Investigations Parties are not required […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8780,"featured_media":0,"parent":27,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/602"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8780"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":989,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/602\/revisions\/989"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}