Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is Equity and inclusion?
A.  Equity is the fair treatment, access, opportunity and advancement for all students, faculty and staff in every stage of their education and/or career at Nassau Community College.

Inclusion refers to the way an organization configures opportunity, integration, communication, information and decision-making to optimize the leverage and potential of its diversity for improving decision-making, organizational effectiveness and performance.

Q. What is Affirmative Action?
A. Affirmative Action refers to positive steps aimed at increasing the inclusion of historically excluded groups in employment, education, accommodation, business, etc. Such steps are not designed to offer preferential treatment to or exclude any group. To the contrary, Affirmative Action Policies are intended to promote access for the traditionally underrepresented through heightened outreach and efforts at inclusion.

Q. Who at Nassau Community College should I contact if I have a complaint regarding discrimination or harassment?
A. The Associate Vice President for Equity and Inclusion is the College’s Affirmative Action/ADA-504 Officer.

Q. What is Sexual Harassment?
A. Sexual Harassment consists of unwelcome sexual advances, request for sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is the federal agency responsible for enforcing Title VII. The EEOC Guidelines, 29 C.F.R. Section 1604.11, provide the following definition of sexual harassment:

Unwelcome sexual advances, request for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or conditions of an individual’s employment, (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.

Sexual Harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to the following:
 

• The victim as well as the harasser may be a women or a man. The victim does not have to be the opposite sex.
• The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, an agent of the employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee.
• The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct.
• Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to or discharge of the victim.
• The harasser’s conduct must be unwelcome.

For more information, please see the NCC Sexual Harassment Policy.