COLDEX Feedback Portal

• Submitting suggestions, ideas, concerns, and information related to broadening participation in COLDEX.

• Alerting COLDEX of instances of bias and discrimination or patterns of harmful behavior in any of our activities, in advising, with other members of the community, in the field, at conferences, etc.

• Feedback (positive and/or negative) about present structures or ideas for the future with respect to COLDEX systems and/or procedures 

• Feedback (positive and/or negative) about present structures or ideas for the future with respect to the COLDEX research, knowledge transfer, education, or broadening participation initiatives.

• Concerns related to one’s role as a member of COLDEX. 

• Emergencies – please dial 9-1-1 if you are experiencing an emergency that needs to be addressed immediately.

• Specific institutional issues, except where they concern your access to mentoring or your ability to participate in COLDEX activities.

• Formal reporting of ethics violations - please see the list of contacts in the COLDEX Integrity and Professional Ethics Guidelines for reporting research integrity, harassment, and equity violations.

• If you do submit to one of the above reporting mechanisms and you feel COLDEX needs to know or can help support the process, we encourage you to submit here in addition to the above reporting mechanisms. 

• If you aren’t sure if it is appropriate to submit here, please go ahead and submit and we will assess your concern or set up a phone call with a Feedback Review Committee (FRC) member to discuss options. 

We understand the need for anonymity in some situations and will do our best to preserve anonymity and confidentiality when requested. Be aware that:

1. We will be unable to communicate progress, ask questions, or communicate solutions to the submitter if contact information is not provided in the submission form. Any actions taken by COLDEX leadership may not be visible to the whole Center (depending on the nature of the actions). This can leave the submitter unaware of the response to the submission and feeling like they have not been heard.  

2. Team members reviewing the submissions (listed below) are Responsible Reporters at their home institutions and are legally required to report knowledge of sexual misconduct and discrimination to their institution.  This information will not necessarily be shared between institutions. 

3. Names or descriptions that limit the possible individuals, such as gender or specific position, will be removed if requested. However, because COLDEX is a small community, we cannot guarantee complete anonymity or confidentiality. 

Submitters will have the following options for anonymity:

• Full anonymity: no contact details supplied.

• Limited anonymity, communication only: contact details supplied only for communication purposes but requested to not be shared beyond the submission form. The FRC member selected by the submitter to initially review the submission will not share the name and email and will be the sole communicator between the submitter and FRC.

• Limited anonymity, FRC only: contact details supplied and requested not to be shared beyond the FRC.

• Full open communication: contact details supplied with permission to be shared with COLDEX leadership and those the FRC communicates with about the submission.

There are two alternative communication pathways for additional confidentiality or support:

• Any member of the COLDEX community can request a confidential phone call with a member of the FRC to discuss the issue and reporting options..

• Any member of COLDEX may contact the Oregon State Ombuds office to add an additional layer of support or anonymity in communicating issues.

• Data (submissions) will be included in reports to Center leadership (the Executive Committee), with the level of anonymity requested by the submitter.

• Information disclosed about a COLDEX member or peripheral individuals will not be shared with the public, but only with supervisors who have a need to know and with the submitter name redacted if anonymity is requested.

• If students are involved, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regulations must be followed.

When fully staffed, the Feedback Review Committee (FRC) comprises three COLDEX Executive Committee members (the Director, the Managing Director, and the Director for Broadening Participation), two members of the Broadening Participation Committee (rotating every other year and may also be on the Executive Committee), one ECR Committee member, and one COLDEX staff member (the Coordinator for Education, Outreach, and Engagement). Members will have training and a demonstrated interest in broadening participation in the Center. The FRC will address issues together with the exception of cases where specific committee members cannot participate for legal reasons, due to conflicts of interest, or at the request of the submitter.  

Current FRC Members:

• Mindy Nicewonger, Coordinator for Education, Outreach, and Engagement

  • Committee Role: Submission Manager

• Danielle Whittaker, Managing Director

• Erin Pettit, Director for Broadening Participation

• Ed Brook, Director

• Peter Neff, Director for Field Research and Data, Member of Broadening Participation Committee

• Ellen Mutter, Member of ECR Committee

Actions of the FRC:

1. The FRC will meet monthly, unless there are no new submissions or actions-in-progress to discuss, and may call additional meetings for submissions requiring immediate action.

2. The FRC will keep track of reports, response steps (protocol outlined below), and outcomes in a spreadsheet.

3. The FRC will meet with the COLDEX Executive Committee quarterly, to discuss the issues that surface and provide data and reinforcement to make systemic change within the Center.

4. The FRC will produce yearly summary reports for Center leadership about the feedback they have received and the outcomes of each case. This will allow the team to look at the process in the long-term to identify needs for additional resources.

The FRC’s functionality will be assessed each year by Center leadership and as part of a question on Center feedback routes in the annual Sense of Belonging survey.

The submission form is set up through one FRC member’s (the “Submission Manager”) Qualtrics account and responses are set to automatically be forward via email to the FRC member selected by the submitter (the “Selected FRC Member”).  This means the Submission Manager (currently the DEI Assistant, Stephanie Jarvis) will technically have access to the submission in full but will only look at those that she has been selected to process unless there are specific reasons (technical issues with the forwarding process, for example) that she must look at them.  If you are uncomfortable with this set up for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact the FRC member of your choice via email or phone to determine the best way to submit your feedback.

1. When a submission is received: 

   • An automatic email will be sent to the entire FRC notifying them a submission (with no information from the submission) has been received. This will start the review timeline. 

   • An automatic email will be sent to the Selected FRC Member, selected by the submitter in the submission form, with the text of the submission. 

2. The Selected FRC Member will: 

   • Send an email to the person who submitted the report (if contact information was provided) to acknowledge receipt of the report. It will be a personal message (not a standard email), though a consistent list of key points may be shared. 

     • If the reported concern falls outside the work of this committee, the submitter will be directed to the appropriate resources.

     • If the report pertains to bias, the submitter will be encouraged to report to their institutional bias response team if they have not already.

   • Screen the report for conflict of interests (COI) with any FRC members and, if requested, redact confidentially identifiable information (names or descriptions that limit the possible individuals, such as gender or specific position).

3. The Selected FRC Member will send the report to the FRC (excluding members identified as having COI or that the submitter has requested not be included in review) with recommendations for action. These recommendations may fall into multiple categories, including:

   • An immediate meeting of the FRC to discuss the submission.

   • Discussion of the submission be added to the agenda of the next monthly FRC meeting.

   • The feedback, such as positive feedback, will be passed on to the relevant COLDEX community member(s) without discussion at an FRC meeting. A decision not to discuss a submission at an FRC meeting must be approved, via response to this email, by all FRC members (excluding those excused from review). 

4. The FRC will create response timelines and solutions to each report discussed at a meeting. Each FRC member, unless excused due to conflict of interest or request of the submitter, will be expected to read each new report before meetings. The FRC will collectively decide for each case what is the best path forward (action items, further communication, more info gathering, etc). If appropriate, one of the FRC members will follow up to gather more information. This follow up may be with the person who initially submitted the report as well as any relevant COLDEX community members mentioned in their report.

5. The FRC will reach out to the relevant COLDEX community members or committees to address the issue or suggestion brought up in the report. The FRC will provide resources and recommendations for action. “Relevant” community members may or may not include individuals named in the submission. The FRC aims to be sensitive to power dynamics in helping solve issues between individuals or within teams and will follow the guidelines for anonymity chosen by the submitter as well as preferences stated in the submission form. The FRC may also reach out to the submitter to discuss which community members may be contacted if there are any questions or concerns.    

6. The FRC will follow up with relevant COLDEX community members involved in the response to ensure that action is taken. If necessary, the FRC will remind them of resources and recommended actions and decide on a time for a next check in.

7. The FRC will report back to the person who submitted the report (if contact information was provided) after action has been taken. Information on the nature of the action will be shared as appropriate; there may be situations where the specific actions taken cannot be shared due to legal or ethical reasons. The FRC will invite the submitter to reach out again if the issue persists (either directly to their FRC contact or through the portal).

8. The FRC will reach out to the submitter after one month to see how they are doing. If the issue persists, the FRC will check back in with the relevant COLDEX community members and, if necessary, identify other courses of action. The FRC will repeat this check in process until the issue has resolved.

9. Once a quarter, the FRC will provide a summary to the Executive Committee on the effectiveness of this process from the perspective of the FRC. This will include the number of submissions and successes and challenges of finding resolutions (without details).

All FRC files are stored in a Box folder that is only accessible to FRC members. The FRC will adhere to the following documentation and storage protocol when responding to a submission.

• A tracking spreadsheet, available to all FRC Members, will track details of the review process so all FRC Members can ensure submissions are processed in a timely manner.  This spreadsheet will not include details of the submission itself.

• Documents related to submissions will be stored in a Box folder accessible only to FRC Members.

• When FRC Members are excluded from a submission review, the documents related to that submission will be password protected before being stored in the Box folder and the password will be shared via email with the FRC members involved in submission review.

Quarterly updates to the COLDEX Executive Committee will be focused on Center-wide suggestions, patterns, and recommendations. The sharing of details of specific submissions will be minimal and will follow submission-specific anonymity requests.

OSU Resources 

• ASOSU Office of Advocacy

• Bias Incident Report through the Office of Institutional Diversity (OID)

• Bias incident FAQ

• Discrimination and harassment policies

• Equal Opportunity and Access (EOA): Concern of Discrimination, Harassment, Bullying, or Retaliation

• Equity Promise Scholarship through COS

• University Ombuds Office

Other COLDEX Institutions 

• We are expanding this section, use the above as examples what is likely available at other institutions. Please send appropriate links to update this list.