• Contact a Title IX Coordinator:
  • Elizabeth Brown-Goyette: browne8@rpi.edu, (518) 276-3065
  • Karen Fajardo: fajark@rpi.edu, (518) 276-4093
• Call RPI Public Safety (available 24 hours a day): (518) 276-6611
• Public Safety can assist you with: filing an incident report with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI); seeking advice from an adviser; getting help with obtaining medical assistance; contacting local law enforcement to file a criminal complaint; initiating legal proceedings in Family Court; applying for or understanding an Order of Protection; or getting information about other campus or community services.
• Please note, filing an incident report with RPI Public Safety does not require the filing of criminal charges AND IT DOES NOT constitute the filing of criminal charges.
• File an Online Report
  • You can file a report with RPI on our Online Report page. This form can be submitted anonymously, or you can include your contact information.

• Call Local Law Enforcement: 911
  • To file a criminal complaint, call local law enforcement.
• Call State of New York Sexual Assault 24-Hour Hotline: (844) 845-7269
  • Individuals who want to report a complaint of sexual assault on a New York college campus to the New York State Police may call the dedicated 24-hour hotline at (844) 845-7269.
• If you would like assistance making a report to state or local law enforcement or requesting an Order of Protection from Family Court, Rensselaer will gladly help you. Please contact the Department of Public Safety at (518) 276-6611 or contact one of the Title IX Coordinators.
• If you are away from Rensselaer Troy campus, you can find the local law enforcement agency using the State University of New York’s resource look-up site

Seek Medical Assistance

You can go to the St. Peter's Health Partners' Samaritan Hospital Emergency Department, located at 2215 Burdett Avenue, Troy, NY, 12180; or call Samaritan at (518) 271-3424; or go to the nearest Hospital Emergency Room. If you are away from the Troy campus, you can find the closest emergency room using the State University of New York’s resource look-up site. 

Medical and Counseling professionals are required to maintain total confidentiality and cannot share your information without your consent unless there is an imminent threat to self or others.

Victims of sexual assault should also know of their option to obtain a sexual assault forensic exam. These exams are performed by skilled clinicians at local hospitals. The exam includes assessment for and treatment of injury, addressing concerns of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and collection of evidence. The St. Peter's Health Partners Samaritan Hospital, and many other hospitals in New York State, will perform a sexual assault forensic exam free of charge, and without billing the victim or victim's health insurance plan.

Evidence Collection

Collecting evidence does not obligate an individual to any particular course of action but can assist the authorities should the individual decide to pursue criminal charges now or in the future.

Physical evidence of a sexual assault must be collected from the victim’s person within hours of the incident, although it may be possible to obtain evidence from towels, sheets, clothes, etc., for much longer periods of time. An individual who believes they have been sexually assaulted should go to an emergency room, before washing their body or changing clothing.

Hospitals have personnel (sexual assault nurse examiner) who are specially trained to collect evidence in cases of alleged sexual assault; they will properly collect and preserve any evidence as well as document any injuries. It is best not to change clothes. However, if clothes have been changed, the clothes worn at the time of the incident should be brought to the emergency room in a clean, sanitary container such as a paper grocery bag or wrapped in a clean sheet (plastic containers do not breathe, and may render evidence useless). Bring a change of clothing to the hospital as the clothes worn at the time of the incident will likely be kept as evidence.

The Student Health Center can provide after-incident and follow-up medical care however, it is not equipped to collect forensic evidence.

FIRST:  Upon receiving a disclosure of sexual misconduct, please inform the reporting person that they have a right to:

• Make a report to university police or campus security, local law enforcement, and/or state police or choose not to report;
• Report the incident to your institution;
• Be protected by the institution from retaliation for reporting an incident; and
• Receive assistance and resources from your institution.

SECOND: Explain to the reporting person that you are required to report what they've shared with you to a Title IX Coordinator.  Unless you work in the Student Health or Counseling Center or the Office of Religious Affairs, you cannot keep their disclosure confidential.  However, reassure the reporting person that you (and the Title IX Coordinator) will keep their information private and will not share it with anyone who does not absolutely need to know.  You should also reassure the reporting person that although a Title IX Coordinator will reach out to them to share information about reporting, resources, and options available to them, they will not be required to participate in any conversation, meeting, or proceeding if they don't want to.

THIRD:  After ensuring the reporting person is not in immediate danger (if they are, call the Department of Public Safety's emergency line: (518) 276-6611 or 911 if off campus), you must immediately report the disclosure to Rensselaer.  During normal business hours, report by calling a Title IX Coordinator at (518) 276-3065 or (518) 276-4093.  You must make actual contact with a Coordinator.  If it is outside of normal business hours, call the RPI Department of Public Safety at (518) 276-6656.

If a student discloses to you that they are pregnant or experiencing pregnancy-related conditions (this includes, but is not limited to, childbirth, lactation, miscarriage, termination of pregnancy, or the recovery from either), you are required to do the following:

1. Inform the student that discrimination in the Institute's educational programs and activities based on pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition is prohibited.
2. Explain to the student that they are entitled to reasonable modifications, if needed, to ensure they maintain equal access to the Institute's educational programs and activities.
3. Tell the student that a Title IX Coordinator can assist in arranging such modifications, and provide the student contact information for the Title IX Coordinators.

You can also share this one-page resource sheet with the student: Student Rights: Pregnancy and Related Conditions