Trainings in sexual respect, consent, and Title IX are required of all COA community members.
COA recognizes the importance of raising awareness of the issues surrounding sexual misconduct and assault. Therefore we commit ourselves to ensuring that community members (students, faculty, and staff) have adequate information on this topic and are offered appropriate training on consent, sexual misconduct, and our policies and procedures annually. We further commit to ensuring that those responsible for responding to those who have experienced sexual misconduct or those responsible for addressing sexual misconduct complaints have been sufficiently trained to carry out those responsibilities with sensitivity, compassion, and fairness.
Student training
All degree-seeking students at COA are required to complete an annual online training program regarding sex- and gender-based violence. This training is offered through Vector Solutions LMS.
Vector LMS is an online platform that hosts COA’s yearly mandatory sexual assault prevention training. Vector’s Sexual Assault Prevention Training is a comprehensive Title IX and Clery Act education and training solution that engages students throughout their time in college, encourages students to foster healthy relationships, and prepares students to recognize and respond to sexual assault and harassment when it occurs. Even if you have not been directly impacted by relationship violence, sexual assault, stalking, or sexual harassment, chances are you know or will know someone who is. This training is designed to help you identify these topics in your personal life and be a positive influence in addressing them at COA. The knowledge students gain from this training is crucial in promoting a healthier and safer campus environment for everyone.
Vector Solutions will send regular reminder emails to you until your training is complete.
Completion of the Vector Sexual Assault Prevention Training is required for all students. Students must complete this training regardless of age, undergraduate/graduate program status, number of credits, etc. There will be no extensions granted, except in extraordinary or emergency circumstances (which must be supported with appropriate documentation). Any students who are past due meeting the requirements for training are responsible for completing their outstanding assignment.
Completion of this course is mandated by federal law through Title IX and Section 304 of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. College of the Atlantic’s Sexual Misconduct Policy also states that we “commit ourselves to ensuring that community members (students, faculty and staff) have adequate information on this topic and are offered appropriate training on consent, sexual misconduct and our policies and procedures on a regular basis.” The Vector LMS training is our campus-supported online training.
You will receive emails from Vector Solutions inviting you to complete the Vector Sexual Assault Prevention Training. You will receive a weekly reminder email until you have completed the training. The emails will contain a direct link to the training. The training can also be accessed here: coa-me.vectorlmsedu.com. If your account is active, your username will be your COA email address.
Each user’s experience will vary. The training will take approximately 1 to 1.5 hours to complete.
If you have difficulties while using the training program, look at these Troubleshooting Tips, or contact Vector via email at support.education@vectorsolutions.com. Be sure to provide your first and last name and state that you are a College of the Atlantic student. You should receive a reply to your email within one week depending on volume.
At different points in the training, you will be asked to share a little about yourself. Some of these questions might feel personal. Vector asks these questions to help evaluate the effectiveness of this training and better support campuses in creating a safe, supportive community for students. This data will only ever be shared in an anonymized way that cannot be linked to a specific respondent. These questions are voluntary. Please only provide responses if you are comfortable sharing this information. You are invited to be completely honest, but if you are uncomfortable answering the questions, you may always choose the “prefer not to answer” option.
Students who have satisfied an online training requirement have the ability to download and save a certificate of completion for their records.
The Vector LMS training is required for
all students
, even those who have taken other mandatory Title IX trainings.
Failure to complete the training will result in an academic hold placed on the student’s account – preventing them from registering for next term’s courses until the requirement is fulfilled. If the training is completed after a hold is put on the student’s account, staff will manually remove the hold during regular business hours.
The only way to have the hold removed for failure to comply with the online training requirement is to complete the course assigned to you.
Faculty and staff training
Each year, all faculty and staff are required to complete online training in the following topics, through our online training platform - KnowBe4. If you need assistance accessing your online training portal, please email Lothar Holzke or Puranjot Kaur.
FERPA overview
Protecting privacy under FERPA
Maine sexual harassment prevention
Title IX for higher education: Requirements and responsibilities
Title IX for higher education: Recognizing misconduct
Title IX for higher education: Reporting and response
Title IX policies at College of the Atlantic
Additionally, several in-person training sessions for faculty and staff are offered each year.
Other off-Campus training opportunities — Bystander intervention
There are many online learning tools and opportunities to learn about supporting fellow community members and the bystander intervention approach. This section lists a selection of the many tools available:
Right to Be (Live Online Trainings) - is a training that engages participants in safe and effective ways to be an active bystander in ending street harassment.
Bystander Intervention: Focusing on Social Justice (Recorded Webinar) - offered by PreventConnect. In this 1.5 hour long recorded webinar presenters discussed bystander intervention strategies and how social justice is linked to this work.
Beyond Bystander Intervention: Addressing Power-Based Violence and Rape Culture on the College Campus (Podcast) - by Vickie Sides, Rachel Caidor and Sari Lipsett for PreventConnect (2014). This podcast reflects on the session entitled B
eyond Bystander Intervention: Addressing Power-Based Violence and Rape Culture on the College Campus
held at the 2013 National Sexual Assault Conference. This podcast discusses moving the conversation beyond individual change behavior models to models that engage intervention more broadly.
Active Bystanders: Interactive Scenarios (Webpage) - by Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These interactive bystander scenarios explore the consequences of various approaches in different situations based on user responses.
Puranjot Kaur Title IX Coordinator & HR Support Turrets Second Floor Annex* (207) 288-5015, ext. 5614
*Please Note: This office is not ADA accessible. If you are unable to access this office, please email to set up an alternative, private meeting location.