The Virtues Of Adopting An Internal Investigations Protocol

On college and university campuses, allegations of wrongdoing can arise in a variety of contexts, implicating institutional policies, state and federal compliance, and civil and criminal exposure. Regardless of whether an allegation or complaint appears to be relatively limited in scope, or might be the next media story, an effective internal investigation can facilitate efficient fact gathering and allow for informed decision making. In that context, institutions should assess not just whether to conduct an internal investigation, but how to do so effectively.

Once an allegation has arisen, there may be limited time to develop a strategy from scratch, and often when the allegations are particularly serious, institutions understandably take a defensive posture, and risk losing sight of the need to gather and analyze information in a suitably comprehensive and principled fashion. Without proper consideration of these concerns before the issue arises, and a plan of