FAIR prioritizes the importance of due process. Everyone deserves an essentially fair proceeding. Where law or policy requires that FAIR’s decision-makers apply a presumption of innocence, we do so. We are scrupulous about following a client’s policies and procedures and ensuring that all rights guaranteed within those policies and procedures are accorded. If a client does not have rights defined clearly in its policies and procedures, FAIR has a default set that it can use that are appropriately protective of the rights of those who are accused of misconduct or discrimination. We uphold the equal dignity of all individuals involved in FAIR Center resolutions.

Yes. We have a number of system clients who have multiple different colleges within the system. They subscribe on behalf of all the institutions at the system level and share a pool of FAIR units between the colleges. Some institutions allow each campus to draw from the shared pool as needed, and in others, each campus has a number of units assigned to it to draw from, and that number may be different than for other campuses in the same system, based on size, volume of complaints, need, etc.

We also work with consortium clients of (mostly smaller) colleges that subscribe together, sharing a pool of units. You can purchase through an existing consortium or coalition or form one for group-buying. Most of these subscribers opt for Level Two or above of FAIR Center access to share among their campuses.

While we have considered this approach with K-12 clients, they usually have sufficient complaint volume making it less practical to share a subscription. Amongst K-12 FAIR clients, most are districts, but some are individual schools. If a district purchases a subscription, it can allocate units among its district schools as needed.

FAIR cares about the rights of all complainants. It is not our role to determine who is a victim or survivor, but we accord rights based on process role, and complainants have significant protections through FAIR. We can provide victim advocates on request. All FAIR Center personnel are trained in trauma-informed practices and know to avoid gratuitously retraumatizing someone. We show tact and ensure the process does not revictimize. We respect the humanity of every person who is involved in a FAIR Center resolution, and you’ll see that in the way you are treated by FAIR staff. Each complaint is treated with the utmost importance by our staff. We show no favoritism, but we are balanced in all resolutions, and make decisions based only on evidence, while according all rights that are owed by law or policy.

You may engage TNG Consulting to provide services as needed at the associated hourly rates per role/service. All roles available through FAIR as a package are also available to your organization piecemeal through TNG at prevailing hourly rates.

Or, engage TNG to work with you on Barrier Analysis. Maybe the reason you don’t have enough volume is a problem we can help you to solve.

Our work product has been battle-tested. We’ve been sued repeatedly for our investigations, and they have withstood every legal test they have faced, including at the most due-process-centric federal appeals court, the Sixth Circuit. Simply, plaintiff’s attorneys are less likely now to be willing to challenge our work product, because other courts have already ruled we are fair, objective, professional, and meet/exceed industry standards. Fewer lawsuits will save you time and money, and cuts the amounts of settlements and risks of loss.

Our flat-fee model also protects you from overruns, unexpected bills, and hidden costs, all of which can add up and cost you more than you think.

Don’t underestimate the value of getting it right the first time. Every time you need to send work product back for another draft, you are losing time and money.

In some cases, FAIR can also save you money if you use our services in lieu of in house resources, allowing you to dedicate their time more productively elsewhere, or reduce your budget for internal salaries (which come with benefits and costs you do not face with outsourcing).

You need the total package. With your local firm or a national firm, you will often find competent investigators or adjudicators, but will they know faculty and student culture the way we do? Will they offer the depth of our team of 30 seasoned investigators? Will they have our experience with all the types of investigations we’ve listed above, because we’ve done literally thousands (we do 400-600 investigations every year). We’ve been in your seats, and we understand the administrative challenges that accompany this work. With law firms, or retired judges, our general experience is that they are technically up to the task, but while they may know how to conduct an investigation or hearing, they often lack the subject matter expertise on race, age, sex, stalking, dating violence, sexual violence, religion, free speech, and other areas that go beyond just writing a report. With FAIR, you get a whole team without the hourly billing of a whole team, you get comprehensive subject matter expertise, great writers, competent fact-gathering, smooth hearings, capable advisors, effective informal resolution facilitators, and an entire division dedicated to investigation and hearing support functions. We sweat the details so that you don’t have to, and can rest assured that we’ll deliver a high-quality product promptly. We offer a wraparound solution to give you confidence and peace-of-mind.

FAIR investigations take from 2 days to 6 months, depending on complexity. Most of our investigations take 2 months or less, on average.

Reports typically range from 15pp up. Most of our reports range from 40-60 pages. Have we had 200pp reports? Sure, but they are outliers.

Why do you have partner-level review of all work product? If your professionals are good at what they do, why is this necessary?

No one is perfect. Check and balances are important, and we work as a team to make sure that we’re anticipating problems, considering all ramifications, and giving you the highest-possible quality work product. As we noted above, we get sued as a result of doing this work. So, it’s not just your liability on the line, it’s our reputation as we stand with you to defend the good work we do together. In every case, someone’s father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, or other loved one is at risk. They been discriminated against or have been accused of harming someone else. We show them the same care and attention that we would if a situation involved our own sons, daughters, friends, family, or other loved ones. We treat the member of your organization with the dignity and respect they deserve, and never forget the humanity of the participants in a difficult process.

• Thorough, reliable, impartial, cost-controlled investigations
• Clear, cogent, intelligible work product
• Hearings and decisions that get the outcome right, the confidence of knowing the correct decision was made and will stand up to legal challenge
• A team that cares about you and your community, not just about running the billing meter up
• A deep understanding of how your organization works, and how all the moving parts of a resolution process integrate and need to support all the other parts
• A team that is accustomed to working together, is efficient, and has standard operating procedures (SOPs) that embrace and honor applicable industry standards
• Experts who believe in life-long learning, who receive constant training, and who view professional development as essential to their growth
• A trusted partner who can instill confidence in your community that their concerns will be addressed promptly, fairly, and proportionately

Typically, no. The subscription is flat-fee, meaning that you don’t need to worry about hours. Every subscriber has a secure dashboard where you can view the complaints that are underway, see their progress, and track your units consumed/available. That is all most of our clients require.

Try FAIR risk-free. In our model, you contract for a year, but you pay by the month (annual subscription fee/12). If your administration is unsure, try FAIR for a month. If you aren’t satisfied, cancel your contract at any time with no further obligation.

Once you have used FAIR for a year, you’ll have enough data to compare to your current approach. If we’re as good as we say, you’ll want to renew. If not, you’re under no obligation to continue after the first year.

Many FAIR clients know they need Level Two services, but they don’t want to commit to the risk of a $250,000 expenditure. We don’t blame you, so we’ve taken the risk out of it. You can start with a Level One subscription, even if you suspect you need Level Two or Three. Then, you can always upgrade to the next level mid-year, as needed. We prorate your upgrade, so you don’t spend it until you need to. You can also re-set your Level at each renewal year, at whatever Level makes sense for you. So, you might initially contract for Level One, upgrade to Level Two at mid-year, and then move up to Level Three at your renewal for year two, based on your needs and volume.

Typically, no, but our Client Relations Team does take requests into account, so if there is a particular consultant or consultants you come to prefer, we’ll make every effort to assign them to you, consistently. We try to accommodate requests, such as for diverse professionals, professionals with specific expertise/qualifications, etc.

Typically, no, but our Client Relations Team does take requests into account, so if there is a particular consultant or consultants you come to prefer, we’ll make every effort to assign them to you, consistently. We try to accommodate requests, such as for diverse professionals, professionals with specific expertise/qualifications, etc.

That’s up to you. Some FAIR Center subscribers prefer to do this themselves, but most outsource it to us. As noted above, we have an ISP (Investigation Support Personnel) team that provides all the logistical support for FAIR investigations and hearings, at no additional cost.

Who handles the administration pieces of the hearing? Scheduling the hearing, emailing, and confirming participating parties, etc.

That’s up to you. Some FAIR Center subscribers prefer to do this themselves, but most outsource it to us. As noted above, we have an ISP (Investigation Support Personnel) team that provides all the logistical support for FAIR investigations and hearings, at no additional cost.

Then you can decline that part of the service.

Usually, FAIR is able to turn around a report to a client within two weeks of completing the final investigation interview.

Usually, FAIR is able to provide a final determination and rationale post-hearing/decision within five-ten days of the end of the hearing.

That’s unusual, but it could happen. Barring something cataclysmic, like a pandemic, most subscribers who are not using their units would cancel their contracts, and thus avoid having significant unused units. If a subscriber ever neared the end of a year with substantial unused units, TNG (the parent company of the FAIR Center) would work with the client to provide other services of equivalent value (training, policy review, etc.). However, FAIR Center agreements do not carry over from year-to-year, and units must be used in their calendar year of subscription, so an unused unit would be lost. Honestly, many subscribers find themselves needing to upgrade mid-year, rather than seeing a situation of unused units.

The FAIR Center model helps to respond to a common criticism, that since the increase in government involvement in Title IX starting in 2011, college and school resolution processes have become more ponderous, bureaucratic, and less high-touch. Many of our clients have reached out in distress over only being able to offer low-touch, somewhat detached and more clinical responses, out of necessity, and they have asked us how to restore a higher level of care, concern, and high-touch engagement. In addition to our robust case management services, FAIR has responded to this need by innovating two different levels of party advisor roles. FAIR offers complainants the respondents access to both Process Advisors and Support Advisors.

Process Advisors fill the role contemplated by the Title IX regulations. They accompany the parties procedurally, guide them with respect to resolution options, and help them to prepare for interviews and hearing testimony. They also conduct cross-examination at hearings, as contemplated by the Title IX regulations.

Support Advisors are more high-touch, and function as allies and advocates for the parties. FAIR’s Complainant Support Advisors often have a victim advocacy background, and while that function is best served in person, many schools and colleges do not have access to local advocacy programs. We have figured out how to offer these services remotely and are confident the parties will find this service to be helpful and beneficial . . We can care from afar, and our Support Advisors are adept at walking complainants through intake, reporting options, court and medical advocacy needs, as well as the roles described above for Process Advisors. While there is no exact “Respondent Advocate” equivalent to a Victim’s Advocate role, our Respondent Support Advisors extend the caring bridge by addressing respondent needs that go beyond Process Advising. They can assist with medical needs, social work, a warm shoulder, connection with local resources, exploring options, knowing their rights, working with their parents/guardians, finding an attorney, navigating issues related to restraining orders and no-contact directives, assessing whether to participate in the process, withdraw from school, engage in informal resolution, and many other options. This support resource can make all the difference in terms of how the parties navigate and gain comfort with the process and feel supported as it unfolds. We know you care, and Support Advisors demonstrate that care and concern concretely.

Yes, FAIR units can be used by a subscriber for any sort of conduct or grievance process, and there is no requirement that they only be used for discrimination complaints. For example, we have a number of clients who are using our services to address conduct complaints that involve conflicts between Jewish and Muslim students. While some of those are discrimination complaints, many are not. The influx of such complaints for many campuses and schools has become overwhelming, and FAIR is able to offer our clients a pressure release valve while they are swamped with caseload. As noted elsewhere on the FAIR site, many administrators have told us that FAIR is appealing to them because they are trying to make their conduct processes more accessible, less bureaucratic, and more high-touch. FAIR supplements existing internal resources so that schools and colleges can help to dispel the perception that their discipline processes are just sanction mills. We know you care, but don’t always have the bandwidth to ensure that all parties feel that their humanity is seen and respected. We’re here to help ensure that you can deliver on the type of conduct process that you aspire to provide.