Appendix A - Clery Act Appendix for the Federal Student Aid Handbook

Clery Act Appendix for the Federal Student Aid Handbook

Part III: Reporting, Procedures, Policy, and Notification Requirements -

Institutions must publish and disseminate an Annual Security Report by October 1st of each year. Institutions that have on-campus residential facilities must also publish, by that same date, a Fire Safety Report.  The required contents of those reports, along with related notification, procedures, and policy requirements, are discussed in this section.

Each year, the Department sends a letter to presidents or chief executive officers of institutions with information on accessing the Campus Safety and Security Survey website (See: https://surveys.ope.ed.gov/security), where schools submit Clery Act crime statistics for the three most recent calendar years for which there is available data.  The website explains how to tabulate these statistics.  The letter explains any changes to the survey, the collection dates for the survey, the name of the person who completed the reporting at the school the previous year, and a new ID and password for completing the survey.

Schools with on-campus student housing facilities must also submit an annual Fire Safety Report to the Department.  The report must include statistics on the number of fires and causes of each fire, as well as fire-related injuries, deaths, and/or fire-related property damage for each on-campus student housing facility.  The Fire Safety Report is due at the same time as the Annual Security Report.

The Annual Security Report 34 CFR 668.46(b) and Crime Statistics 34 CFR 668.46(c) -

Each institution's Annual Security Report must include a list of titles of each person or organization to whom students and employees should report Clery Act crimes for the purpose of making both timely warning reports and the annual statistical disclosure.  The Annual Security Report must also include institutional policies or procedures for victims or witnesses to report Clery Act crimes on a voluntary, confidential basis for inclusion in the annual disclosure of crime statistics.  Additionally, institutions must include current policies concerning the security of, and access to, campus facilities and residencies, as well as security considerations in the maintenance of campus facilities.

An institution is not required to include (or may remove) a reported crime from its statistics when sworn or commissioned law enforcement personnel have fully investigated the reported crime and have made a formal determination that the crime report is false or baseless and, therefore, "unfounded."  Institutions must report to the Department and disclose in their Annual Security Report statistics that include the total number of crime reports that were "unfounded" and subsequently withheld from its crime statistics during each of the three most recently completed calendar years.

The following are required contents of the Annual Security Report.  Note that this chart is not intended to be all-inclusive and institutions must review the statute and regulations to identify all the information that must be included in their Annual Security Report.

1)  Policies regarding alcoholic beverages and underage drinking laws

2)  Policies regarding illegal drugs and applicable federal and state drug laws

3)  Programs on substance abuse

4)  Programs to prevent dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking, and the procedures institutions will follow when such crimes are reported

5)  Information regarding sex offenders

6)  Descriptions of emergency response and evacuation procedures

7)  Policies regarding missing student notifications

8)  Campus crime statistics

9)  Policies regarding procedures for reporting criminal actions or other emergencies on campus

10)  Policies on security of and access to campus facilities

11)  Policies on enforcement authority of security personnel; working relationship of campus security personnel with State and local police agencies; accurate and prompt reporting of crimes; pastoral and professional counselors

12)  Programs on campus security procedures and practices

Policies Regarding Campus Law Enforcement 34 CFR 668.46(b) and Statements Regarding Disciplinary Proceedings 34 CFR 668.46(k)(2)(v) -

The HEA and the Department's regulations require that institutions include, in the Annual Security Report, several statements of policy.  These policies cover a range of campus safety and crime prevention topics, including the law enforcement authority and jurisdiction of security personnel, including their working relationship with state and local law enforcement agencies.  Institutions must also publish their current institutional policies that encourage accurate and prompt reporting of all crimes to the campus police or safety offices, other campus security authorities and local law enforcement officials.  Schools must also provide a description of any procedures that exist that encourage pastoral and professional counselors, when they deem it appropriate, to inform the persons they are counseling of any procedures to report crimes on a voluntary, confidential basis for inclusion in the annual disclosure of crime statistics.  The Annual Security Report must include a description of programs designed to inform students and employees about the prevention of crimes, the types and frequency of programs designed to inform the campus community of security procedures as well as practices to encourage students and employees to be responsible for their own security and the security of others.

Policies concerning the monitoring and recording, through local police agencies, of criminal activity by students at non-campus locations of officially recognized student organizations must also be included in the Annual Security Report.

Institutions must include policies regarding the possession, use, and sale of alcoholic beverages and illegal drugs, as well as policies regarding the enforcement of State underage drinking laws and Federal and State drug laws.  Such policies must provide a description of any drug or alcohol abuse education programs required by § 120(a) – (d) of the HEA and the Department's regulations at 34 CFR Part 86.

An institution must include a clear policy statement that addresses procedures for disciplinary action in cases of alleged dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, including: 1) descriptions of types of proceedings (and how determined), the steps, timelines, decision making processes, and how to file a complaint; 2) the standard of evidence; 3) the list of possible sanctions; 4) the range of protective measures; 5) a requirement that the proceedings – conducted by trained officials – will include a prompt, fair, and impartial process; 6) assurance that the accuser and accused will have the same opportunities to have others present, including an advisor of the individual's choosing, in any disciplinary-related meeting; and 7) the requirement of simultaneous written notification to both parties of the result of the proceedings, process for appeal, and when such findings become final.

The institution must provide a statement that it will simultaneously provide in writing to both the accused and accuser: the results of any disciplinary proceeding conducted by such institution against a student accused of dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.  The institution must also provide the institution’s procedures for the accused and accuser to appeal the result of the institutional disciplinary hearing, if such procedures are available; any changes to the result; and when the results become final.