OIG guide for audits

Possible Clery Act Compliance “Game Changer”

Christine L. Peterson, CPP, ISP Compliance, News

Clery Act Compliance “Game Changer”– What Is It? Why Does It Matter? Security professionals inherently know the steps to make a case – one thing leads to another and then connect the dots. At colleges and universities, security leadership is acutely aware that they play a large role in Clery Act compliance. They also understand that an investigation by ED …

Higher Education Clery Act

Clery Act Changes: Challenges Facing Higher Education

Christine L. Peterson, CPP, ISP Compliance, News

The primary role of an institution of higher learning is to educate, and their greatest asset is their reputation. Government entities and donors generate a significant portion of an institution’s revenue. Non-compliance jeopardizes this revenue. How can it be reasonable that Clery Act and Title IX compliance is so lacking in resources and emphasis? Some of the answers, if not …

Department of Education

Department of Education Increases Clery Fines

Protus3 Compliance, Security Program Development

The maximum fine for any violation of the Jeanne Clery Act has increased from $35,000 to $54,789. The new fines posted by the US Department of Education in the Federal Register are effective for civil penalties imposed on or after August 1, 2016, whose associated violations occurred after November 2, 2015. The costs for non-compliance just got higher. In recent …

campus safety article

3 Traits of a Successful Clery Compliance Coordinator

Christine L. Peterson, CPP, ISP Compliance

Campus Safety Magazine published “3 Traits of a Successful Clery Compliance Coordinator”, an article that highlights some of the challenges and nuances facing institutions and Clery Coordinators trying to comply with its requirements. It also drives home that elevating compliance from a departmental/individual response to a coordinated institutional response will drive success. In the business world, this seems like such …

plan, protect, prosper

Prevention or Mitigation: Which Do You prefer?

Christine L. Peterson, CPP, ISP Compliance, News

How important is a security program? The first role of any organization’s leadership is the protection of the organization. In higher education, reputation is an institution’s greatest asset. Reputation attracts the talent – students, faculty/staff, business collaboration, and academic and non-academic recruitment. Reputation also attracts the resources – research, innovation, donors/investors, and funding. As security consultants, we have seen organizations …

Campus Safety article about Penn State fine

Dept. of Ed Levies $2.4M Clery Act Fine Against Penn State Over Sandusky Case

Christine L. Peterson, CPP, ISP Compliance, News

It appears that the Department of Education (ED) is prepared to assess Penn State the largest Clery Act fine to date. Read the entire article here. Not only is the fine larger than other fines we have seen assessed, it is exponentially larger. What does this mean for the many other institutions that are currently under investigation or will be …

Baylor University headline

What Can We Learn From Baylor University?

Protus3 Compliance, Security Program Development, Training

The Dallas Morning News recently published an article entitled “Sex assault reports at Baylor nearly quadrupled in 2015, report says”. Read the full article here. What can we learn from Baylor University? If campus leaders do not set the example and provide the necessary resources, it is nearly impossible to engage the population in a comprehensive and effective manner. A …

Jeanne Clery

The Clery Act – Costs of Noncompliance

Christine L. Peterson, CPP, ISP Compliance, Security Assessment

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1092(f)(2011), is a federal statute requiring colleges and universities participating in federal financial aid programs to maintain and disclose campus crime statistics and security information. The U.S. Department of Education conducts reviews to evaluate an institution’s compliance with Clery Act requirements. A review may …

Jury Says Virginia Tech Negligent

Billy Gordon Green, Jr. M.Ed., CPP, CHS News

Emergency plans are for doing – not just for having. This recent verdict underlines an important discrepancy between the letter and intent of both the Clery requirements for campus warnings and emergency warning best practices and the way these procedures are implemented in reality in some crisis situations. No matter how comprehensive and well founded an emergency plan is or …

gavel law books

Penn State: Clery Act Implications

Protus3 Compliance

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) announced that it would launch its own investigation into the now infamous Penn State football scandal. This investigation will focus on whether the university failed to comply with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (the Clery Act) – the federal law which, among other …