Understanding the Requirements of the Jeanne Clery Act
Here’s an overview of what the Clery Center for Security On Campus will be presenting at Campus Safety Conference East and West this summer.
The team from the Clery Center for Security On Campus Inc., will be speaking at CSC West, Higher-Ed Track, on Aug. 9 and at the CSC East, Higher-Ed Track, on July 25.
Campus Safety Conference Content
With the increased frequency of U.S. Department of Education (ED) audits, many institutions of higher education have been found to be out of compliance with the Clery Act regarding issues surrounding their efforts, or lack thereof, in gathering crime statistics from the appropriate individuals and offices on their campuses. The Clery Act requires all institutions to collect crime reports from a variety of individuals and organizations that the act considers to be “campus security authorities.”
Alison Kiss, Abigail Boyer and Laura Egan of the Clery Center for Security On Campus Inc., will be presenting two different workshops at Campus Safety Conference East and West: Jeanne Clery Act Training Workshop and Higher Ed Workshop: Jeanne Clery Act – Putting Together the Annual Security Report.
The Clery Center for Security On Campus works with college and university communities to create safer campuses. In addition to its Clery Act Training Seminars, the organization provides speakers for conferences, educational events and information, and media interviews.
In this Q&A, Abigail Boyer, associate executive director of programs, discusses the importance of the Clery Act, the challenges that institutions encounter during compliance, and what they can be doing to overcome these hurdles.
Campus Safety: Why is it important for institutions to understand and comply with the Clery Act?
Boyer: Unfortunately every school has crime occurring within their campus community. One of the things that we find helpful about Clery is that it does provide a construct for prevention and response to incidents on campus. The annual security report, for example, captures not only statistics for the previous three calendar years but it also includes information about key campus safety and security policies and procedures. So we really look at it as an opportunity for the campus community to communicate safety-related information. This is critical because the practitioners who are working on campus day-to-day really need to understand what those requirements are and how to translate those requirements to the campus community.
Campus Safety: How are our nation’s colleges and universities doing when it comes to these issues?
Boyer: We’ve seen a lot of institutions taking proactive stances and looking at both prevention and response on campus. We know that there’s also more that we can do. Institutions are really learning from one another, especially in the area of campus sexual assault. We’ve seen unprecedented attention from the White House and from student survivors and others nationally. So I think it’s something that is certainly top of mind for institutions, and while we’re seeing a lot of successes, we’re also seeing challenges for institutions to navigate.
Campus Safety: How will your workshops help institutions navigate those issues?
Boyer: We really hope that the workshop will create a space for institutions to be able to safely dive into those topics and get some information not only from campus experts but also from their peers. Our goal is to ensure that attendees walk away with practical implementation strategies, resources, and ideas that can help them better implement Clery on their campuses.
The third annual Campus Safety Conferences are education and training events for anyone who has a stake in ensuring the public safety and security of our nation’s K-12 schools, universities, and colleges. Taking place in Washington, D.C., July 25-26 and Long Beach, Calif., Aug. 9-10, the conferences provide full-day training workshops, a campus police chief and a K-12 safety panel, dozens of conference sessions, and more than 35 companies showcasing their products, services, and technologies.
To register for the Campus Safety Conferences, visit CampusSafetyConference.com. The team from the Clery Center for Security On Campus Inc., will be speaking at CSC West, Higher-Ed Track, on Aug. 9 and at the CSC East, Higher-Ed Track, on July 25.
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