Campus safety and security, as a whole, can encompass many issues ranging from the personal safety of students and teachers and visitor/building access control to crowd control at sporting events, anti-terrorism concerns and fire prevention. If we think of a campus as a mini-metropolis, we can likewise logically assume that the crime and safety concerns of any city will similarly exist on our campuses.

The Clery Act has mandated that most higher education institutions address campus violence and safety concerns. It requires all colleges and universities participating in federal financial aid programs to track and disclose information regarding crime that occurs on and near their respective campuses. Compliance is monitored by the U.S. Department of Education, which can impose civil penalties of up to $27,500 per violation against institutions for each infraction. It can also suspend institutions from participating in federal student financial aid programs.

Consequently, there is a need for universities, as well as schools and hospitals, to locate budget dollars to address their safety and security issues. That said, the process is challenging. Maintaining the balance between scholastic expenditures vs. campus safety expenditures is now a constant struggle for administrators.

Federal, state and local governments, as well as corporate and private foundations of this country have responded by providing numerous grant programs designed to address some of these needs. Administrators and those who head up security and safety departments for higher education institutions should learn how to create an effective grant strategy and then deploy it.

Let’s examine some of the first steps in developing a grant strategy for your campus safety initiatives.

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