Clery Compliance Part 1: Missing Student Guidelines
MOUs and policy summaries will help your campus comply with the new Higher Education Opportunity Act requirements.
Students may register anybody they like to serve as this contact including a sibling or boyfriend or girlfriend. The guidelines afford students a higher level of confidentiality in this contact than provided by the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) alone. It may only be shared with authorized campus officials or law enforcement personnel in furtherance of a missing person investigation.
It is very important, however, to note that while the contact remains confidential, nothing precludes an institution from notifying a student’s parents, or anyone else they deem necessary, that the student is missing – the FERPA health and safety exception fully permits this.
Summarize Your Policies in Annual Clery Report
Beginning in the Clery Act annual security report (ASR) due October 1, 2010, each college and university with on-campus student housing must include a summary of these missing student notification policies and procedures. The summary must address how the campus complies with each requirement, including who should receive the missing student reports, how the emergency contact information will be registered and maintained. Additionally, the summary must advise students that if the
y are under the age of 18 and not emancipated, their custodial parent will be notified, and that in all cases where the institution has determined a student is missing, local law enforcement will be notified.
While the key to success with all aspects of the Clery Act is working together, that is perhaps most true with these provisions. They are designed to ensure that when a student is missing, the resources of the campus, local police, and friends and family of the missing are all brought to bear on finding them safe and sound.
S. Daniel Carter is the director of the 32 National Campus Safety Index.
This is the first in a series of stories on the new HEOA requirements.
Related Articles:
Clery Compliance Part 2: Emergency Response, Notification Guidelines
Hate Crime Reporting Requirements
Fire Incident Reporting Requirements
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Leading in Turbulent Times: Effective Campus Public Safety Leadership for the 21st Century
This new webcast will discuss how campus public safety leaders can effectively incorporate Clery Act, Title IX, customer service, “helicopter” parents, emergency notification, town-gown relationships, brand management, Greek Life, student recruitment, faculty, and more into their roles and develop the necessary skills to successfully lead their departments. Register today to attend this free webcast!
