Campus Security Authorities
According to a federal law known as the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, CSS and all college/universities receiving federal student financial aid funds are required to disclose “statistics concerning the occurrence of certain criminal offenses reported to local law enforcement agencies or any official of the institution who is defined as a ‘Campus Security Authority.’”
The law defines “Campus Security Authority” as “An official of an institution who has significant responsibility for student and campus activities, including, but not limited to student housing, student discipline and campus judicial proceedings.” Federal guidance notes that a dean of students, a director of athletics, a team coach, or a faculty advisor to a student group also have significant responsibility for student and campus activities. A single teaching faculty member is unlikely to have significant responsibility for student or campus activities except when serving as an advisor to a student group or as students’ academic advisor. Clerical staff, as well, are unlikely to have a significant responsibility for student and campus activities as defined by the Clery Act.
Crimes may be reported to persons on campus who have been designated as having significant responsibility for student and/or campus activities. Each will be responsible for forwarding campus crime reports to the Safety and Security Manager or Campus Security for investigation and campus crime reporting in compliance with the Campus Security Act.
Find and complete report forms.
Note: There are two types of individuals who, although they may have significant responsibility for students and campus activities, are not campus security under the Clery Act
Pastoral counselor: A person who is associated with a religious order of denomination, is recognized by that religious order or denomination as someone who provides confidential counseling, and is functioning within the scope of that recognition as a pastoral counselor.
Professional counselor: A person whose official responsibilities include providing mental health counseling to member of the institution’s community and who is functioning within the scope of the counselor’s license or certification. This definition applies even to professional counselors who are not employees of the institution, but are under contract to provide counseling at the institution.