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University Policy 116

Clery Act Compliance

Initially approved: August 12, 2013
Revised: August 18, 2014
Revised: January 30, 2024

Policy Topic: Governance & Administration
Administering Office: Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance


I. POLICY STATEMENT

Western Carolina University (“WCU”) is committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for its students, faculty, staff, employees, and visitors. This policy has been established to comply with the requirements of the “Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1998,” (commonly referred to as the “Clery Act”).  This policy sets forth guidelines, procedures, and responsibilities intended to ensure WCU continues to comply with the Clery Act's reporting disclosure obligation as required by policy and law. 

II. SCOPE AND APPLICATION OF POLICY

This policy applies to all Campus Security Authorities (CSAs) as defined by this Policy. 

III. DEFINITIONS

“Campus Community” All students, faculty, staff, employees, and visitors on or near WCU’s campus.

"Campus Security Authorities" ("CSAs") Individuals at the University who, because of their function, have an obligation under the Clery Act to notify the University of alleged Clery Crimes (further defined below) that are reported to them, or alleged Clery Crimes that they may personally witness. These individuals are required by federal law to report a Clery Crime when it has been observed by them or reported to them by another individual. 

CSAs are determined by criteria established in 34 CFR 668.46.  A CSA typically falls under one of the following categories:

  1. A campus police department or a campus security department of an institution.
  2. Any individual or individuals who have responsibility for campus security but who do not constitute a campus police department or a campus security department (e.g., an individual who is responsible for monitoring the entrance into institutional property).
  3. Any individual or organization specified in an institution’s statement of campus security policy as an individual or organization to which students and employees should report criminal offenses.
  4. 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. An official is any person who has the authority and the duty to act or respond to particular issues on behalf of the University[KT1] .

Common examples of CSAs include (but are not limited to):

  1. Police and Security Personnel
  2. Title IX Coordinator 
  3. Dean of Students
  4. Academic Deans and Department Heads 
  5. Athletic Directors, Coaches, and Trainers
  6. Faculty/Staff Advisors to Recognized Student Organizations 
  7. Department of Residential Living staff
  8. Director of Student Conduct
  9. Director of Student Health
  10. Director of Counseling & Psychological Services
  11. Coordinators of Fraternity & Sorority Life
  12. Chief Diversity Officer
  13. Student Concern Response Team (SCRT) Members
  14. Building Coordinators
  15. Director of Emergency Services
  16. Student Success staff
  17. Intercultural Affairs staff
  18. Office of Global Engagement staff
  19. Directors of Highlands Biological Station, Cherokee Center, & Biltmore Park
  20. Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning staff
  21. Center for Career and Professional Development staff 
  22. Program Organizers for activities and events under WCU Policy 126, Minors on Campus 

Licensed Professional and/or Pastoral Counselors acting under the scope and authority of their license in their functional role at WCU are not CSAs. 

WCU will identify positions which meet the definition of a CSA on an ongoing basis, and the Clery Coordinator shall notify individuals in these roles of their obligations under the Clery Act to report any and all alleged Clery Crimes that they witness, or are reported to them, which may have occurred in a Clery Reportable Location in a manner that is timely. All CSAs shall complete annual training on their responsibilities and reporting requirements under the Clery Act.  

"Clery Act Crimes" (“Clery Crimes”) Crimes required by the Clery Act to be reported annually to the Campus Community as described in Section IV.4. 

"Clery Reportable Locations" (“Clery Geography”) Property that is owned, leased, or controlled by the University and includes: (1) on campus (to include Residence Halls), (2) on public property within or immediately adjacent to the campus, and (3) in or on non-campus buildings or property that the University owns, controls, or leases, is frequented by students and used in support of educational purposes.

"Emergency Notification" An announcement triggered by a significant emergency or dangerous situation occurring on campus that involves an immediate threat to the health or safety of the University’s students, faculty, staff, employees, or visitors. This expands upon the definition of “Timely Warning” to include both Clery Act crimes and other types of emergencies or events (weather-related, naturally occurring, human-caused, etc.) that pose an imminent or impending threat to the campus community.

"Emergency Notification System" A mechanism established for the purpose of and dedicated to enabling University officials to quickly make contact with or send messages to students, faculty, staff, and employees in the event of an emergency or other imminently dangerous situation. Examples include but are not limited to, sirens, RSS feeds, alerts via email/text message, local TV/Radio, etc.

"Timely Warning" An alert to the campus community that is sent in a manner that is timely and will aid in the prevention of similar crimes. A Timely Warning is triggered when the University determines that a Clery Act crime which has already been committed and occurred on Clery Geography presents a serious or continuous threat (i.e. a homicide, sex offense, or robbery).

IV. UNIVERSITY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Clery Act requires all Title IV-funded Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) to report specified data on crimes/incidents occurring on and around their campuses - and other buildings/properties they own or control - and to provide other safety and crime information to the campus community. 

As required by the Clery Act, Western Carolina University shall:

  1. Publish an Annual Security and Fire Report (ASFR):
    By October 1 of each year, or other appointed date specified by the Department of Education (ED), Western Carolina University will publish an ASFR documenting the three previous calendar years of Clery crime statistics, security policies and procedures, and information on the basic rights guaranteed to victims of sexual assault. All crime statistics must be provided to ED by the ED-established deadline.   

    This report shall be made available to all current students, faculty, staff, and employees. In addition, prospective students, faculty, staff, and employees shall be notified of the ASFR’s existence and provided a copy upon request. Paper copies of the report shall be available upon request from the University Police Department. In addition, the University shall publish links to the ASFR on web portals for current and prospective students, faculty, and staff.

  2. Designate a Clery Compliance Coordinator
    The Clery Compliance Coordinator shall be responsible for gathering crime statistics from University Police, the Office of the Dean of Students, Student Conduct, local law enforcement, and all other CSAs.

  3. Identify, Notify, and Train CSAs:
    The University will identify positions which meet the definition of a CSA on an ongoing basis, and the Clery Compliance Coordinator shall notify individuals in these roles of their obligations under the Clery Act to report any and all Clery Crimes that they witness, or are reported to them, which may have occurred in a Clery-reportable location. All CSAs shall complete annual training on their responsibilities and reporting requirements under the Clery Act. The University will provide this training as well as a form or other mechanism for submitting a CSA report.  The Clery Compliance Coordinator shall maintain the official list of CSAs and maintain records of their annual training.

  4. Disclose Crime Report Statistics
    The Clery Act requires reporting of certain crimes as specified in 34 CFR 668.46 in the following categories:
    1. Criminal Homicide
      1. Murder & Non-Negligent Manslaughter
      2. Manslaughter by Negligence
    2. Sex Offenses
      1. Rape
      2. Fondling
      3. Incest
      4. Statutory Rape
    3. Robbery
    4. Aggravated Assault
    5. Burglary
    6. Motor Vehicle Theft
    7. Arson

      In addition to the Clery Act crimes listed above, statistics must be gathered for the following categories of arrests or referrals for disciplinary action if an arrest was not made:

    8. Liquor Law Violations
    9. Drug Law Violations
    10. Weapon Law Violations

      Statistics are also required for the criminal offenses listed above as well as four additional crime categories if the crime committed is determined to be a hate crime. A hate crime is defined as a crime that is found to have been motivated by the offender’s bias against one or more of the following categories: Race, Religion, Sexual Orientation, Gender, Gender Identity, Ethnicity, National Origin, and Disability. The additional crimes are:

    11. Larceny/Theft
    12. Simple Assault
    13. Intimidation
    14. Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property

      The Clery Act as amended by the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) requires collecting and disclosing the following crime categories:

    15. Sexual Assault (same as under Sex Offenses above)
    16. Dating Violence
    17. Domestic Violence
    18. Stalkin
  5. Issue Timely Warnings
    WCU shall issue timely warnings of Clery Crimes occurring on Clery Geography that are reported to CSAs or local police agencies and considered by the University to represent a serious or continuing threat to the campus community. Timely warnings will be communicated in accordance with Procedure 116.1. 

  6. Issue Emergency Notifications
    WCU is required to inform the campus community about a significant emergency or dangerous situation occurring on campus that involves an immediate threat to the health or safety of the of University students, faculty, staff, employees, and visitors occurring on or near campus in the form of Emergency Notifications. This includes both Clery Act crimes and other types of emergencies or events (weather-related, naturally occurring, human-caused, etc.) that pose an imminent or impending threat to the campus community. Emergency Notifications are issued in accordance with Procedure 116.1.

  7. Establish Emergency Response and Evacuation Procedures
    The University also must have emergency response and evacuation procedures in place specific to its on-campus facilities. A summary of these procedures must be disclosed in the ASFR. Additionally, the emergency response procedures must be tested at least annually. All emergency response procedure tests and/or exercises must be documented with a description of the test/exercise, the date and time the test was initiated and concluded, and whether the test was announced or unannounced.

  8. Maintain a Daily Crime Log
    WCU must maintain a Daily Crime Log documenting all criminal incidents and alleged criminal incidents reported to University Police within the last sixty (60) calendar days. The Daily Crime Log must show: the date/time the crime was reported, the date/time the crime occurred, the nature of the crime, the general location of the crime, and the disposition of the crime - if known. Incidents must be entered into the log within two (2) business days of receiving the report. The Daily Crime Log must be available online and/or in-person at the University Police Department building upon request. Requests for public inspection of daily crime log entries beyond the most recent sixty (60) calendar days must be made in writing and will be made available within two (2) business days of the request.

  9. Conduct Prevention and Awareness Programs
    WCU shall at minimum annually conduct programs designed to inform students and employees about campus security procedures and practices, and to encourage students and employees to be responsible for their own security and the security of others. Program topics include, but are not limited to, campus security procedures and practices; personal safety and security; alcohol and narcotic abuse and prevention awareness; crime prevention; and fire safety.

    In accordance with the VAWA Amendments to the Clery Act, the University shall at minimum annually conduct primary prevention and awareness programs designed to prevent dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. These programs should be comprehensive, intentional, and integrated programming, initiatives, strategies, and campaigns intended to end dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Under Clery, these programs are required to be culturally relevant; inclusive of diverse communities and identities; sustainable; responsive to community needs; informed by research or assessed for value, effectiveness, or outcome; and consider environmental risk and protective factors as they occur on the individual, relationship, institutional, community, and societal levels. 

    Primary prevention programs are defined as programming, initiatives, and strategies intended to stop dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking before they occur through the promotion of positive and healthy behaviors that foster healthy, mutually respectful relationships and sexuality; encourage safe bystander intervention; and seek to change behavior and social norms in healthy and safe directions.

    Awareness programs are defined as community-wide or audience-specific programming, initiatives and strategies that increase audience knowledge, and share information and resources to prevent violence, promote safety and reduce perpetration.

    These programs must be made available to all current and incoming students, faculty, and staff.

  10. Respond to Reports of Missing Students
    Western Carolina University shall provide every student living in on-campus student housing the opportunity and means to identify an individual to be contacted in an emergency. Additionally, the same opportunity must be provided for students to identify, and provide contact information for, an individual the student wishes the University to contact should it be determined the student is missing. This contact information will be registered confidentially, stored separately from designated emergency contact information, and will only be accessible by authorized campus officials to include Campus Police in the furtherance of a missing person investigation. Students who wish to identify a confidential contact can do so by visiting the online Missing Person Protocol.  Students will be responsible for updating confidential contact information by utilizing this link.

    The Law Enforcement Agency with jurisdiction in the area shall investigate all reports of missing students and will notify and cooperate with other law enforcement agencies, as necessary, to further the investigation.

  11. Provide Sex Offender Registry Data
    WCU shall provide information to the campus community about where law enforcement agency information provided by a state under Section 121 of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. 16921), concerning registered sex offenders may be obtained, such as the law enforcement office of the institution, a local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction for the campus, or a computer network address.  

  12. Compile, Report, and Publish Fire Data
    The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 1998 (HEOA) amended the Clery Act to include fire statistics. The Institution must designate an officer to produce an Annual Fire Safety Report (AFSR). The designated office must collect and disclose fire statistics for each on-campus student residential facility separately for the three most recent calendar years for which data are available in accordance with HEOA regulations. Each facility must be identified in the statistics by name and street address, regardless of whether any fires have occurred. 

    Additionally, the WCU Safety and Risk Management Office will provide a description of the student housing fire safety systems in each facility included in the AFSR. These descriptions should include mechanisms (i.e., alarms, fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, posted evacuation routes, etc.) or systems related to the detection, warning, and control of a fire. The Safety and Risk Management Office shall submit necessary information to the Clery Compliance Coordinator for inclusion in the statistics reported to ED.  

  13. Maintain a Daily Fire Log
    WCU must maintain a Daily Fire Log documenting any fire that occurs in an on-campus student housing facility within the last sixty (60) calendar days. The Daily Fire Log must show: the date/time the fire was reported, the date/time the fire started/occurred, the nature of the fire, and the general location of the fire. Fire incidents must be entered into the log within two (2) business days of receiving the report. The Daily Fire Log must be available online and/or in-person upon request. Requests for public inspection of Daily Fire Log entries beyond the most recent sixty (60) calendar days must be made in writing and will be made available within two (2) business days of the request.  

  14. Retain Clery Records
    The supporting records used in compiling the three most recent Annual Security and Fire Safety Report shall be retained for seven (7) years from the latest publication of the report to which they apply (i.e. 2024 Clery records, last published in the 2027 ASFR, will be discarded when the 2030 ASFR is published). Records to be kept include, but are not limited to: copies of crime reports; the daily crime logs; records for arrests and referrals for disciplinary action; Timely Warning and Emergency Notification reports; documentation, such as letters to and from local police having to do with Clery Act compliance; letters to and from CSAs; correspondence with ED regarding Clery Act compliance; and copies of notices to students, faculty, staff, and employees about the availability of the Annual Security Report. All documentation should be dated and filed accordingly.

V. DUTY TO REPORT

Any CSA who is aware of a Clery Crime occurring on campus is required to report the crime to University Police immediately by calling the campus emergency number: (828) 227-8911.

Exception: Alcohol-related Clery Crimes occurring on campus and addressed by Residential Living Staff may be reported through other means approved by the Clery Compliance Officer.     

University faculty, staff, and students, University contractors, visitors, and others who are aware of an on-campus Clery Crime are strongly encouraged to report the crime to University Police immediately by calling the campus emergency number: (828) 227-8911.   

Students and other non-employees who are not designated as a CSA may report a suspected crime anonymously. While it is preferred that a reporting person provide their name and contact number so that University Police can fully investigate, it is not necessary for the caller to provide their name and contact information. Please note that the TIPS Line and Silent Witness reporting systems are not monitored 24/7 and should not be utilized for crimes-in-progress. 

More information about reporting can be found at https://www.wcu.edu/discover/campus-services-and-operations/university-police/how-to-report-a-crime/index.aspx. 

VI. ANNUAL SECURITY AND FIRE SAFETY REPORT COMMITTEE RESPONSIBILITIES

The Chancellor hereby establishes a University standing committee designated as the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report Committee ("ASFSR"). The ASFSR Committee shall be responsible for the oversight of the University's Clery Act compliance activities. The Chair of the ASFSR will be the Clery Compliance Coordinator. The ASFSR Committee shall be comprised of the Title IX Coordinator and representatives from the University Police Department, Legal Counsel's Office, Academic Affairs Division, Department of Athletics, Department of Emergency Services, Department of Student Community Ethics, Department of Residential Living, Office of Safety and Risk Management, Counseling and Psychological Services, and Department of Intercultural Affairs.

VII. RETALIATION PROHIBITED

There shall be no retaliation against anyone who exercises rights under the Clery Act and other related federal laws, including Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

VIII. POLICY REVIEW

This Policy shall be reviewed and revised as necessary every two (2) years.

IX. RELATED PROCEDURES

University Procedure 116.1: Timely Warnings and Emergency Notifications 

X. RELATED POLICIES AND RESOURCES

Annual Security & Fire Safety Report 
WCU Daily Crime and Fire Log 
WCU Emergency Services 
FBI Crime Data Explorer 
NC Sex Offender Registry
WCU Missing Person Protocol 
Safe @ WCU
WCU Code of Student Conduct 
University Police 

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