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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Campus Safety, Incident Reporting, Risk Management, School Safety

  Two high profile incidents this week revealed that despite updates to the Clery Act and Title IX requirements, campuses continue to struggle to proactively identify warning signs and red flags and gather information and reports from their people (students, staff, faculty, law enforcement, counselors, etc.). Penn State – Lawmakers are investigating whether Penn State violated the Clery Act when it did not report child sexual abuse allegations regarding a former football coach to the proper authorities.  Several coaches were aware of the allegations, but did not report to the police. University of Idaho – University of Idaho officials say at least one police officerRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Campus Safety, Emergency Management, Incident Reporting, Legal, Regulatory Compliance, Risk Management, School Safety

  Virginia Tech was fined the maximum fine allowed under the Clery Act of $55,000 for waiting almost two hours before warning students, faculty and staff of an active shooter on campus. Lessons Learned: Colleges and Universities must develop, implement and follow clearly defined policies and procedures for notifying students and staff in emergency situations.  School Administrators may want to create customizable, organizational and situational specific templates prior to an incident so the warning messages are already defined and the appropriate processes are understood by all appropriate personnel.   Organizations must also have customized emergency and crisis management plans and ensure all individuals (students, faculty, staff,Read More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Campus Safety, Emergency Management, Incident Reporting, Legal, Regulatory Compliance, Risk Management, School Safety

  The U.S. Department of Education released the Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting providing step-by-step procedures, examples, and references for higher education institutions to follow in meeting campus safety and security requirements. Lessons Learned:  College and University administrators are overwhelmed with responsibilities for HEOA, FERPA, HIPAA, Clery Act, OCR ‘Dear Colleague’ Letters, and much more and therefore guidance from the Federal Government can be helpful.  It is critical for School Administrators to utilize resources and develop comprehensive campus safety programs and create a culture of compliance and preparedness that is ongoing.  Traditional methodologies are clearly not working based on new handbooks, new regulationsRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Incident Reporting, School Safety, Workplace Violence

I recently caught a Dr. Phil segment focusing on bullying in schools…yes, I was watching Dr. Phil! Bullying in schools is a serious problem that has escalated to include verbal and cyber harassment, physical beatings, social humiliation and death threats.  In several cases, the bullying victims have even resorted to suicide to escape the tormenting of their peers.    On the show, Dr. Phil offered insight and advice on bullying targeted at tween girls.   Dr. Phil’s web site offers suggestions on how to launch an anti-bullying campaign with pledges for students, parents, teachers and faculty.  An excerpt from the Student Pledge is below: We theRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Regulatory Compliance, School Safety

On June 12, 2009, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo issued a letter informing every college and university in New York State, that underreporting crime statistics violates state law.  In a landmark case, AG Cuomo required Dominican College to reform their current system of reporting on-campus crimes, as well as pay $20,000 to New York State. The federal Jeanne Clery Act requires colleges and universities to disclose campus security policies, as well as three years worth of crime statistics to current and prospective students.  A complaint was filed against Dominican College following an on-campus sexual assault which led to an investigation revealing that DominicanRead More →