Clery Campus Safety Act Compliance

We recognize that campus safety plays a significant role in students' and parents' decisions about selecting a higher education institution. The law requires colleges and universities receiving federal funding to prepare, publish, and distribute campus safety and security policies and crime statistics by October 1 of each year for the preceding calendar year. Southwest Minnesota State University publishes the Annual Fire Safety and Security Report, which is available upon request and online. The Department of Education is responsible for Clery Act compliance and enforcement.

In 1990, Congress enacted the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990 (Title II of Public Law 101-542), which amended the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA). This act required all postsecondary institutions participating in HEA’s Title IV student financial assistance programs to disclose campus crime statistics and security information. The act was amended in 1992,1998, 2000, 2013, and 2024. The 2024 amendment renamed the law the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act in memory of a student who was slain in her dorm room in 1986 at Lehigh University. It is generally referred to as the Clery Act.

On August 14, 2008, the Higher Education Opportunity Act or HEOA (Public Law 110-315) reauthorized and expanded the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. HEOA amended the Clery Act and created additional safety and security-related requirements for institutions. Specifically, it added:

1. New categories to the list of hate crimes that all institutions must disclose (Clery Amendment)
2. A new disclosure regarding the relationship of campus security personnel with state and local law enforcement agencies (Clery Amendment)
3. Implementation and disclosure of emergency notification and evacuation procedures for all institutions (Clery amendment)
4. Implementation and disclosure of missing student notification procedures for institutions with on-campus student housing facilities (HEOA)
5. Fire safety reporting requirements for institutions with on-campus student housing facilities (HEOA)
6. Text clarifying the definition of an on-campus student housing facility (Clery and HEOA)
7. A Program Participation Agreement (PPA) requirement concerning disclosure of the results of disciplinary proceedings to the alleged victim of any crime of violence or a non-forcible sex offense (HEOA).

On March 7, 2013, the SaVE Act amended the Clery Act to include three additional crimes that are required to be reported. The additional crimes are domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.

On December 23, 2024, the Stop Campus Hazing Act (SCHA) amended the Clery Act to also require the reporting of hazing incidents.