UNC fined $1.5 million in settlement with DOE over federal campus safety law violations
UNC-Chapel Hill will pay a $1.5 million fine in a settlement with the U.S. Department of Education after violating federal campus safety law for years.
The agreement also requires UNC to participate in a monitoring program over the next three years to “further improve policies and practices related to the Clery Act,” a federal law that guides how colleges and universities prevent, respond to and publicly report campus crimes.
The settlement comes nearly a year after the Education Department finished its review of UNC’s practices, police reports, disciplinary records and crime statistics reports between 2009 and 2017. The investigation was initiated after two students complained about how UNC handled reports of sexual assault.
The review, which the university released in November 2019, found that UNC misrepresented and under-reported campus crime statistics, including sexual assault, failed to properly alert the campus community to serious crimes and did not adequately operate its system of ensuring campus safety, the News & Observer previously reported. It also pointed out UNC’s lack of administrative capability and failure to follow institutional policy in a case of an alleged sex offense.
The results of the review became public weeks after an alarming campus sexual assault survey that revealed nearly half of young women in their fourth year or higher at UNC reported experiencing nonconsensual sexual touching or penetration during college.
“As I said in November, while the University has made many safety improvements and staffing changes since the review began in 2013, the shortcomings noted in it are nonetheless disappointing and do not meet our standards for excellence,” Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said in a statement.
Guskiewicz said the review pointed out “several serious deficiencies.” This settlement agreement “acknowledges several recent improvements and provides a clear path forward for continuing a comprehensive approach to campus safety,” he said.
Those efforts to improve the system of how UNC handles and reports campus crimes began at the start of the federal investigation. UNC currently meets the minimum standards set by the Clery Act, and the terms of this settlement aim to ensure UNC remains in compliance.
Recently, UNC hired David Perry as police chief and George Battle for a newly created role of Vice Chancellor for Integrity and Risk Management. The university also asked consulting firm Margolis Healy to review its campus processes and make recommendations for how UNC can better follow federal crime reporting and fire safety rules.
Guskiewicz also noted the establishment of the Campus Safety Commission, which released an annual report with recommendations for improvement.
Despite the systematic changes, the Department of Education’s report said there is “no way to truly ‘correct’ violations of this type once they occur.”
“The Department remains deeply concerned about the damage done to crime victims, especially sexual assault survivors, by the structural flaws in the Honor Court system and the limitations of the Instrument, particularly with regard to the system’s ability to properly address cases involving student athletes,” the report says.
In his statement, Guskiewicz acknowledged the issues and said the university is committed to preventing, responding to and accurately reporting crimes.
“Protecting the safety of our students, faculty, staff and visitors remains a critical priority for our University,” Guskiewicz said. “Our campus community deserves nothing less.”
