Friday Focus: Campus safety and the Clery Act

— by Ali Knabe, interim vice chancellor for student affairs

As we transition to more in-person activities, campus safety is at the forefront of our minds. One of the ways we do this is by following a federal law known as the Clery Act. Under the Clery Act, institutions of higher education must publish and distribute annual crime statistics. The act also governs how institutions respond to reported crimes. The goal of this law is to create transparency and increase awareness around campuswide safety efforts. 

As part of our commitment to campus safety, if a crime poses an ongoing risk to our community, we may issue an alert known as a timely warning. This alert is sent via email, and, in situations of elevated concern, by a text or phone call, notifying you what has occurred, where, and how to keep yourself safe. We never disclose personally identifiable information of victims and only seek community awareness for safety in these messages. In situations of extreme physical danger, such as severe weather conditions, active campus threats and fires, we also have the option to issue an emergency notification. This notification is distributed over university phones, computers, TV monitors and digital screens, via calls, texts and emails to ensure everyone is aware of the situation and how to stay safe. We encourage you to opt in to text messaging for campus emergencies. You can do so by updating your contact information in UAOnline.

One provision of the Clery Act also requires that we train campus staff, students, faculty and volunteers who have an elevated responsibility to students and their safety to report crimes. Those identified under the Clery Act who have an obligation to report to the Office of Rights, Compliance and Accountability or the UAF Police Department are known as campus security authorities. Examples of CSAs include but are not limited to Residence Life professional and student staff, ORCA staff, athletics coaches, club advisors, and faculty who take students or groups on university-sponsored travel (two or more overnights). These people work directly with ORCA and UPD to report crimes, ensure the university issues a timely response, and help identify key departments that are able to provide resources to those impacted. If you believe you should be a CSA and have not been contacted by ORCA, please reach out to them at 474-7300 or uaf-clery@alaska.edu. 

UAF’s annual security and fire report will be released in the next few weeks and will be posted on the Office of Rights, Compliance and Accountability's website. You can also contact ORCA for any questions you may have about the Clery Act. 

Safety on all our campuses is an institutionwide commitment. Thank you for helping to keep Nanook Nation safe.

Friday Focus is a column written by a different member of UAF’s leadership team every week.