Press Release
☷U S Department of Education Imposes $14 Million Fine Against Liberty University for Clery Act Violations
U.S. Department of Education ( By Press Release office)
Mar 07,2024
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The U . S . Department of Education announced today that they ' ve fined Liberty University $14 million for violating the Clery Act , which requires schools to provide safety information to students and staff . Liberty has agreed to spend $2 million on safety improvements and will be monitored by the Department until 2026 to ensure compliance . FSA Chief Operating Officer Richard Cordray emphasized the importance of campus safety and holding schools accountable . Liberty was found to have serious violations of the Clery Act and did not have an adequate compliance program in place from 2016 - 2023 . Lastly , Liberty repeatedly failed to send out emergency notifications when they were supposed to , to warn the campus community about dangerous situations . Finding 7: Liberty didn ' t follow the rules about issuing timely warnings for crimes that threaten students and staff . These warnings are required by the Clery Act and Department regulations . Finding 9: Liberty didn ' t correctly define the boundaries of its Clery Geography , which affected the accuracy of their reported crime statistics . Finding 11: Liberty didn ' t follow the rules for publishing and distributing their Annual Security Report . They didn ' t distribute the updated version of the report for four years , and failed to provide proper notice to prospective students and employees . Finding 8: Liberty didn ' t keep an accurate and complete daily crime log , which is required for schools with a police or security department . This log should include all crimes that happen on campus , in non - campus buildings , on public property near the campus , or within the patrol zone of the campus police or security department . Finding 10: Liberty didn ' t retain the necessary records to prove their compliance with the Clery Act , which made it difficult for the Department to oversee and monitor their actions . The settlement requires Liberty to fix these issues and ensure that they comply with the Clery Act in the future . The $14 million fine and other actions taken in this settlement demonstrate the severity and long - standing nature of Liberty ' s violations , which put campus safety at risk for students , faculty , and staff . The settlement acknowledges that Liberty University has acknowledged most of the violations found in the program review report and is committed to fixing them . FSA will keep a close eye on Liberty ' s efforts to improve campus safety , including their increased spending on safety measures . Anyone can report suspected Clery Act violations , such as incorrect crime reporting or failure to issue safety warnings , by contacting CleryComplaints@ed . gov . For Title IX complaints related to sex discrimination or harassment , visit the Department ' s Office for Civil Rights website .
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