If you work in HR or Student Services for a college or university, you’re likely well aware of the Campus SaVE Act and the fact that it has added a long list of items to your to do list. When the law was first passed a year ago, its March 2014 effective date seemed so far away. Time sure flies! Not only is the Act going into effect, the U.S. Department of Education recently issued draft regulations on the law. The regulations wont be final for some time, but they will provide additional guidance to institutions on complying with the Act.
The Campus SaVE Act amends existing law to promote campus safety and security. Under the Clery Act, higher education institutions that receive Title IV federal funds must provide timely notice to the campus community of crimes and issue an annual security report disclosing crime statistics. The Campus SaVE Act extends these requirements to crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.
In addition, the Campus SaVE Act requires institutions to have education and awareness programs that include training of all faculty, staff, and students on sexual misconduct, including sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. As we’ve talked with higher education institution contacts about the Campus SaVE Act, we’ve heard that the laws training requirements pose some practical challenges. Among other things, institutions must provide and track training for large numbers of employees and students. In addition, this training must include nontraditional students with staggered start dates and remote students or employees who aren’t often on campus. Another challenge involves meeting the SaVE Acts requirements that employees and students be trained on local legal definitions of sexual, domestic and dating violence, and stalking offenses. Under the SaVE Act, institutions with multiple locations or remote employees and students must ensure that these individuals are appropriately trained on the legal crime definitions applicable in their locations.
Recognizing these challenges, GPM has launched a new training tool, trainED, that provides legally compliant, engaging training modules that can be viewed online and customized to cover all local crime definitions. We hope you’ll forgive our shameless plug, but were pretty excited and think the trainED training modules are a great solution for institutions to consider as they determine how to comply with the new SaVE Act training requirements. If you’re interested in more information or otherwise have questions about your obligations under the Campus SaVE Act, wed be happy to talk with you and to help you return to more restful nights.