Date of Award

Spring 2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Foundations & Leadership

Program/Concentration

Higher Education

Committee Director

Dennis Gregory

Committee Member

Christopher R. Glass

Committee Member

Tisha Paredes

Committee Member

James D. Wright

Abstract

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (the "Clery Act") is a consumer right-to-know law originally passed by Congress in 1900. The law requires colleges and universities receiving federal student aid to publish annually their security-related policies and crime statistics. The law provides for a civil fine up to $35,000 for each act of noncompliance, which can include failure to disclose a single crime statistic.

Student conduct administrators play an important role in classifying crimes, yet the literature is lacking on this population's understanding of the Clery Act. Therefore the purpose of this study was to determine the current level of knowledge regarding the statistical reporting obligations of the Clery Act among professional members of the Association for Student Conduct Administration (ASCA). The study also explored whether knowledge levels varied depending upon: the personal factors of the respondents; the number of source(s) from which respondents acquired knowledge regarding classifying and scoring offenses for Clery Act purposes; the respondent's role and responsibilities at the institution; institutional factors of the respondent's current place of employment; and whether the respondent consulted outside sources when determining how, if at all, scenarios should be classified and scored for statistical reporting purposes.

A researcher-designed questionnaire was devised and administered to all professional members of ASCA. Results indicated that 99.3% of ASCA members could not correctly classify and score eight scenarios presented as part of the survey. Significant differences were found for 11 of the 20 variables of interest in the study. Implications for ASCA, student conduct administrators, and future research are discussed.

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DOI

10.25777/drg8-1r17

ISBN

9781303993756

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