Campus crime stat availability increased with education act
Statistics detailing crimes on the UA campus will be available by July 1 as a result of the Higher Education Amendment Act passed last October.
The act, designed to offer a more comprehensive calculation of crime on campus, requires university officials to combine all reported cases into one log.
Assistant Dean of Students Veda Hunn said a representative from the Dean of Students Office, the Oasis Center for Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence, and the University of Arizona Police Department meet monthly to review the previous month's statistics.
"We (Dean of Students) have been meeting with police and reporting our case load and code of conduct violations and making sure they aren't duplicated," Hunn said.
University attorney Michael Proctor said UA officials have experienced difficulties maintaining student confidentiality while comparing cases.
"Let's say a student goes to UAPD, the Oasis Center, Residence Life and then the Dean of Students - we have to make sure they are not counted as four different people," Proctor said. "If we have to error on the side of student confidentiality, it's okay - student confidentiality is our priority."
Hunn said officials never discuss the actual cases and victims' names are never mentioned.
"We compare dates, times and location of events," she said.
Proctor said the legislation also made some amendments to portions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
UA officials also can now disclose the name of a student involved in a violent crime or sexual offense, he said. Names can only be released for concluded cases so it would not hurt investigations, Proctor said.
"Now we can release the name, violation and sanction imposed on the student," he said.
Hunn said another change within FERPA begins in the fall. Parents of students under the age of 18 can be notified if their student is charged with a drug or alcohol offense.
"Parents will have to submit an affidavit every semester... that demonstrates that the student is dependent," Hunn said.
Proctor said a parent has access to the student's records if they can establish that they are the supporting parent.
"The affidavit confirms that," he said.
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