Lauren Hernandez

President Taylor Eighmy shared a message with the campus community on Aug. 29 regarding UTSA’s settlement with the Department of Education (DOE). The settlement was offered after an audit of the university’s campus crime reporting uncovered 55 inadequately reported crimes between 2015 and 2017.

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, or Clery Act, requires all colleges and universities who participate in federal financial aid programs to publish annual data concerning the number of reported crimes that occurred on or near its campuses. To ensure compliance with the law and promote safe college campuses, the U.S. Department of Education Office of the Inspector General (OIG) performs random reviews of the Clery programs and processes that take place at institutions of higher education nationwide.

In the fall of 2019, the OIG conducted an audit on UTSA which revealed that the university had inadequately reported at least 55 out of 173 eligible campus crime incidents between Jan. 2015 and Dec. 2017. According to the final report, the university failed to implement effective internal controls related to its reporting of Clery Act crime statistics during those three years. 

In his response to the audit, Eighmy described two factors that contributed to UTSA’s lack of effective Clery processes at the time: high staff turnover and a lack of internal expertise regarding Clery Act compliance. These issues have since been addressed, as explained in an email Eighmy sent to students, faculty and staff in 2020.

The outcome of the settlement, posted publicly by the DOE last month, requires UTSA to pay $670k in fines in addition to the corrective measures the university has taken. According to the notice, UTSA’s fine was the largest imposed in fiscal year 2022.

“Our commitment to providing a safe and welcoming campus environment where all Roadrunners can study, work, and live is resolute, and we take that responsibility very seriously,” Eighmy said in the message posted to UTSA Today last month. “Over the last five years, we have since taken substantial remedial actions and process improvements to ensure ongoing compliance with the Act.”

The Paisano asked UTSA to comment on the settlement with the DOE. However, the university shared they will not be issuing a media statement on the matter.

More information regarding the 2015 through 2017 Clery audit and the actions UTSA has taken to address the issues can be found at utsa.edu/compliance-and-risk-services/.