photo of the MSUB university campus at night
Clery Act Overview

In 1998, Congress passed amendments to the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990, which had amended the earlier Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), renaming the law to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, also known as the Clery Act.

The purpose of the Clery Act is to provide current and prospective students and employees with accurate and important information about crimes and campus safety so they can make informed decisions. The U.S. Department of Education electronically publishes MSU Billings’ data, along with comparable information from other colleges and universities.

Clery Act Requirements

The requirements fall into three categories based on the configuration of an institution. Montana State University Billings is mandated to:

    1. Collect, classify, and count crime reports and statistics related to crime.
    2. Issue timely warnings and campus alerts for Clery crimes that represent an ongoing threat to the safety of students or employees, or emergency notifications upon confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees.
    3. Provide educational programs and campaigns. To promote the awareness of dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking, we must: provide primary prevention and awareness programs to all incoming students and new employees; and provide ongoing prevention and awareness campaigns for students and employees.
    4. Have procedures for institutional disciplinary action in cases of dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. 
    5. Publish an annual security report containing safety and security-related policy statements and crime statistics and distribute it to all current students and employees. We must also inform prospective students and employees about the availability of the report.
    6. Submit crime statistics to the US Department of Education each fall via a web-based data collection.
    7. Maintain a daily crime log of alleged criminal incidents which is open to public inspection.
    8. Disclose missing student notification procedures that pertain to students residing in on-campus student housing facilities.
    9. Disclose fire safety information related to on-campus student housing facilities. This includes a fire log that is open to public inspection and publishing an annual safety report containing policy statements, as well as fire statistics associated each on-campus housing facility.