Mandated Reporters and Exemptions

The Clery Act requires institutions of higher learning to identify persons on their campuses who are mandated to report crime. These employees are known as Campus Security Authorities (CSAs). Specifically, the Act requires that the school designate persons who have significant responsibility for student and campus activities but do not have significant counseling responsibilities to report crimes that come to their attention:

• Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students
• Chief of Campus Police and all members of the Police Department
• Associate Dean of Students
• Director and Assistant Director of Student Services
• Director and Assistant Director of Athletics and Staff
• Directors and Deans
• Student Judicial Affairs
• Advisors to Students/Student Organizations
• Title IX Coordinator(s) and Investigators

The list above does not imply that others should not or cannot report crime on our campus or that they do not have an ethical or moral responsibility to do so.

Persons Exempt from Mandated Reporting

Pastoral and professional counselors working in Counseling Services; Health Services; or Campus Ministry.

As a result of the negotiated rulemaking process which followed the signing into law, the 1998 amendments to 20 U.S.C. Section 1092 (f), clarification was given to those considered to be Campus Security Authorities (CSAs). Campus “Pastoral Counselors” and Campus “Professional Counselors”, when acting as such, are not considered to be a campus security authority and are not required to report crimes for inclusion into the annual disclosure of crime statistics. As a matter of policy, they are encouraged; if and when they deem it appropriate, to inform persons being counseled of the procedures to report crimes on a voluntary basis for inclusion into the annual crime statistics.

The rulemaking committee defines counselors as:

Pastoral Counselor

An employee of an institution, who is associated with a religious order or denomination, recognized by that religious order or denomination as someone who provides confidential counseling and who is functioning within the scope of that recognition as a pastoral counselor.

Professional Counselor

An employee of an institution whose official responsibilities include providing psychological counseling to members of the institution’s community and who is functioning within the scope of his or her license or certification.

The Community College of Rhode Island encourages all counselors to advise clients that confidential reporting of crimes is desired for inclusion in the annual disclosure of crimes statistics.