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College-Sponsored Student Travel
Helping keep students safe, both on and off campus.
Each year Beloit College sponsors numerous opportunities to support and enhance student learning through domestic and international travel. Faculty and staff who are responsible for coordinating travel or traveling with students need to be aware of the college’s obligations for student safety:
- Be aware of safety risks where you are studying or staying and tell students if you become aware of a safety issue.
- Remove yourself and students from harm, if needed.
- Report it to Beloit College Security if you do.
Travel Reporting Requirements
If you are traveling overnight with students, you are likely required to report the locations of your stay under The Clery Act. To determine if your travel is Clery reportable, please refer to the Non-Campus Travel Notification Matrix below. Trip information should be submitted within two weeks of the conclusion of travel via the Clery Act Student Travel Form located on the Beloit College website.
The Clery Act is a federal law, monitored by the Department of Education, that requires colleges and universities to be transparent about campus safety. The Act requires standard safety policies and protocols and specifies the geographic parameters for crime reporting. Under the Clery Act, the college is required to annually collect and publish statistics on crimes occurring on campus and on non-campus property. Non-campus property is defined in the Act as property outside the contiguous border of the campus “owned or controlled” by the college. Faculty and staff who are administratively responsible for domestic and international student trips are expected to report student trip information to Beloit College Security regardless if any Clery Act reportable crimes occurred.
Non-Campus Travel Notification Matrix
| Trip Accommodation and/or Academic Space Usage Agreement | Student Trip Accommodation | Student Trip Timeframe | Clery Act Reportable Student Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| The college has a written agreement with the end provider for trip accommodations and/or academic space for use of the accommodations or space | The same accommodations are used in two consecutive years or more frequently | 1 night or more | Yes |
| The college has a written agreement with the end provider for trip accommodations and/or academic space for use of the accommodations or space | You don’t anticipate using the same accommodation every year | 2 or more nights | Yes |
| The college has a written agreement with a third party to arrange trip accommodations and/or use of academic space | The same accommodations are used in 2 consecutive years or more frequently | 1 night or more | Yes |
| College sponsored trip | None | Day Trip | No |
| Student(s) independently organized or private trips – no college agreements | - | 1 night or more | No |
Written Agreements
For the purpose of identifying non-campus reportable property, the determining factor is an agreement, defined as a rental or lease document or other written form of agreement covering the college’s use of academic and/or residential space. The agreement need not be a formal one; something in writing agreeing to the utilization of space by Beloit College applies.
- If there is an agreement between the college and the host, the Clery requirements apply only for those areas for which the college has the agreement as well as public areas leading to those spaces (such as hallways, entryways, etc.). This includes hotel rooms, conference and/or academic spaces. You will need to provide details such as street address, floor, unit and/or room numbers, etc., when you report to Security about your travel locations.
- Clery requirements only apply to those dates and times covered by the agreement. If the agreement for the property is for 8 weeks during the summer, you only need to report that time period.
- Clery requirements may also apply when the college obtains rooms in a specific hotel or other property if students return to that location regularly (annually, each semester, etc.).
Specific Situations
Not all student trips need be reported. For trips to be reportable, they must meet certain requirements. The college must have control over the trip or program accommodation and any related academic space used in conjunction with the trip. Control, as defined by the Clery Act, means that there is a written agreement (no matter how informal) directly between the college and the end provider for use of the space.
In addition, the controlled space must be used in direct support of, or in relation to, the institution’s educational purposes and frequented by students. Some examples of a written agreement include renting hotel rooms, leasing apartments, leasing space in a student housing facility or academic space on another campus and even an e-mail agreement for use of space free of charge. Hostels are not normally reportable unless the written agreement gives the college control over the space within the accommodation.
Timely Notifications
Study abroad and field study coordinators should be aware that in addition to obtaining crime statistics, the college is responsible for providing timely notification of incidents made known to the college which threaten the safety of students studying at an abroad or field location. This notification need not be issued to the entire community, but can be issued only to students studying in that same program.
To assist in complying with the Clery Act requirements, study abroad and field study coordinators should:
- notify Campus Security of the exact location and addresses for abroad and field study programs,
- be prepared to provide sufficient details about the college’s control over those spaces that will determine if the space is covered by Clery Act requirements,
- assure students report any crimes occurring on non-campus property (residential and academic areas controlled by the college),
- obtain sufficient information on what happened, where, and when,
- report the crime to Security who will review it for potential inclusion in Clery crime statistics (the most significant factor is where the crime occurred), and
- assure that students studying at an abroad or field study location are made aware of crimes that are reported to you or other location coordinators.
Reporting Crimes Occurring on Clery Act Reportable Student Trips
Clery Act reportable travel with students must be reported within two weeks of the conclusion of travel via the Clery Act Student Travel Form.
If you are aware of a crime that occurs during a student trip on non-campus property (accommodations and/or academic space, and common areas of location(s) used to access said space), it must be reported to the Security Office. Note that some crimes may be relevant based on Title IX requirements but may not initiate Clery requirements. Contact Security for information on Title IX for study abroad, field study and other off-campus programs.
Questions?
If you have any questions relating to reporting on student travel, please contact Bruce Heine (heineb@beloit.edu or 608-363-2355). In an emergency, dial 911 or, if outside the United States, contact that countries emergency services.