A report published earlier this month concluded that Elizabeth City State University “was substantially out of compliance” with federal regulations for campus security in May 2013, when city law enforcement discovered a total of 127 reports of crime uninvestigated by campus police.
The Clery Act, required by the federal government, provides standard policies for colleges and universities to report crime statistics and develop emergency procedures. Failure to comply with the Clery Act affects an institution’s ability to receive federal student aid funds.
ECSU hired the campus safety consulting firm Margolis Healy and Associates, whose clients include the UNC system, to conduct an internal assessment of its Clery Act compliance in May.
The final report included 62 recommendations, including updates to ECSU’s crime reporting procedures and mandatory Clery Act compliance trainings. According to a memorandum from Alyn Goodson, ECSU’s interim Clery coordinator, the university took pre-recommendation action on all but five recommendations in anticipation of the report’s findings.
ECSU outlines future actions on the remaining five recommendations in the memorandum.
“The relevance of the report is to implement those recommendations at ECSU,” Goodson said in an email. “This will be accomplished through an existing retainer agreement (with Margolis Healy).”
The retainer agreement will last until July, Goodson said.
He and Steven Healy, managing partner at Margolis Healy, conducted a campuswide training for all university employees in August, Goodson said. The firm Margolis Healy will conduct further in-depth trainings for university officials as a part of its retainer agreement.
Former ECSU police chief Sam Beamon and former Chancellor Willie Gilchrist announced their resignations in May as the State Bureau of Investigation announced its inquiry into potential witness tampering and obstruction of justice on campus. Beamon stepped down immediately, and Gilchrist served until June 30.
