Liberty University Agrees To Pay Record $14 Million Fine For Violations Of Crime Reporting Legislation

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – One of the largest Christian colleges in the United States, Liberty University has agreed to pay the federal government a record $14 million fine for failure to properly report on crime and safety on campus. Liberty University has over 15,000 students at its Virginia campus and 130,000 enrolled worldwide, and received $874 million in federal student aid, the Roys Report (TRR) reports.

The unprecedentedly large settlement was reached after an extensive investigation by the US Department of Education showed Liberty had not complied with provisions of the Clery Act which requires schools receiving federal student aid to produce and distribute Annual Security Reports containing their campus crime statistics.

Reporting on the outcome of its seven-year investigation into Liberty University, the Department of Education determined that, among other things, the school had failed to: “Implement an adequate system of internal controls to properly report, investigate, and adjudicate crime, including acts of sexual misconduct; issue Timely Warnings to advise the campus community about criminal activity that may have posed a significant or ongoing threat; prevent retaliation against whistleblowers and other persons trying to ensure compliance with the Clery Act.”

In a press release confirming the agreement, Liberty’s President Dondi E. Costin said the school had reached the settlement despite “unfair treatment” by the Department of Education. “Many of the Department’s methodologies, findings, and calculations in the report were drastically different from their historic treatment of other universities. Liberty disagrees with this unfair treatment,” Costin said.

Nevertheless, Costin continued, the university agrees there had been “numerous deficiencies” in the past. “We acknowledge and regret these past failures and have taken these necessary improvements seriously…We have since addressed these errors through corrective measures, educational programming, changed policies and procedures, enhanced governance, increased expert staffing, additional investment in facilities, equipment, and software, and our renewed focus on student safety with our Title IX office being placed in the heart of the campus,” Costin stated.

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