Eastern Michigan University has received the final report
from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) about its handling
of the death of student Laura Dickinson in December 2006.
"We are carefully reviewing the report and determining
what we need to do to fully satisfy any DOE concerns and
take a proactive stance in the future," said Don Loppnow,
executive vice president and provost for EMU.
"In addition to affirming its preliminary findings, the
Department of Education's final report provides an assessment
of policy/procedure revisions and action steps taken by
EMU to ensure compliance," said Ken McKanders, EMU's attorney.
The DOE final report does not include punitive action
for EMU. The DOE report states that it refers its findings
to the Department's Administrative Actions and Appeals
Division (AAAD) for consideration of possible administrative
action, such as fines.
The 26-page document restates each of the seven preliminary
findings, evaluates EMU's response to each and provides
a final determination for each response.
The seven findings included: failure to provide a "timely
warning" in response to a homicide investigation of an
on-campus student death; lack of administrative capability;
lack of a timely warning policy; failure to properly disclose
crime statistics; lack of adequate policy statements; failure
to report all required statistics occurring on public property
and in non-campus buildings and property; and failure to
properly maintain the crime log.
The DOE final report states that the actions taken by
EMU, including the revisions of policies/procedures, "should
significantly correct and improve compliance with the Clery
Act."
The final report also notes several concerns that include
EMU's process of obtaining crime data from local police
agencies; the specific listing of all Clery Act crimes
in EMU's policies/procedures; EMU's updating of the DOE's
Crime Statistics Web Site; and EMU's response to the August
2005 loss/theft of master keys.
For a complete copy of the DOE report, go to
http://www.emich.edu/DOE_report/EMU_DOE_Rept_final.pdf
