Liberty University Fined $14M for Clery Act Violations

The U.S. Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid (FSA) office has imposed a $14 million fine, resulting from a settlement agreement with Liberty University for material and ongoing violations of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, known as the Clery Act.

Richard Cordray“Students, faculty, and staff deserve to know that they can be safe and secure in their school communities. We respond aggressively to complaints about campus safety and security,” said FSA Chief Operating Officer Richard Cordray. “Through the Clery Act schools are obligated to take action that creates safe and secure campus communities, investigate complaints, and responsibly disclose information about crimes and other safety concerns. We will continue to hold schools accountable if they fail to do so.”

The Clery Act requires institutions to provide important information about public safety issues to current students, parents, employees, prospective students and employees, and the public postsecondary schools participating in the federal student aid programs.

FSA issued a Final Program Review Determination letter upholding 11 findings in the program review report. The findings point to Clery Act violations such as failing to compile and publish accurate crime statistics, from 2016-2021.

Liberty agreed to spend $2 million over the next two years for on-campus safety improvements and compliance enhancements — progress on that work will be audited by an outside accounting firm.

The education department will also conduct post-review monitoring of Liberty through April 2026 to ensure the school executes on promised improvements. Further lapses in Clery Act compliance could jeopardize the terms of the university’s participation in the federal student aid programs or result in other administrative sanctions.