Clery Act Student Travel Guidelines
Anyone taking students on trips to off-campus locations are required to complete a Clery Act Student Travel Form, if the travel meets the following Department of Education guidelines.
Written Agreement
Control, as defined by the Clery Act, means that there is a written agreement directly between the university and the end provider for use of the space. The determining factor is a written agreement, defined as a rental or lease document or other written form of agreement covering the university's use of academic (classroom) and/or residential space. The agreement need not be a formal one; anything in writing agreeing to the utilization of space by UTC suffices (including a letter, email or hotel receipt). It does not matter whether a fee is charged or if the agreement allows use of the space free of charge.
If there is an agreement, Clery reporting requirements apply for those areas specified in the agreement as well as the common areas leading to those spaces (such as lobby, elevator, hallways, entryways, stairwells, etc.). This makes providing as much detail on the Travel Form a necessity. Clery reporting requirements only apply for those dates and times covered by the agreement. For example, if a property manager agrees to provide a block of rooms to our students for 8 weeks during the summer, information only needs to be reported during that time, not for the entire year.
Field trips
For field trips to be reportable, they must require an overnight stay and the university must have control over the trip/program accommodations and any related academic space used in conjunction with the trip (Travel Form required). You are not required to report field trips that are not overnight and are at locations UTC does not own or control (No Travel Form required).
Overnight trips
Do not need to be reported UNLESS the trip is repeated every year and students stay in the same hotel every year. If so, you must report the trip no matter how many nights you stay. The repeated use of a location for which UTC has a written agreement triggers Clery reporting requirements. (Travel Form required)
Short-stay "away" trips
If UTC sponsors short-stay "away" trips of more than one night for its students, all locations used by students during the trip, controlled by the institution during the trip (hotels and rented classroom space) and used to support educational purposes should be reported on the Travel Form. This includes study abroad programs.
- Normally private home stays or host families do not qualify as non-campus locations and do not invoke Clery reporting Clery reporting requirements would apply only if UTC has some kind of written agreement directly with the provider of the home stay or host family which gives UTC some significant control over space in the family home (such as an agreement to provide certain services for our student). (Travel Form required)
- If students are involved in a study abroad program which includes overnight side trips to various locations (covered by an agreement with UTC) and the same hotels/hostels are used on a regular basis those hotels/ hostels are considered a non-campus location regardless of the amount of time each group of students spends Clery reporting requirements apply. (Travel Form required)
- Overnight side trips organized by the attending students or by host families which are not covered by an agreement with UTC and are not officially organized by UTC do not have Clery reporting (No Travel Form required)
Staying at other universities
If UTC has an agreement with another university to allow our students to enroll at their institution, but not to provide housing or rent classroom space, UTC does not have Clery reporting requirements. (No Travel Form required)
- If UTC directly or indirectly rents (using a third party provider), leases or has some type of written agreement for use of a building or property or a portion of a building or property (room or floor) at the other university, the written agreement gives UTC control of that space for the time period specified and there are Clery reporting requirements. (Travel Form required)
- If UTC does not have an agreement for the space used, a Travel Form is not required.