A CSA is any university employee with responsibility for student and campus activities, or work to support students. CSAs include, but are not limited to, App State Police, Dean of Students employees, Residential Life staff and advisors, faculty advisors, Student Health Service, the Office of Human Resources, Office of General Counsel, Athletics staff and team/club coaches. Additional examples can be found in the Department of Education’s handbook. Presidents and senior officials can also be CSAs.
Campus Security Authority responsibilities
When someone tells you about a crime or an incident that might be a crime, you must report it to the Appalachian Police Department and to your institution’s designated office or Clery compliance professional via CSA report.
- Share the information as related by the person
- Tell the person who disclosed the crime to you that you must share the information
- Help connect the person to available options and resources within the institution
- When in doubt, report
| Department | Phone number |
|---|---|
| Appalachian Police Department | 828-262-8000 |
| Dean of Students | 828-262-2060 |
| Director of University Housing | 828-262-2160 |
| Director of Student Conduct | 828-262-2704 |
| Director of Investigations and Title IX Compliance/Title IX Coordinator | 828-262-2144 |
| Investigations and Clery Compliance | 828-262-2144 |
CSA registration / training / incident reporting
Sex Offense Response Policy. You must report all sex offenses to the Appalachian Police Department and Title IX Office as soon as possible.
Confidentiality
Exemption for pastoral and professional counselors
There are two types of individuals who, although they may have significant responsibility for student and campus activities, are not campus security authorities under the Clery Act:
- Pastoral counselor: A person who is associated with a religious order or denomination, is recognized by that religious order or denomination as someone who provides confidential counseling, and is functioning within the scope of that recognition as a pastoral counselor.
- Professional counselor:A person whose official responsibilities include providing mental health counseling to members of the institution’s community and who is functioning within the scope of the counselor’s license or certification. This definition applies even to professional counselors who are not employees of the institution but are under contract to provide counseling at the institution
However, even the legally recognized privileges acknowledge some exemptions, and there may be situations in which counselors are in fact under a legal obligation to report a crime.
In most cases it is possible for a CSA to fulfill his or her responsibilities while still maintaining victim confidentiality. CSA reports are used by the institution to compile statistics for Clery Act reporting and to help determine if there is a serious or continuing threat to the safety of the campus community that would require an alert.
However, those responsibilities can usually be met without disclosing personally identifying information. A CSA report does not need to automatically result in the initiation of a police or disciplinary investigation if the victim does not want to pursue this action.