What is a CSA?

What is a CSA?

 

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (the Clery Act) ensures that the University of Arizona community, including students, employees, and visitors, receive timely and accurate information about specific crimes and emergencies that occur on or within the university property and that crime victims are offered support and resources. The Clery Act requires all institutions to collect crime reports from individuals and organizations considered to be Campus Security Authorities (CSAs). 

CSAs are specific individuals, groups of individuals, and organizations/offices designated the role of CSA as a result of their institution related function(s) based upon their position or due to official job duties, ad hoc responsibilities, volunteer agreements or similar. CSAs are required to facilitate the collection of accurate crime statistics by formally notifying the university of Clery crimes observed by them or reported to them by another individual and to provide VAWA crime victims with information on crime reporting and victim support resources (i.e., Victims' Rights & Options).

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The Clery Act designates a number of roles on campus as CSAs including: 

  • Officials of an institution who have significant responsibility for student and campus activities, including, but not limited to, student housing, student discipline, and campus judicial proceedings. An official is defined by the Clery Act as any person who has the authority and the duty to take action or respond to particular issues on behalf of the institution.
  • Members of a campus police department or a campus security department of an institution.
  • Any individual or individuals who have responsibility for campus security but who do not constitute a campus police department or a campus security department (e.g., an individual who is responsible for monitoring the entrance into institutional property).
  • Any individual or organization specified in an institution's statement of campus security policy as an individual or organization to which students and employees should report criminal offenses.

While faculty and instructional staff are not typically CSAs, when they have additional duties that give them responsibility for student or campus activities such as traveling with students or advising recognized student organizations, they are CSAs while functioning within the scope of those activities. 

CSA Training

To ensure you have a clear understanding of your role as a CSA, University Compliance provides CSA training available in EDGE Learning. We encourage all CSAs to complete this training on an annual basis. 

To access the training, log into EDGE Learning, go to “My Learning” section, and select “Campus Security Authority Training”. 

Campus Security Authority FAQ

Campus Security Authorities (CSAs) are specific individuals, groups of individuals, and organizations/offices designated the role of CSA as a result of their institution related function(s) based upon their position or due to official job duties, ad hoc responsibilities, volunteer agreements or similar. CSAs are required to facilitate the collection of accurate crime statistics by formally notifying the university of Clery Crimes observed by them or reported to them by another individual and to provide VAWA crime victims with information on crime reporting and victim support resources (i.e., Victims' Rights and Options).

While faculty and instructional staff are not typically CSAs, if you have additional duties that give you responsibility for student or campus activities such as traveling with students or advising a recognized student organization, you are a CSA when functioning within the scope of those activities. 

  • Call 9-1-1 for an emergency requiring police, fire, or medical assistance.
  • Encourage crime victims and witnesses to report crimes to UAPD or local law enforcement. Reporting a Clery crime to a CSA does not initiate an investigation. UAPD can provide support to help victims connect with local law enforcement.
  • Help connect the person with available options and resources. Provide anyone reporting to you with the Victims’ Rights & Options brochure available on this website.
  • Tell the person who disclosed the crime that you must report that information as a statistic. Personally identifiable information, including victim names, is not made available to the public.
  • Complete the CSA Clery Crime Reporting Form as soon as possible and within 24 hours of receiving the information.
  • Any student housing fire that is reported to any university official must be documented in the Fire Log. If you receive information about a fire, including fires that have already been extinguished, please notify Risk Management at RMS-Contact@arizona.edu.
  • Some individuals may have multiple university reporting obligations and may need to submit multiple types of reports based on their roles. For an explanation of the university’s various reporting obligations, visit youthprotection.arizona.edu.

You are not responsible for determining whether a crime took place. You are only responsible for gathering the facts as relayed to you by the reporting party/parties. Do not investigate the incident.

Professional and pastoral counselors are not Campus Security Authorities when functioning withing the scope of their roles. If you are a professional or pastoral counselor and you have been designated as a CSA, please email CleryAct@arizona.edu to be exempted.

Other roles that are not typically CSAs include faculty members who do not have any responsibility for student and campus activities beyond the classroom and clerical or cafeteria staff. 

All roles within the University of Arizona’s Career Architecture have been evaluated to determine if the job responsibilities listed match the Clery Act’s definition of a CSA. If your role has been identified, you are federally required to be a CSA for as long as you remain in that role and cannot decline to serve as a CSA. If your role at the university changes, your designation will be reevaluated.

CSAs are entrusted to promptly notify the University of Arizona of crimes reported to them but are not responsible for investigating a crime or determining if a crime has occurred. To ensure CSAs have a clear understanding of their role and responsibilities, CSAs are provided training by the university.

The university identifies CSAs based on position descriptions and employment functions. A CSA is most simply an employee with significant responsibility for student and campus activities. All employees who have been designated as CSAs should complete training.

To access annual training, log in to EDGE Learning , go to "My Learning" section and select "Campus Security Authority Training."

The CSA training available in EDGE Learning takes about 25 minutes to complete.

The University of Arizona asks CSAs to complete the training available in EDGE Learning annually.

You can verify if you have successfully completed the initial or annual renewal EDGE Learning training by logging in to your EDGE Learning Plan. You will find this information in the Learning and Certifications section. For more information, go to the EDGE Learning View Completed Learning page.

Supervisors can check upcoming and overdue trainings for direct reports in EDGE Learning. Learn how to access Manager Dashboards. Supervisors are also copied on EDGE Learning overdue notification emails sent to their direct reports.