Report 2017-032 Recommendation 36 Responses

Report 2017-032: Clery Act Requirements and Crime Reporting: Compliance Continues to Challenge California's Colleges and Universities (Release Date: May 2018)

Recommendation #36 To: Bakersfield College

To ensure that its annual security report's crime statistics and the statistics it submits to the U.S. DOE align, Bakersfield should reconcile these statistics before publishing its reports or submitting the data to the U.S. DOE.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2020

Bakersfield College has created a Clery Committee which has the responsibility of overseeing the college's crime reporting processes and overall compliance with the Clery Act. To further ensure the accuracy and reconciliation of our published annual security report statistics with those submitted to US DOE, we have developed a written committee outline to guide our processes. This is intended to establish a solid crime reporting process, including timelines and task completion, to further our goal of accurately reporting the college's crime statistics to the college community and to the US DOE.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2019

Bakersfield College has updated its Department of Public Safety Policy and Procedure Manual to include the requirement of the Clery Act Committee to review all Clery Act Crimes and Reports for consistency prior to publication each year (See attached BC 2018 ASR and DOE Clery Crime statistics).

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending

We determined that there is still a discrepancy between Bakersfield's 2019 annual security report and the U.S. DOE's statistics available as of November 2019.

1-Year Agency Response

The college is still developing a process to ensure that our ASR and DOE statistics align. The college anticipates completing its process by December 2019.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Pending

We reviewed Bakersfield's 2018 statistics from its Annual Security Report and the U.S. DOE and found that they did not align. Specifically, Bakersfield reported different numbers in each source pertaining to public property and non-campus motor vehicle thefts.

6-Month Agency Response

The College has reconciled the Annual Security Report crime statistics and the statistics it submits to the U.S. DOE before publishing its reports or submitting the data to the U.S. DOE.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

The statistics that Bakersfield submitted to the U.S. DOE for 2018 are not yet available to review to determine whether they match the statistics in Bakersfield's annual security report.

60-Day Agency Response

The College has developed internal processes to reconcile the Annual Security Report crime statistics and the statistics it submits to the U.S. DOE before publishing its reports or submitting the data to the U.S. DOE. This procedure is outline within our newly developed internal document entitled BC Department of Public Safety: Internal Operating Manual. Additionally, a new committee has been formed to review and reconcile the data and information within the ASR. The members of this new committee are College's Clery Act Coordinator, the Deputy Title IX Coordinator, and the Student Conduct Officer.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

Although Bakersfield states that its internal processes are outlined within its newly developed manual, that manual does not include any references to reconciling the statistics. Accordingly, we are assessing the status of this recommendation as pending.

All Recommendations in 2017-032

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.