Liberty University to pay $14 million fine for Clergy Act violations

Photo byLiberty University

LYNCHBURG, VA – Liberty University must pay $14 million in fines after the U.S. Department of Education found the school in violation of stipulations outlined in the Clergy Act. The Christian university is accused of failing to properly disclose information about crime on its campus and failing to support victims of violence. 

Liberty University was founded by Jerry Falwell in 1971. The school began as a small college with only 154 students. To date, Liberty is home to more than 15,000 students seeking undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate degrees. The university offers flexible programs that include online courses. 

When speaking of the school’s violations, the U.S. Department of Justice identified several instances of misclassification or underreporting of crime. There were also occasions where the university determined cases to be unfounded without evidence of the initial reports being false. 

“This was especially common with respect to sexually based offenses, including rape and fondling cases,” the department’s Final Program Review Determination read. 

As a Christian institution, Liberty University has a student code of conduct that discourages individual visits with the opposite sex at off-campus residences. The code also prohibits “spending the night with a member of the opposite sex.”

The U.S. Department of Justice presented the notion of victims of sexual assault feeling “dissuaded by Liberty administration’s reputation for punishing sexual assault survivors rather than helping them. Such fears created a culture of silence where sexual assaults commonly went unreported.”

Liberty University responded to the department’s findings with a statement that acknowledged the school’s past issues, which include “incorrect statistical reports.” The university expressed its dedication to comply with the Clergy Act while also pointing out the U.S. Department of Education’s methods and calculations, which were, according to Liberty, “drastically different from their historic treatment of other universities.”

The Clergy Act is a consumer protection law that requires colleges and universities to accurately report campus crime data, support victims of violence, and publicly outline policies and procedures implemented to prevent such acts from happening again. 

Liberty University’s fine is the largest any college or university has been given. Michigan State University received the second-largest fine in 2019. The institution paid $4.5 million for its violations.