Campus Safety
Complying With The Jeanne Clery Act
The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (20 USC § 1092(f)) is the landmark federal law, originally known as the Campus Security Act, that requires colleges and universities across the United States to disclose information about crime on and around their campuses.
Because the law is tied to participation in federal student financial aid programs it applies to most institutions of higher education both public and private. It is enforced by the U.S. Department of Education.
The “Clery Act” is named in memory of 19 year old university freshman Jeanne Ann Clery who was raped and murdered while asleep in her Pennsylvania residence hall room on April 5, 1986.
Jeanne’s parents, Connie and Howard, discovered that students hadn’t been told about 38 violent crimes on their daughter’s campus in the three years before her murder. They joined with other campus crime victims and persuaded Congress to enact this law, which was originally known as the “Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990.”
The law was amended in 1992 to add a requirement that schools afford the victims of campus sexual assault certain basic rights, and was amended again in 1998 to expand the reporting requirements. The 1998 amendments also formally named the law in memory of Jeanne Clery.
Subsequent amendments in 2000 and 2008 added provisions dealing with registered sex offender notification and campus emergency response, respectively. The 2008 amendments also added a provision to protect crime victims, “whistleblowers”, and others from retaliation.
The Campus Crime Report for Montessori Education Center of the Rockies is as follows:
The location for MECR since April 2021 is 3975 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Denver, CO 80205. MECR requests a Police Report every year and the Police Report shows no crimes at MECR in 2023. This refers to crimes that were reported and verified by police that fall into the Clery Act categories. We have had some incidents of vandalism when people from the nearby community came onto the campus and knocked over our flower pots, but these are rare. We have also witnessed a few altercations between people not related to Clayton or MECR. These incidents did not show up on the Police Report for our building because it did not fall into the specific Clery Act categories and did not meet the threshold for Police reporting, but we are mentioning it here because we like to have due diligence in this reporting.
Clayton is a 20 acre park-like campus and the Clayton Administration employs a security company to monitor the entire campus, including MECR during the hours of 10pm and 4am. Our building has an alarm system and is well supported by the Clayton staff. There are also some security cameras throughout the campus. It is a campus where children are playing on the grounds and maintenance workers drive around on golf carts, overseeing the property. It is a campus of non-profit organizations dedicated to early childhood development. We feel fortunate to be working on this lovely, intentional campus.
The Clery Act is now working with the Violence Against Women Act to create a more complete analysis of safety on Campuses. This year, our report includes the crimes of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence and Stalking. MECR will always do its utmost to keep our students safe. Please call us with any questions: 303-494-3002
For a chart of Campus Crimes in 2021, 2022 and 2023 CLICK HERE.
For the letter sent out to current students, current staff and board members on September 16, 2024, CLICK HERE.
Any MECR student who wishes to report a crime can do so by notifying the Denver Police Department by calling 911 if it is an emergency or 720-913-2000 in a non-emergency situation.
MECR is a very small organization and does not have the resources of a large college campus. We are, however, dedicated to the safety and health of our students and our staff will always help in finding the appropriate resources for any student in need.
MECR has a Drug Abuse Policy in place, however, MECR does not provide a drug abuse education program. Students or employees are referred to local treatment centers. Students may contact MECR staff for guidance in finding the right resources.
There is no sexual assault prevention program available at MECR. Sex offenses should be reported to the Denver Police Department (see above). Other resources are available at the Denver District Attorney website. Students may contact MECR staff for guidance in finding the right resources.
The following web sites are also possible resources:
Department of Justice Violence Against Women Office: www.usdpj.gov/vawo
Department of Education World Wide Web site on campus safety:
www.ed.gov/offices/ope/ppi/security.html
Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Prevention World Wide Web Site: www.edc.org/hec
Enrollment in or employment by the Montessori Education Center of the Rockies prohibits the unlawful possession, use, or distribution of drugs by students and/or employees on any property being used as classroom space, or as part of MECR’s scheduled activities. Violation of this provision will result in the student or employee being placed on probation and may eventually lead to dismissal.
MECR provides no drug counseling, treatment or rehabilitation program to its students and/or employees. Listings of local drug abuse treatment centers can be found online. In addition, students or employees can call The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and Referral Hotline (1-800-662-HELP). MECR staff are available to aid in the research of such centers if this service is found to be necessary for any student or employee.
Because of the nature of MECR’s work with future teachers of young children the MECR staff is especially alert to students and/or employees who appear to be attending class while their faculties are impaired by possible use of drugs. Such students could be asked to provide proof that they are drug free before being recommended for student teaching positions.
During this period students would be considered to be on probation. They would be expected to enroll in a drug treatment program and/or counseling. Failure to comply could result in eventual dismissal from the MECR program.
When a student who has received a Title IV Grant or Loan withdraws from the Montessori Education Center of the Rockies, MECR will determine the amount of assistance earned as of the student’s withdrawal date. The withdrawal date is the date the student provided official notification to MECR, in writing or orally, of his or her intent to withdraw.
MECR does not treat an approved leave of absence as a withdrawal. Please see the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for the definitions of an approved leave of absence.
The amount of assistance earned is calculated by determining the percentage of assistance that has been earned by the student and applying this percentage to the total amount of assistance that was disbursed.
The percentage of assistance that has been earned by the student is equal to the percentage of the payment period that the student completed as of the student’s withdrawal date, if the date occurs on or before 60% of the clock hours scheduled to be completed (270 clock hours or end of first week of student teaching for Early Childhood; 279 clock hours or the end of the summer session for Infant and Toddler; and 504 clock hours or 6 weeks after student teaching begins for Elementary I). The unearned amount of assistance to be returned is calculated by subtracting the amount earned from the amount that was disbursed as of the date of withdrawal. MECR will use 450 clock hours as the payment period for calculating return of Title IV funds for the Early Childhood Course, 465 for the Infant and Toddler Course, and 840 for Elementary I.
MECR will return the lesser of the total amount of unearned assistance or an amount equal to the total institutional charges incurred by the student for the payment period multiplied by the percentage of assistance that has not been earned by the student.
The amount of the assistance that the student is responsible for returning is calculated by subtracting the amount of unearned aid that MECR is required to return from the total amount of unearned aid to be returned. If the Return to Title IV calculation results in an amount to be returned that exceeds the school’s portion, the student must repay some funds. The student must return or repay the amount determined in accordance with the terms of their loan and/or grant. (However, a student is required to return only 50% of a Pell Grant)
Post-Withdrawal Disbursements: If the student’s withdrawal date occurs after Title IV funds have been earned by the student, a student will be disbursed the amount of earned aid minus the amount of aid calculated to be returned to the Department of Education. Funds will be disbursed within 30 days of withdrawal. The student will then have 14 days to accept or decline these funds. If the Return to Title IV calculation results in a credit balance on the student’s account, that credit balance will be disbursed as soon as possible and no later than 14 days after the Return of Title IV funds has been calculated. For grant funds, MECR will credit a student’s account from the post-withdrawal disbursement for tuition and fees only up to the amount of outstanding charges. MECR will notify a student or parent in writing prior to making any post withdrawal disbursement of loan funds whether those loan funds are to be credited to the student’s account or disbursed directly to the student.
Funds will be returned in the following order: Unsubsidized loans, Subsidized loans, Federal PLUS loans, Federal Pell Grants. Funds will be returned by MECR within 45 days after the date of the student’s withdrawal. Official withdrawal is determined on the day the student submits a written notice of withdrawal to MECR. Unofficial withdrawal is determined if a student stops attending class and stops responding to attempts to contact them. The date of the institution’s determination that the student withdrew should be no later than 14 days after the student’s last date of attendance as determined by the institution from its attendance records.
SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS
This Policy applies to both Title IV and non Title IV recipients. It applies to all MECR students. MECR only has full time programs, so it only applies to full time students. MECR’s programs are 12 or 13 months in length. MECR does not have programs lasting more than 2 years.
Qualitative Measures
Students may earn a maximum of 100 points for each course component during the summer academic phase. Points will be allocated for written work and for class participation, including attendance, practice and demonstration of lessons. The specific allocation of the points will be described by each instructor.
During the student teaching year, a maximum of 100 points will be awarded for each evaluation component.
Quantitative measures
1. Published length of the course: The published length of the Early Childhood Course is a minimum of 900 clock hours; Infant and Toddler Course – minimum of 930 clock hours; Elementary Course is a minimum of 1680 clock hours. These courses may be completed within one calendar year, defined as ending on June 30 of the year after the student began the course.
2. Maximum time frame for completion: Students receiving financial aid have a maximum time frame of 1.5 times the published length of the program: 1350 clock hours for Early Childhood; 1395 for Infant and Toddler; 2520 for Elementary, or no later than December 1 of the year following initial enrollment. Periods when a student doesn’t receive Title IV aid still count toward MECR’s maximum time frame.
3. Increments and payment periods: The length of an increment/payment period is defined by MECR as 450 clock hours (half the clock hours of the program). The first increment is defined as July 1 – December 1; the second as December 2 – June 30. A student’s Satisfactory Academic Progress will be measured after the first increment/payment period is complete. If a student does not meet the school’s standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress, he or she will be notified within 7 days of this determination.
4. Calculation of satisfactory progress: A minimum of 70 points must be achieved in each course component. Instructors give oral and written feedback to students and opportunities to review, revise and improve unsatisfactory work. The point system will be averaged out over all courses to come up with a Grade Point Average, GPA. 90-100 points = a 4 GPA, 80- 90 points = a 3 GPA, 70-80 points = a 2 GPA.
5. Unsatisfactory progress: Any of the following situations shall indicate unsatisfactory progress and may be cause for review of the student’s status by the instructor and Director:
-Unexcused absence (summer sessions, practicum teaching, seminars)
-Failure to submit more than two assignments by the due date
-Achieving less than 70% (70 points) for more than two course components, or more than two practicum phase assignments.
A record of progress is maintained in each student’s file.
If a student does not meet the school’s standards of satisfactory progress, he or she is not allowed to receive further aid from the FSA Programs unless the requirement is waived on appeal (see 9, below). If a student loses FSA eligibility because he or she is determined not to be making satisfactory progress, that student will once again regain eligibility when the school determines that he or she is again meeting its satisfactory progress standards. A student may be paid for the payment period in which he or she regains satisfactory progress but cannot be paid for any payment period in which the standards were not met.
6. Withdrawals: The Montessori courses are integrated units of study with a cumulative design intended to be completed within the published time period. Thus there is no withdrawal option from any single course component (subject); withdrawal is from the course as a unit. A student who withdraws will receive transcript credit for only those components of the program which have been completed. An FSA student must have successfully completed a minimum of 66% of the clock hours in an increment in order to qualify for the funding received for that increment. A student who re-enrolls in the program at a later date will be eligible for FSA only for an increment in which at least 66% of the clock hours were not previously attempted successfully.
7. Leave of Absence: Although a student may submit a written request for, and be granted, a leave of absence, the maximum time period for such leave for an FSA student is 180 days. Because course components are offered only once during each enrollment year, students are advised to consider a request for leave of absence very carefully.
8. Grades of “Incomplete”: The time period in which a grade of I (Incomplete) must be discharged is set by the instructor for the course component, but may not exceed a maximum period of 60 days for a student who is still enrolled in the course. A grade of Incomplete places the clock hours involved in the category of “attempted but not successfully completed” until the requirements for completing the component are met. Our program is based on a Mastery approach.
We do not give students grades, so our quantitative and qualitative measures are not the same as a University with a traditional grading system. Students are monitored continuously and given opportunities to re-submit assignments that do not reach a mastery level. We have built in check points and time frames for giving feedback to students and making them aware of their status. If a student has not satisfactorily completed 70% of requirements at the end of a pay period then the student has not met SAP and no disbursement will be made until the student is assessed and has completed 70%.
If the student has not satisfactorily completed his/her assignments at the end of the maximum time frame they may re-enroll in MECR to have more time to complete their work. We do not repeat courses.
9. Right of appeal: On written appeal by a student, failure to meet one or more satisfactory academic progress requirements will be evaluated by the MECR administration. A student must include the following in their appeal: The student must explain why they failed to make Satisfactory Academic Progress. The student must then explain what has changed in their situation that will allow them to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements at the next evaluation. A student will be notified of the decision within two weeks of receipt of the written appeal request. The following types of information may be considered in determining if a student is still maintaining satisfactory academic progress:
– Unusual circumstances, such as extended illness or serious injury of the student or death in the immediate family;
– Participation in tutoring or support services;
– Class attendance and completion of assignments.
If a student with mitigating circumstances falls in to unsatisfactory academic progress as a result of these circumstances we would review that student’s file and work with them to get them to 70% or satisfactory academic progress. This will be done on a case by case basis and will take into account those mitigating circumstances.
A student’s responsibility during the time in which they have unsatisfactory academic progress is to do the necessary work to get to 70% or satisfactory academic progress when those mitigating circumstances have abated. To re-establish eligibility a student must, as stated above, respond to communications put forth by the staff and do the work asked by the MECR staff which will bring him/her back into good standing. If a student appeals and that appeal is approved his or her SAP Status would be satisfactory.
If a student appeals and that appeal is denied, the student is allowed to continue taking their course of study without Financial Assistance. MECR will work with the student to come up with an alternative payment plan.
10. Probation: Any student that successfully appeals their financial aid ineligibility status due to not meeting the SAP requirements will be placed on SAP probation. MECR will monitor the progress of the student that is on probation after one payment period to determine if the student is meeting SAP or meeting the requirements of the academic plan.
11. Reinstatement: If students are terminated from receiving financial aid for failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress, before eligibility for aid can be reinstated they must meet all requirements for minimum overall percentages and cumulative clock hours earned. Periods of non-enrollment in school have no effect on a student’s satisfactory academic progress status on reentering. A student may be paid for the payment period in which he or she regains satisfactory progress but cannot be paid for any payment period in which the standards were not met. A student can regain satisfactory academic progress and be eligible for aid when they satisfactorily submit 70% of their work.
If a student does not have satisfactory academic progress and re-enrolls in the program at a later date they will be eligible for FSA only for an increment in which at least 66% of the clock hours were not previously attempted successfully. If a student re-enrolls after not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress they will have to go through an appeal process to continue to receive Financial Aid. If the student wins their appeal process that student will go on SAP probation.
12. Unavailable at MECR: The following are not available at MECR:
- Changes to a different program after Student has started the first program.
- Transfer Students
- Non-Credit Remedial Courses
Pursuit of a Second Program unless the First Program is complete. NB: If a student completes one program at MECR and applies for and is accepted into a second program their Financial Aid status would start over again for the second program. If the student was in SAP probation for the first program it only applies to the first program.
The Montessori Education Center of the Rockies will verify only those students who are selected for verification by the Central Processing System (CPS) (up to 30% of the students declared eligible for financial aid).
Verification will be done according to the policies outlined in the Student Financial Aid Handbook. Items verified will be household size, number in household enrolled in college, adjusted gross income, U.S. income tax paid and untaxed income, i.e. social security, child support, interest, etc. and any other category specified by the Department of Education
When a student is selected for verification a verification worksheet will be sent. This worksheet along with supporting documentation must be returned to the MECR office before any funds will be disbursed to that student. Verification Worksheet must be signed by the student (and spouse or parent when applicable). Documentation must include:
1. A copy of the U.S. Income Tax Return (IRS Form 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ) for the current year as filed by the student. Married students must also provide their spouse’s tax return. Dependent students must also provide their parent’s return.
2. Any other information deemed necessary by the institution including, but not limited to social security benefit documentation, divorce decrees, or W-2 forms.
Students must provide the above information to the institution within 60 days of the institutions’s request. If additional time is needed, the student may request an extension to submit the information. The institution will review the student’s request and determine whether additional time will be granted..
If errors are found, corrections will be submitted to the CPS. The student’s funding may or may not have to be recalculated depending on the dollar amount of the error.
Verification and recalculation documents will be retained in the student’s file for three years.
If the school finds that a student may have engaged in fraud or other criminal misconduct in applying for SFA Program funds, it must refer this information to the Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), which will in turn notify other officials as appropriate.