Education Department fines Liberty University $14 million for campus safety violations

The Education Department on Tuesday announced it is fining Liberty University $14 million as part of a settlement agreement for violations involving campus safety, although the school maintains that they were treated unfairly in the agency's probe.

The Education Department said its Federal Student Aid office is imposing the largest fine ever on Liberty for violations of the Clery Act, which requires schools to maintain and disclose campus safety information and crime statistics. 

Liberty's violations were "with respect to its published crime statistics and treatment of sexual assault survivors," per the Education Department. 

Liberty also agreed in the settlement to spend $2 million over the next two years to improve campus safety. 

"Students, faculty, and staff deserve to know that they can be safe and secure in their school communities. We respond aggressively to complaints about campus safety and security," Financial Student Aid COO Richard Cordray said. 

Liberty said it is "fully committed" to ensuring student and staff safety, but the Education Department's probe was "drastically different from their historic treatment of other universities." 

The school acknowledged having "numerous deficiencies" in the past but said it disagrees with the government's approach and "maintains that we have repeatedly endured selective and unfair treatment by the Department."

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