Responsiblities of Program Coordinator, Office of Campus Activities
Federal Laws
I. Legislative and Political Activities (Tax)
Summary of the Law
In order to maintain their tax-exempt status under 501(c)(3), private colleges and universities must not engage in, or interefere with, political campaign or lobbying activities. Failure to follow these proscriptions could result in loss of tax-exempt status for the institution, or imposition of an excise tax. The university cannot endorse any committee or student group that has as one of its purposes supporting a particular candidate. For a more complete explanation of the prohibitions from the IRS, please reference the above Legislative and Political activities link.
Responsibilities
- Do not support student groups whose purpose is to either help or interfere involved in political campaigns for public office. This means that the Office of Campus Activities cannot officially recognize, grant money to, accept money from, or allow the university to act as a conduit for such groups.
- Comply with Federal Election Committee rules when the university sponsors political debates or forums.
- Provide political guidelines for student groups, such as College Democrats and College Republicans, to ensure that their activities are in compliance with IRS regulations for tax-exempt universities.
Resources
II. Copyright Laws
General Revision of the Copyright law
Summary: The copyright law gives copyright owners the sole right to reproduce all or part of the work, distribute copies, prepare new (derivative) versions of the work, and perform and display the work publicly. Copyright protection governs "original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression." 17 U.S.C. § 102(a). The law protects unpublished as well as published material.
Small Webcaster Settlement Act of 2002
Summary: The Copyright Act provides statutory licenses to webcast sound recordings and to make ephemeral copies of sound recordings. In the SWSA, Congress recognized that for Noncommercial and Small Commercial Webcasters, the Copyright Office's statutory license fees may be overly burdensome, and would inevitably force most of them to cease their operations. The SWSA authorizes SoundExchange to enter into new privately-negotiated royalty rate agreements with Noncommercial Webcasters, notwithstanding the royalty rates already established by the Copyright Office. The fees are due by January 31st annually. CUA only has to pay the minimum $500 annual fee.
Responsibilities
The Program Coordinator will ensure that CUA stays current with all necessary copyright licenses, ASCAP, SESAC and BMI, as well as making the statutory payments to SoundExchange which covers the digital transmission rights for the copyright owned by the sound recording. The payment to SoundExchange is annual (by January 31) as are the license renewals to ASCAP, etc. The Program Coordinator also ensures that the students running the station are keeping records of what is played, and filing the reports as required with Sound Exchange. See 37 CFR 370.3(c) and http://www.soundexchange.com/ Click on Service Provider on the Left, and then on the Reporting Requirements. Reports are sent by FTP. See also OGC file 090004 for more information. This requirement may be less burdensome for CUA due to the new agreements on between College Broadcasters Inc. and Sound Exchange. See http://counsel.cua.edu/fedlaw/webcast.cfm#note for a full summary of the new terms good until 2016.
Summary of the Laws
Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in access to private colleges and universities and contains many of the same provisions as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504). Requires reasonable accommodations (e.g., a modification or adjustment to the status quo inherent in the program or activity) to allow a qualified person with a disability to participate fully in the programs and activities of the university. Participation must be in the most integrated setting possible.
Responsibilites
The Office of Campus Activites has an obligation to notify student groups of the CUA policy that programs are to be offered in an accessible space. This is reflected in the CUA Event Scheduling Policy, which reads in relevant part:
"All meetings and events at the university open to the student and university community, or open to the public, will be scheduled in accessible rooms. This requirement applies to academic events, whether curricular, or co-curricular, and to all student organization meetings. Organizers of closed meetings must be prepared to certify them as such."
IV. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA)
Summary of the Law
Regulates the keeping and dissemination of student records at all institutions that receive federal funds or who have students receiving federal funds. Procedures must be in place to allow a student or the parents of dependent students access to student records. Consent must be obtained to release student records to a third party, with certain exceptions contained in the law. Directory information may be released without permission of the student unless the student has specifically requested that said information not be released. Types of information that may be disclosed as directory information include: student's name, degrees and awards received, address, most recent previous institution attended, phone number, participation in officially recognized sports, activities, date and place of birth, dates of attendance, major fields of study, e-mail address, class schedule, full or part-time status, and photograph. Information which may not be released as directory information includes social security number, race/ethnicity or gender.
Responsibilities:
Ensure that student groups understand FERPA and respect privacy of students in accord with this law. Questions may be directed to the OGC. Be careful when sending e-mails to a group of students. The "blind cc" function should be used when necessary, so that e-mails are not inadvertently disclosed, as a student may have put a hold on release of directory information.
Resources:
FERPA Forms and Checklists
FERPA Q and A
Last Revised 05-Nov-09 01:53 PM.
