The annual Fire and Safety Report released by the university shows an increase in discipline regarding liquor law violations.

In 2014 the university had 109 disciplinary actions regarding liquor law violations and this year there were 167, a 53 percent increase.

Assistant Director of Public Safety Steve Bequette said there is no definite answer for why that increase occurred, but he thinks it has to do with reporting.

“We feel the housing staff is better trained to recognize things and to alert us,” Bequette said.

He said students are becoming more informed as well through the university’s attempts to educate them.

The Public Safety officers are well trained for the different situations they might encounter as well, Bequette said.

“Even though they are not sworn they have that knowledge (of law enforcement protocol),” he said.

Not every incident on campus is reported in the Clery Report.

“The Clery Act wants us to report violations of law. Simple and sweet there,” Bequette said.  “Not university policy or code of conduct issues.”

In terms of the liquor law violations those can include underage drinking or consumption. Bequette said the report wants to know whether it was handled in house or if an arrest or citation was issued.

He said it can depend the circumstance whether it reaches a level in which law enforcement is involved.

“There are times when there are alcohol issues and public safety isn’t even called and it’s handled  by the housing staff,” Bequette said. “That would be referred internally because law enforcement was not involved.”

Bequette said the numbers mentioned for arrests and discipline are not repeated in either. There is a hierarchy rule for reporting to the Clery Report.

“You can pull in the courses that are on your four year plan, so if you have a four year plan out there and say you had classes picked out for spring of 2017, you can tell schedule planner to pull those courses over from Degree Works,” Frank said.

The student planner generates a number of schedules based on the courses and breaks put in by the student. This is also why it differs from Degree Works.

Frank said that even though students can’t yet register for classes, they could still use the planner to create their schedule.

She said most students don’t have to consult their advisor before creating their schedule, but some may have to hold depending on their major.

“The company that makes schedule planner says that their clients, the other schools, that have schedule planner report that students, because they can find their optimal schedule and their more likely to sign up for more classes and then stay on track to graduate,” Frank said.

Civitas Learning, the parent company to College Scheduler, which makes the Student Schedule Planner, uses technology and other tools to enhance college student’s experiences.

Frank said the company reached out to her about the planner. She said she worked previously with one of the employers and he contacted her about implementing the planner at the University.

“We had a demo and had a bunch of people come and discussed it with various groups to see if there was any interest and if there was money to pay for it,” she said.

Frank said there were no glitches or significant problems when they tested the program and all feedback has been positive.

“I haven’t seen any issues with it, but just because I used it for one of my classes and it was very helpful,” Student Government President Ashley Wright said.

More information about the Student Schedule Planner visit the registrar’s website at https://www.usi.edu/registrar/registration/schedule-planner.