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Student Organizations, Leadership, and Service

Protection of Minors

Student Groups planning to hold events with minors will need to complete the POM Request Form by September 22nd.  This form confirms participation of POM groups and designates a POM Peer Accountability Officer.  If your group changes its mind and decides it no longer seeks to organize events with minors, then complete the form and indicate that you will not be working with minors.

All POM groups will also have until October 1st for all of their members to complete their requirements according to their level of supervision.  Please read the Information for Students and Advisers section for more details about what is is required.

Vanderbilt believes strongly in educating individuals on best practices for keeping minors safe. The Protection of Minors policy was created to standardize University practices and to establish expected codes of conduct when interacting with minors. All undergraduate, graduate, and professional students are required to annually complete an educational module on protecting minors.

The Protection of Minors Policy is administered by the Office of Risk and Insurance Management. Further resources and information about this policy and the requirements can be found on the Vanderbilt Risk and Insurance Management website.

All Vanderbilt undergraduate, graduate, and professional students involved with Registered Student Organizations designated to work with minors – even those who do not currently plan to work directly with minors–must first take the Protection of Minors 101 or Protecting Youth module to be in compliance. Each subsequent year of enrollment, a Protection of Minors Annual Renewal must be completed.Please visit the Protection of Minors online Instructions Webpage. Note: You must use your VUnetID to access these modules.

To review your status, visit the Protection of Minors policy compliance database. When checking your status, refer to the “Training” area to see either a completion date or “No Record”. “No Record” means you will have to complete the Protecting Youth module. A date that is before July 1, 2023 means you will have to complete Protection of Minors Annual Renewal.

Student Organizations that work with minors must register their organization annually and follow all aspects of the POM Student Org Leader Packet.    As a student organization leader, you will be required to do the following:

  1. Be knowledgeable of the Protection of Minors policy and the rules for registering, tracking, and participating in an event that involves minors.
  2. Distribute relevant Protection of Minors information to your organization members.
  3. Review and the RSO Online Events Guidance for virtual/remote engagement with minors and to ensure compliance with Vanderbilt’s COVID-19 guidelines.
  4. Complete a POM Third Party Compliance Agreement if your organization will be working with a third party.
  5. Ensure that every member of the organization’s roster completes the Protecting Youth module, or, if they completed the Protection of Minors 101 or Protecting Youth module before July 1 of the current academic year, the applicable Protection of Minors Annual Renewal module is completed prior to any event with minors.  Student organization rosters should be updated regularly on Anchor Link to ensure compliance accuracy.

*If you are a student organization that is required to complete a background check, all members of the roster must be in compliance with that requirement as well.

Currently being determined.  More information to come.

POM Groups are determined by the information completed in the RSO Registration, the organizations that will be listed indicated that they will be working with minors this year.  This informaiton is confirmed and the RSO must have all of its members meet compliance standards.  If your organization is listed or not listed in error, please contact sols@vanderbilt.edu to update accordingly.

  • Students/Faculty/Staff with questions about the Protection of Minors policy or the Protecting Youth module – Please contact Randall Williams at doscompliance@vanderbilt.edu
  • Student Organizations with questions about the organization registration and POM Level 1 or Level 2 status – Please contact Wil De Los Santos at sols@vanderbilt.edu
  • Student Organizations with POM event registration and approval – Please contact Anchorlink@vanderbilt.edu 

To ensure that student organizations comply with the updated policies for registering, tracking, and participating in events with minors, every registered organization will be working with their Student Organization Adviser, who is a faculty or staff member.

Advisers working with POM groups will receive a list that outlines all registered student organizations that have indicated plans to interact with minors, the level at which these interactions have been approved, and their corresponding Adviser. Student organization leaders have been given information about the Protection of Minors policy, requirements, and procedures through a series of in-person trainings and online communications.

The Advisers working with POM organizations will need to familiarize themselves with the Protection of Minors policy as it relates to student organizations and their events (please refer to the POM Student Org Leader Packet) so that they can assist student leaders in planning and managing events that involve minors properly.

Compliance Check

As student groups host events throughout the year with minors, a student leader from your POM student organization(s) may contact their Adviser to request a compliance check. The Adviser’s role as a POM Advisor is to use the POM Web Application to see which members are in compliance.  Please note that Advisers should not add students to roster as they will be removed on the next day). Compliance requirements are based on the level of minor involvement and the level of supervision present at an event:

  • Level 1 Organizations host and participate in events where all minors in attendance are supervised by a third-party organization or by their parents/guardians for the entire duration of the event. Organizations with Level 1 events must register their events on Anchor Link and complete an annual online training module a minimum of four weeks before the event takes place (the online training is valid beginning July 1 of each academic year).
     
  • Level 2 Organizations host and participate in events where minors are supervised by Vanderbilt students or personnel and there is no third-party organization or parent/guardian present. Organizations must be approved to participate in Level 2 activities by the Office of Student Accountability, Community Standards, and Academic Integrity (Student Accountability) via an additional application process. Requests for approval must be submitted a minimum of four weeks before an event occurs. If approval is granted, in addition to registering their event on Anchor Link and completing the online training modules, student members of the organization will also need to complete a Background Check Request Form and upload a Background Check Participant List to the form.  Additional information is available on the Student Accountability Website.

Finding an Organization’s Roster POM Status

Below are steps that Advisers must take if a student organization asks them to provide information about their roster’s status:

  • Sign in to the POM Web App: https://admin.app.vanderbilt.edu/protectionofminors/programs/worklist
  • Click on the “Program Administrator” tab to view the organizations you are the POM Advisor for
  • Click on the organization you would like to check compliance for
  • Click on “Event” term (23-24 Roster)
  • Roster members will be listed under “Personnel” (this information is pulled directly from Anchor Link)
  • “Latest Training Date” reflects the date the student completed the Protection of Minors online module
    • Individuals with a training date before 07/01/2023 in the “Latest Training Date” column need to complete the Protection of Minors Annual Renewal module.
    • Individuals with “No Record” in the “Latest Training Date” column need to complete the Protecting Youth module.
    • Individuals with a training date on or after 07/01/2023 in the “Latest Training Date” column are in compliance.
  • “Latest Background Date” and “Latest Fingerprint Date” reflects the date that the student provided a criminal background clearance to the University (review of this is only required for Level 2 organizations)
    • Individuals with “No Record” in the “Latest Background Date” and “Latest Fingerprint Date” column will need to go through the background check process facilitated through Student Accountability.
    • Individuals with a date within four years of when the event takes place in either the “Latest Background Date” or “Latest Fingerprint Date” column are in compliance.

Vanderbilt is committed to protecting minors on its campus and in its programs. As part of this commitment, all students who plan to work directly with minors are required to annually complete an educational module on protecting minors. The Protection of Minors Annual Renewal module is an annual requirement for all undergraduate, graduate, and professional students who have previously completed Protection of Minors 101 or Protecting Youth and are going to be working with minors or participating in programs or organizations that put them in contact with minors. To verify your last recorded completion date, visit the Protection of Minors policy compliance database. 

Access Instructions:

  • Go to https://oraclecloud.vanderbilt.edu/
  • Log in with your VUnetID and Password (if an alternate login page is displayed, click the blue “Company Single Sign-On” button to open the Vanderbilt single sign-on page)
  • Select the “Learning” tile
  • In the “What learning are you looking for?” search bar, type Protection of Minors 
  • Select the Protection of Minors Annual Renewal 2023-2024 course and click “Start Learning”

If you experience any difficulty completing the annual renewal module, contact protectionofminors@vanderbilt.edu.

The following are documents that all POM groups and advisers should use to aid in the organization of thier events with minors:

Third-Party Agreement Form This document is for the organization (third-party) partnering with Level 1 orgs to complete.  This assures the third party understands they are responsible for supervising the minors at all times during activities with your organization. When completed, it must be uploaded with your organization’s event form in Anchor Link.
Parent/Guardian Agreement (Participation and Liability Release) This form is for Level 2 organizations to provide to participating minors’ parents/guardians to review and sign.  It provides information about the activity and parental consent for their child to participate in your organization’s specific activity. It also gives you emergency contact information for the child. This is required for Level 2 organizations.  The signed document is to be given to the Peer Accountability Officer to upload to one of their Anchor Link Folders. 
POM Student Org Leader Packet  This detailed docment contains informaiton regarding reousrces and steps that POM groups should take when planning events with minors.  It also contains steps to aid in the preparation of those events.  Student leaders and advisers should review and keep it for their records.

 

 

 

 

Important To Note:

Organizations cannot participate in events with minors unless and until all students participating in the event are listed on their roster completed the compliance requirements for their organization’s designated level and until their event is registered on Anchor Link by the four-week deadline.

More information about the Protection of Minors policy and how it relates to student organizations can be found here: https://www.vanderbilt.edu/riskmanagement/protectionofminorslandingpage.php .

Please email SOLS@vanderbilt.edu if you have any questions or if you would like further assistance, and we look forward to working with you throughout the year.