Eastern Michigan University released today a response to the U.S. Department of Education’s report last month that found the university in violation of the campus-crime reporting law known as the Clery Act. Not only did Eastern Michigan fail to issue a “timely warning” about a student’s suspicious death, but the university did not have a timely-warning policy, nor did it accurately and consistently report campus-crime statistics, the report said.

In its reponse, the university accepted the Education Department’s report and each “required action” it prescribed. “EMU is fully committed to changing the manner in which it operates in regard to campus-safety issues,” Kenneth A. McKanders, the general counsel, wrote in a letter to the department.

Eastern Michigan has also prepared a “comprehensive Clery Act compliance plan,” which includes a new timely-warning system, complete with an appeal process for decisions not to issue the warnings. The university will overhaul its crime-log procedures, hire an independent firm to audit its crime statistics, and hold Clery Act training with Security on Campus, the watchdog group that reported the university to the Education Department last March. Eastern Michigan officials have also announced a 16-step plan to improve campus safety.

Mr. McKanders shared with the Education Department his “sincere hope that our determined effort to achieve and maintain compliance … will be favorably received and considered by you in the next stages of this process.”

The Education Department will now issue a final review of Eastern Michigan before it assesses any fines — $27,500 for each violation of the Clery Act. It remains unclear how many violations the department will find, though it listed seven in its initial report. —Sara Lipka