All Programs Involving Minors, both Covered and non-covered, must be registered. Go to Registration Form »
All Student Organizations that wish to register a program must contact University faculty/staff to confirm a University Sponsor prior to their registration. Please contact the Pace Center (609-258-7260), ODUS (609-258-3000), or ORL (609-258-3047) depending on where your organization resides.
Covered Programs
Broadly, a Covered Program is any program or activity operated or conducted by the University, whether on or off campus, including overnight or daytime stays, where the care, custody and control of Minors is the responsibility of University faculty, staff, students or volunteers. Covered Programs include but are not limited to outreach and community service activities. Under the Policy for Programs Involving Minors, Covered Programs have an obligation to protect the safety of participants in programs involving Minors. Program Staff must follow the Standards of Behavior with Minors while also following University policy, including the procedures established below by the Minors Oversight Committee. All Covered Programs must be registered.
Covered Programs must:
- Provide care, custody and control. At least one Adult must have care, custody and control of Minors during a Covered Program. Care, custody and control is defined by the University as the responsibility level when an Adult, who is note the parent/guardian, is present and has supervisory responsibility for one or more Minors as well as the knowledge of the general location (particularly when leaving the building) of each Minor at any given point throughout the Covered Program.
- Register. All Covered Programs must register with the University. It is expected that 60 days prior to the start of the program, Program Staff shall register the Covered Program, when possible. In order for the University to know when and where Minors are being hosted on or off campus, Program Staff must provide the information requested. All registered programs will be provided with additional information to help host a successful program. A description of the program, expected age range and estimated attendee count are examples of the types of information that the University requires at the time of registration.
- Perform background checks. Prior to a Covered Program commencing, all Program Staff are required successfully complete a University-provided confidential background check. Minimum background check requirements include:
- Completion before each Program Staff member joins a Covered Program;
- Multi-state and country criminal checks including checks of the National Sex Offender Registry; and
- Annual completion of background checks.
- Train. All new Program Staff must complete a 30-minute online University-provided training prior to the program start date. Previously-trained Program Staff may be required to complete refresher trainman in subsequent years as determined by the Minors Oversight Committee.
Any program involving Minors working in or adjacent to a University Research Facility must also follow the Rules and Procedures for Minors in Research Facilities. These Rules and Procedures apply to Adults who work within a Research Facility, and to all Minors who may enter or participate in activities in or adjacent to any University Research Facility.
Upon their acceptance of their Program Staff position, Program Staff will receive an email that includes both the link to completing a background check, as well as a link to the University-provided online training.
Program directors may register their Covered Programs here.
Non-Covered Programs
Under the Policy for Programs Involving Minors non-covered programs can be defined as follows:
- Events or activities that are open to the general public, and/or where parents/guardians are expected to provide supervision;
- Events or activities where parents/guardians or Chaperones are explicitly required to accompany Minors;
- Institutional Review Board-approved research that involves Minor participants;
- Employment of 16- and 17-year-olds through Human Resources; and/or
- Admitted or prospective student programs.
While Program Staff for Non-Covered Programs are not mandated to complete background checks and University-provided training, Non-Covered Programs still maintain an obligation to protect the safety of their participants. For Non-covered Programs, the registrant must determine what the program is and follow its respective procedures. Under Princeton University's policy, the procedures for Non-Covered Programs are as follows:
- Hiring. For employment of 16- and 17-year-olds, follow the HR Employment of Minors Policy and the Rules and Procedures for Minors in Research Facilities.
- Admitted or prospective student programs. The Admission Office staff member responsible for programs for admitted or prospective students and the Athletics Department staff member responsible for prospective student-athlete visits, must:
- Register their Program with the University;
- Distribute the Standards of Behavior with Minors to all Princeton student hosts; and,
- Notify the Department of Public Safety by providing lists of all overnight locations.
- Chaperoned programs. Programs where Chaperones are expected to provide care, custody and control should be registered with the University and Chaperones should review and comply with the Roles and Responsibilities for Chaperones. Care, custody and control is defined by the University as the responsibility level when an Adult, who is not the parent/guardian, is present and has supervisory responsibility for one or more Minors as well as the knowledge of the general location (particularly when leaving the building) of each Minor at any given point throughout a Program Involving Minors. A Chaperone is defined by the Policy for Programs Involving Minors as an individual, such as a teacher during an academic program, who is not a Princeton University faculty or staff member, student, volunteer, or a parent/guardian, but is responsible for the care, custody and control of one or more Minors.
- Events open to the public do not need to register.
Any program involving Minors working in or adjacent to a University Research Facility must also follow the Rules and Procedures for Minors in Research Facilities. These Rules and Procedures apply to Adults who work within a Research Facility, and to all Minors who may enter or participate in activities in or adjacent to any University Research Facility.
Non-covered Programs may register here.