Overview
This policy governs Emergency Notifications which are sent to the College community to notify all members of the community in response to a significant
emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees occurring on campus.

Purpose
Green River will notify the campus community upon confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees occurring on campus. The success of the Emergency Notification is dependent upon a thorough understanding of the protocols to follow during a crisis, critical occurrence or college emergency. Following the listed steps in this policy will ensure a timely and efficient method of dissemination of critical information to the college community and in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act, or “Clery Act.”

General
If a serious crime, a natural disaster or a man-made emergency occurs that poses an immediate threat to the health and safety of the College community or a segment of the College community, federal law requires that the institution immediately notify the campus community or the appropriate segments of the community that may
be affected by the situation.

When are Emergency Notifications implemented?
The types of incidents that may cause an immediate threat to the community could include but are not limited to emergencies such as: an active shooter on campus, hostage/barricade situation, a riot, suspicious package with confirmation of a device, a tornado, a fire/explosion, suspicious death, structural damage to an owned or controlled facility, biological threat (anthrax, etc.), significant flooding, a gas leak, hazardous materials spill, outbreak of meningitis, norovirus, or other serious illness, etc. (Note: If the institution implements the procedures regarding notification of the College community for an Emergency Notification, the institution is not obligated to implement the timely warning notice procedures.)

Who is notified?
All members of the campus community are notified on an annual basis through email that they are required to notify Campus Safety of any situation or incident on campus that involves a significant emergency or dangerous situation that may involve an immediate or on going threat to the health and safety of students and/or
employees on campus. In addition, Campus Safety has a statement on its website that states campus community members are required to report these serious incidents or occurrences to them. Campus Safety has a responsibility to respond to such incidents to determine if the situation does in fact, pose an immediate threat to the community. 

What are the Procedures to Initiate an Emergency Notification?
The Campus Safety supervisor on duty is responsible for immediately notifying the Director of Campus Safety of any situation that poses an immediate threat to the community. The Director of Campus Safety who has been notified is responsible for immediately notifying the following individuals who are responsible for developing the content of the message to the community and sending the message using some or all of the below listed methods (See “Through what systems are the Emergency Notifications made?”).

Who is Responsible for the Content of the Emergency Notification?
The Vice President of Institutional Advancement and the Executive Director of College Relations or their designees if either or both are unavailable will determine the content of the message and will use some or all of the systems described below to communicate the threat to the College community or to the appropriate segment of the community, if the threat is limited to a particular building or segment of the population.

Are there any delays in implementing Emergency Notifications?
As per the requirements of the law, College Relations will, without delay and taking into account the safety of the community, determine the content of the notification and initiate the notification system, unless issuing a notification will, in the judgment of the first responders (including, but not limited to local police departments and Fire and Emergency Medical Services), compromise the efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency.

Through what systems are the Emergency Notifications made?
The various systems that institution has in place for communicating information quickly to the community include:

  • Campus emails
  • Text Alerts/Voice Mail
  • Campus Telecommunications Public Address Systems
  • Building Captains
  • Website
  • Social Media
  • Desk Top Alerts

College Relations will post updates during a critical incident on the campus website and other locations throughout campus. Individuals are also advised that they can call
Green River's switchboard telephone line for live or recorded updates. Note: The Emergency Operations Communications Plan provides added information
and reference for emergency advisories to the College.

Specific Authority

The Clery Act of 1990, as amended and the United States Department of Education implementing regulation, 34 CFR Part 668 is a landmark federal law, originally known as the Campus Security Act, that requires colleges and universities across the United States to disclose statistics about crime on and around their campuses and information about certain safety and security policies. For additional information please refer to: Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (20USC § 1092(f)). The law is tied to an institution's participation in federal student financial aid programs and it applies to most public and private institutions of higher education. The Act is enforced by the U.S. Department of Education.

Law Implemented

History of Policy or Procedure
Draft: February 22, 2016
Adopted: March 8, 2016
Revised: August 25, 2016
Reviewed by: President's Executive Team
Contact: George Frasier, Vice President for College Advancement Executive Director, ext. 3338
President's Staff Sponsor: Dr. Deborah Casey, Vice President of Institutional Advancement, ext. 3328