Emergency Notification, Response and Evacuation (Policy SW-30)

Policy:

Individuals should report all life-threatening emergencies by calling 911. Any other issues should be reported immediately to the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) Public Safety by calling 402-559-5111.

Procedure:

Clarkson College and UNMC Public Safety will, without delay, take into account the safety of the community and determine the content of an emergency notification when initiating a campus emergency notification; unless such notification will, in the professional judgment of campus authorities, compromise efforts to assist victims or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate an emergency.

The only reason Clarkson College would not immediately issue a notification for a confirmed emergency or dangerous situation is if doing so will compromise efforts to:

  • Assist a victim
  • Contain the emergency
  • Respond to the emergency, or
  • Otherwise mitigate the emergency (example: agreeing to a request of local law enforcement of fire department officials)

Campus authorities who are responsible for carrying out or authorizing the use of Emergency Notification are:

  • Director of UNMC Public Safety
  • President
  • Vice President of Communications and Development
  • Director of Facilities

Information will be released 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.

Examples of “immediate threat” are:

  • Tornado or extreme weather
  • Armed intruder
  • Bomb threat
  • Gas leak

Warnings will likely include the nature of the threat, source of the information, and suggested precautions to be taken. The entire campus community will be notified when there is at least the potential that a significant portion of the community will be affected by a situation, or when a situation threatens the campus's overall operation. There will be a continuing assessment of the situation, and additional segments of the campus community may be notified if a situation warrants such action. Campus authorities will determine the amount of information to be disseminated at various points in time, based on the event.

Clarkson College has multiple methods of warning our College campus for any significant emergency, which include the following:

  • College & Student All email groups
  • Announcements over the PA system or fire alarm speakers
  • RAVE alert notification system that will call, text and email all registered users
  • Notices on public website, social media, and other media outlets.

The procedures will be based on the situation:

  • For a fire, the College would initiate the “Fire Evacuation Plan” where each floor is to evacuate the building through a specific stairwell.
  • For a tornado, the College would initiate the “Tornado Evacuation Plan” where each floor is to move to the designated shelter area.
  • For an Armed Intruder, the College would initiate the “Armed Intruder” plan that explains how to proceed based on your specific situation and location.
Academic Policies and Procedures