V1902 Emergency Notification Systems
SBHE policy 1902
Valley City State University has an emergency notification system (ENS). This system allows the campus to contact students, employees, and designated people rapidly during an emergency. The emergency notification system is populated with emergency notification
contact information from students, employees, and on-campus external entities. The information contained in the ENS will be used by the authorized campus administrators to contact employees, students, or designated persons in the event of a qualifying
emergency event.
- Valley City State University mandates all employees, including student employees, participate in the emergency notification system. Employees are required to review their emergency notification information annually. In addition, employees will
receive reminders twice a year to update their records. Emergency notification contact information includes campus email, campus phone, home phone, personal cellular phone, and work cellular phone. VCSU’s Safety Coordinator will gather emergency
information from non-campus personnel. Examples include Head Start, food service, Teacher Center, Valley City Police Department, Valley City Fire Department, and other groups deemed appropriate.
- Per SBHE Policy 1902, student participation in the emergency notification system is mandatory. Students will have the ability to add and update their information in the Connect ND portal. The portal will allow students to enter campus phone, cell
phone, email, texting information, and home phone. The system will periodically remind students to review their information. In addition, students have the option to receive emergency notifications from other campuses depending on their class
location.
- The emergency notification system is only for emergencies as defined in NDUS policy 1902. An "emergency" means a situation that poses an immediate threat to the health or safety of someone in the institution or system community or significantly
disrupts institution or system programs and activities. Valley City State University’s Emergency Management Team is responsible for defining emergencies that warrant system use. VCSU will conduct emergency notification tests at least once
each semester.
- Students are allowed to leave cell phones on during class to receive emergency notifications unless instructed otherwise by faculty. If a faculty member instructs students to turn off their cell phones, the faculty member must be able to receive
emergency notifications by one of the following methods:
- Registered personal cell phone that is turned on
- Registered campus email when a computer or other electronic communication device is active
- Campus classroom intercom or phone
- Nearby office personnel instructed to notify faculty
- The ENS will be refreshed with information from ConnectND a minimum of once per semester. This removes data associated with former employees and students from the ENS.
- To eliminate misuse of the emergency notification system, access to deploy messages will be granted to the president, vice president of academic affairs, vice president of business affairs, vice president of student affairs, facilities services
director, director of marketing and communications, and the safety coordinator.
- Students, employees, and visitors should report all emergency situations to the VCSU Power House at extension 3-7708 or 845-7708. Power House employees will contact the proper authorities.
- During any emergency, VCSU employees and students are asked to refer all media inquiries to VCSU’s Marketing & Communications director or the President’s Office.
- Additional emergency notifications not outlined by the Emergency Management Team, can be deployed if necessary by designated personnel.
- Campus emergency procedures are available online. VCSU will use campus email and website for detailed updates, in addition to redeploying of the emergency notification system..
- Employee emergency notification telephone numbers or other emergency notification information is exempt from the state's open records laws as provided in Policy 1912 and may be released only as provided in that policy. Student emergency notification
information, or contact information such as phone numbers or email addresses submitted for purposes of participation in an emergency notification system, shall be excluded from directory information and is therefore confidential as provided
under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). However, if a student phone number or email or other address submitted for the purpose of participation in an emergency notification system is also contained in other institutional
records used for other purposes and the student has not exercised the student's right to refuse to permit disclosure of directory information, the information contained in the other institutional records is directory information and not confidential.
Sponsored by: Vice President for Business Affairs
Implemented: September 2008
Revised: October 2009
Revised: February 2010
Revised: 2014
Revised: 2015