Emergency Notification Procedure

Purpose:

This procedure describes how authorized representatives distribute Emergency Notifications to the Winona State University (WSU) community when a significant emergency or dangerous situation presents an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees on a WSU campus.

Procedure:

A. Background

An authorized representative develops an emergency notification message alone or in collaboration with other authorized representatives when time permits. The alert may include some or all of the following information:

• nature of the emergency or threat

• location of the emergency or threat

• description of a suspect if applicable or available

• a recommended responsive action

• where to find follow-up information

B. Alerting the Community

WSU instructs all members of the campus community to report significant emergency or dangerous situations presenting an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees on a WSU campus by calling 911 or WSU Security (507-457-5555).

After a report of a significant emergency or dangerous situation, the following steps are taken:

1. A WSU Security official confirms that a significant emergency or dangerous situation exists, even if all pertinent details are not known or available at the time.

2. WSU authorized representatives determine the content of the notification, considering the safety of the community, and distribute the notification to the WSU-Winona campus, WSU-Rochester-Broadway campus, and WSU-Rochester-RCTC campuses.

3. If in the professional judgment of responsible authorities, issuing a notification will compromise efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency, the emergency notification will be issued as soon as the condition that may compromise efforts is no longer present.

The following methods of communication may be used for emergency notifications:

• Text messages

• Voice calls

• University emails

• Pop-up WSU Alerts on university-owned laptop and desktop computers

• Pop-up WSU Alerts on campus digital signage displays

• Pop-up WSU Alerts on enrolled personal mobile devices

• WSU social media accounts

An authorized representative may distribute an emergency notification if a significant emergency or dangerous situation presents an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees near a WSU campus.

Related Documents:

• WSU Annual Security and Fire Safety Report

• WSU 2-22 Timely Warning & Security Announcements Policy

• WSU 2-24 Campus Security Authority (CSA) Policy

Related definitions:

[2-23] Authorized representative:

The University officials allowed to issue emergency notifications, including the Vice-President of Finance and Administration, Director of Security, Associate Director of Security, other full-time security personnel, Director of Marketing and Communications or designee(s), and the designated WSU-Rochester representative(s).

[2-23] Clery Act:

A federal statute codified at 20 U.S.C. § 1092(f), with implementing regulations at 34 C.F.R. 668.46. The law requires colleges and universities to report campus crime data, support victims of violence, and publicly outline policies and procedures in place to improve campus safety.

[2-23] Significant Emergency or Dangerous Situation:

An imminent or impending threat (e.g., current fire within a building; outbreak of meningitis, norovirus, or other serious illness; approaching tornado or other extreme weather condition; gas leak, explosion, or hazardous chemical spill; terrorist incident, armed intruder, or bomb threat; train derailment; civil unrest). Power outages, snow closures, or strings of larcenies do not necessitate an emergency notification.

[2-23] WSU Campus:

All WSU campuses including WSU-Winona, WSU-Rochester-Broadway campus, and WSU-Rochester-RCTC campus.

Authorizing Policy:

• 2-23 Emergency Notification Policy

History:

Adoption date: 07/01/2024
Implementation date: 07/01/2024