8.1.7 Emergency Notifications Policy

8.1.7 Emergency Notifications Policy

Policy Statement

This policy outlines when and how the College of Charleston notifies the campus community of crimes or other emergency situations that occur on or near campus.

Policy Manager and Responsible Department or Office

Chief of Police, Department of Public Safety

Departments/Offices Affected by the Policy

All departments/offices.

Policy

The College of Charleston’s emergency notification system, Cougar Alert, is used to immediately notify the campus community upon confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students and/or employees occurring on or near campus.

This confirmation will be based on the judgment of, and verification by, any member of the College’s Decisional Authority Team and may be based on information received from the College of Charleston Emergency Management Team, City of Charleston Police, Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, Charleston County Emergency Management, mutual aid incident command, College incident command, or federal/state agencies.

The College of Charleston emergency notification system operates under the supervision of the chief of campus police and members of the Emergency Management Decisional Authority Team. The Department of Public Safety will consult with the Office of the President, if circumstances allow, before initiating an alert or advisory. During the early phases of an emergency, the chief of campus police or the highest-ranking public safety officer on campus at the time of the emergency will be charged with determining the type of notification needed. If Public Safety is unable to issue the alert/advisory, the chief of police or the highest-ranking officer on duty will contact the on-call Public Information Officer for University Communications to issue the alert/advisory.

Testing of the emergency notification system will be conducted at least once during the fall semester and at least once during the spring semester to verify all systems are operating properly. The campus community will be notified via College email and web page postings in advance of the test.

Alerts/advisories will fall into one of the following three categories:

Cougar Alert – The Cougar Alert satisfies the requirement of an immediate notification system as required by the Clery Act. The Cougar Alert will be limited for use in emergency situations in which there is an immediate need to alter the normal behavior or movement on/around campus.
Timely Warning – As required by the Clery Act, Timely Warnings are required if a Clery crime has occurred within the College’s Clery Geography and poses a serious and/or continuing threat to campus.
Campus Advisory – A Campus Advisory is a notification to the campus community about upcoming or ongoing events that do not fit the guidelines for a Cougar Alert or a Timely Warning, but which campus members should be aware of for general safety reasons. Examples of possible Campus Advisories include case updates on ongoing public health matters, facilities-related issues affecting large numbers of people and other incidents. This advisory may be used for incidents occurring on or off campus. Campus Advisories will be issued by Public Safety or University Communications to students and employees through the College’s email system.

Procedures Related to the Policy

Related Policies, Documents or Forms

Emergency Management Plan

8.1.7 Emergency Notifications Policy PDF

Revision Log

Issue Date: 1/10/2023

Last Review Date: 1/02/2023

Next Review Date: 1/10/2028

Web Publication Date: 1/27/2026