40.4.0 Communication
40.4.1 Official Mode
The official method by which SUNY Canton communicates with its students will be the campus e-mail system. Each student will be issued a campus e-mail address to be utilized by the College throughout the duration of their enrollment at SUNY Canton as the official mode of communication with the student. It is each student’s responsibility to check their e-mail on a regular and timely basis.
40.4.2 Emergency Notifications
Timely Warnings and Emergency Notifications
What warrants a “timely warning” or “emergency notification”?
Timely Warnings shall be issued whenever a Clery Crime that is considered to represent a serious or continuing threat to students and employees is reported to University Police or a local police agency and has occurred within the University’s Clery Geography. Whenever a timely warning is sent, it may be sent to the entire Campus Community or to the relevant population if technology allows.
Emergency Notifications shall be issued when a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees occurs on the campus. As appropriate, emergency notifications may be targeted at only a segment or segments of the campus community that is at risk. Emergency notifications will be issued without delay unless doing so would compromise efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency.
Who Decides?
The Vice President for Student Affairs/Dean of Students, or a designee of The Vice President for Student Affairs/Dean of Students, in conjunction with the Chief of University Police and/or other campus and non-campus officials as appropriate, shall confirm the existence of a situation that may warrant a warning or notification and determine if a timely warning or emergency notification is warranted and the extent of the notification as appropriate. In addition to criminal incidents, emergency notifications may be issued in situations such as, but not limited to:
- Safety-Related Issues:
- An incident that occurs ON any of our campuses that affects the personal safety and security of our population.
- An incident that occurs in close proximity to the campus that may potentially affect the personal safety and security of our student, faculty and staff population.
- Health-Related Issues:
- A member of our population is diagnosed with a serious or life-threatening communicable/infectious disease.
- Evidence of bio terrorism.
The only reason an immediate notification for a confirmed emergency or dangerous situation would not be issued is if doing so will compromise efforts to: assist a victim, contain the emergency, respond to the emergency, or otherwise mitigate the emergency.
How will a Timely Warning or an Emergency Notification be Communicated?
For Safety-Related Issues:
The means of communication will be chosen by the Vice President for Student Affairs/Dean of Students or the designee based upon the nature of the incident. Possible means of communication are:
- E-mail to all students and/or faculty/staff
- Postings in campus center and residence halls as applicable to the incident. Postings can be emailed to various offices as needed
- Delivery of hard-copy notification to all residential rooms and suites as needed
- Posting of notification on University Police Department website
- SUNY Canton RAVE Alert in the case of a critical campus-wide emergency
For Health-Related Issues:
The means of communication will be chosen by the Vice President for Student Affairs/Dean of Students or the designee based upon the nature of the incident. Possible means of communication are:
- Email to all students
- Letters to parents (extremely minimal) most likely done in cases of measles, mumps, or rubella. Viral Meningitis would be communicated to the parents whose students are directly affected.
- Email to faculty and staff, if appropriate
- Posting of notification on the College website