Results and Recommendations of the President's Working Group Report on Emergency Preparedness
October 10, 2007
To the Campus Community:
Following the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech last spring, Cal State Northridge,
like other universities across the nation, has evaluated campus security and
is undertaking enhancements in response to what people have learned from the
Virginia Tech experience. It is our intent to do everything we can to
provide a safe and secure campus with the realization that absolute safety
and security can never be guaranteed.
We sought input from the campus community, and established a working group
to study the lessons learned and the recommendations made by various experts.
Cal State Northridge has historically placed a high priority on emergency
preparedness and response, having learned many valuable lessons from the Northridge
earthquake in 1994.
Still, the Virginia Tech tragedy motivated us to take a fresh look at what
we are doing, and how we might improve. In addition to reviewing Cal
State Northridge’s present preparedness, the working group made a number
of recommendations that are currently being implemented.
- The group was satisfied that we have an excellent campus Emergency Operations
Plan in place – one which is an “all hazards” approach
to emergency situations. Access to the information contained in this
plan is now being enhanced by creation of desk references tailored to students,
faculty, and staff. Further information on emergency preparedness is
available from the link “Emergency Information” at the bottom
of the campus home webpage (http://www.csun.edu)
or at http://www-admn.csun.edu/publicsafety/emergency/.
- Over the past few years, many of our campus departments and colleges have
developed or updated their department Emergency Action Plans. I recently
gave a directive to the division vice presidents that all departments must
develop emergency action plans by December 2008. The Department of
Public Safety provides a template and training for developing your plan.
- The Department of Public Safety has created a Threat Management Unit to
help university officials evaluate the dangers posed by persons whose behaviors
may raise concern or alarm in other members of the campus community. Also,
selected personnel from Student Affairs, University Counseling Services,
and Public Safety now meet regularly to collaborate on appropriate steps
when student behavior is of concern or appears to pose a danger to self or
others.
- The Division of Information Technology and the Department of Public Safety
are collaborating to implement a mass communication system (Connect-ED),
capable of delivering emergency messages simultaneously to phone numbers
and email addresses, for all students, faculty, and staff. The system
has already undergone preliminary tests with selected segments of the campus
community. Further tests with staff, faculty, and students will take
place over the coming months. Please take a moment to update your phone
numbers and email addresses through the campus web portal, myNorthridge. In
case of emergency it is vitally important that the service has your up-to-date
contact information.
Faculty
and Staff instructions:
- Log on to the myNorthridge portal.
- In the Faculty or Staff home pages, look for the pagelet called “Emergency
Information.” (If you do not see it displayed, add it through the “Personalize” link. It
is listed under “Pagelets for Everyone.”)
- In the “Emergency Information” pagelet, click on “Update
my Personal Info.”
- To change your phone numbers, click on “change phone numbers” and
make changes. Save by clicking on the save button.
- To change emergency contacts, click on “change emergency contacts” make
changes. Save by clicking on the save button.
Student
instructions:
- Log on to the myNorthridge portal.
- In the Student home page, look for the “My Path to Graduation” pagelet.
- Click on “Student Center (SOLAR).”
- Scroll down to “Personal Information.”
- To change your phone numbers, click on the phone link and make changes. Save
by clicking on the save button.
- To change your emergency contacts, click on the emergency contact link and
make changes. Save by clicking on the save button.
- The campus Carillon, which provides clock chimes and is used to play music
on the main campus, is operational for emergency notification under the control
of Public Safety. We are working to extend this service to the residence
hall area.
- For further redundancy of emergency communication, Information Technology
is evaluating software that can leverage the current VoIP office telephones
for contacting personnel during an emergency. For example, office
phones might act as loudspeakers and/or provide text messaging in the phone
display.
- The Department of Public Safety is available to provide security surveys
of office spaces and make recommendations for improvements or reconfigurations
to enhance security. There is no charge for this service. Personnel
in the colleges who want to take advantage of this service should request
it through their college dean. Others should make their requests through
their division vice president.
- Facilities Planning and Physical Plant Management are examining ways to
improve navigation and way-finding on campus for external entities aiding
in emergency response.
- The Department of Public Safety will collaborate with Student Affairs and
Human Resources to provide information to students, faculty, and staff on
what an individual can and should do if s/he perceives a threat or encounters
a threatening situation. We continue to consider appropriate vehicles
and venues to deliver this training.
Jolene Koester
President
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