Emergency Notification (Policy 12110)

University Policy 12110

Download a Printable Version of Policy 12110

Effective Date

September 2014

Last Revision Date

June 30, 2021

Responsible Party

Department of Public Safety, (208) 426-6911

Scope and Audience

This policy applies to all faculty, staff, and students.

Additional Authority

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act), 20 U.S.C. § 1092(f);
34 CFR 668.46(e), Reporting and Disclosure of Information
University Policy 9270 (Communicable Disease)
University Policy 12000 (Clery Act Compliance)

1. Policy Purpose

To establish the University’s responsibilities and procedures for issuing emergency notifications for emergency incidents and/or dangerous situations.

2. Policy Statement

Boise State University is committed to ensuring the safety and security of its students, faculty, staff, and visitors by issuing emergency notifications for emergency incidents and/or dangerous situations to protect its critical infrastructure and key resources. The University will, without delay, and taking into account the safety of the community, determine the content of the notification and initiate the notification system, unless issuing a notification would, in the professional judgment of responsible authorities, compromise efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency.

3. Definitions

3.1 BroncoAlert

The automated system used to send Emergency Notifications in event of an emergency or critical incident at Boise State University.

3.2 Emergency Notification

A communication triggered when there is confirmation of a dangerous situation or emergency with immediate impact to life or property at Boise State University.

3.3 Timely Warning

A communication triggered when a crime is reported and the University determines there is a continuing threat to faculty, staff, students, or visitors. Crime reports often do not require immediate notice (an Emergency Notification), but are released once the pertinent information is available (See University Policy 12090 – Timely Warning for Crime Prevention) if a notice is deemed necessary.

4. Emergency Notification Procedures

4.1 Circumstances Requiring the University to Issue an Emergency Notification

a. The University will issue an Emergency Notification upon the confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students, faculty, staff, and/or visitors occurring on campus. If a threat is not immediate and involves a crime, the University may follow its Timely Warning procedures in University Policy 12090 (Timely Warning for Crime Prevention).

b. The only reason the University would not immediately issue an Emergency Notification for a confirmed emergency is if doing so would compromise the efforts to assist a victim, contain the emergency, respond to the emergency, or to otherwise mitigate the emergency.

c. Confirmation that there is a significant emergency or dangerous situation is achieved when subject matter experts working from credible sources confirm an emergency with one of the individuals listed in Section 4.2. Subject matter experts include but are not limited to local law enforcement, Emergency Management, and the National Weather Service.

d. The following list of situations, or similar circumstances, could require an Emergency Notification:

A potential life-threatening situation on the campus (active shooter or bomb threat)
A building emergency
A communicable disease outbreak
Extreme weather conditions (official weather warnings)
Unplanned University closures (for weather, power outages, etc.)

4.2 Who Determines if a Situation Requires an Emergency Notification

One of the following individuals, or their representative, will assess a situation and determine if a circumstance warrants an Emergency Notification:

Associate Vice President of Public Safety
Director for Security, Police, and Event Operations
Senior Boise Police Department Officer on duty assigned to Boise State
The Incident Commander
Manager of Emergency Preparedness and Continuity Planning
Clery Compliance Officer; or
Department of Public Safety Dispatch

4.3 Who Authorizes the Issuance of an Emergency Notification

a. One of the individuals listed in Section 4.2 above will confirm an emergency or dangerous situation with personnel on the scene and then authorize the notification.

b. If time allows, the authorizer from Section 4.2 should consult with the University president, or a vice president, before authorizing an Emergency Notification.

4.4 Who Creates the Emergency Notification Message

The Department of Public Safety will create the Emergency Notification for distribution.

4.5 Content of the Emergency Notification Message

a. The Department of Public Safety will determine the content of the Emergency Notification by assessing the situation and, if appropriate, selecting the relevant pre-approved template message for the Emergency Notification or drafting a message specific to the situation.

b. Some of the following factors could influence the content of the final message: armed suspects, bomb threat, fire, Hazmat incidence, shooting, street closure, or weather-related closure of the University.

c. Names of victims, if any, will be treated as confidential and withheld.

4.6 Who Sends an Emergency Notification/ Method of Distribution

a. The Department of Public Safety Dispatch will send Emergency Notifications through BroncoAlert or other communication vehicles. Please read the Emergency Operations Plan for the latest communication procedures.

b. In the case where the Department of Public Safety Dispatch is unavailable to issue a BroncoAlert, additional Department of Public Safety personnel who have been trained can issue the alert.

c. The Office of Communications and Marketing may send information about the notification via official means to the general public and the media.

4.7 Who Receives the Emergency Notification

The Department of Public Safety will determine the appropriate segment (or segments) of the campus community to receive a notification based on which segments of the University population need information about the Emergency. Generally, the University will send the entire campus community an Emergency Notification. If sending the notification to some members of the campus community and not others becomes necessary, these factors will be considered: type of emergency, location of emergency, or the possibility the emergency will become more dangerous.

4.8 Emergency Status Updates and “All Clear” Notifications

a. Emergency Notification status updates will be made when new information or instructions are available.

b. An “All Clear” notification indicates the emergency situation has been contained. All Clear notifications must be approved by the current Incident Commander on-scene at the incident.

Additional details for Emergency Notification are outlined in Annex G of the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP)

University Policy 12090 (Timely Warning for Crime Prevention)

Revision History