16.11 – Emergency Notification System

PART 1: PURPOSE

The purpose of this Rule is to establish a consistent method for collecting and maintaining contact information, delineate responsibilities of specific university offices, and provide guidance for the use of collected contact/notification information.

PART 2: RULE ADMINISTRATOR

The administrator of this Rule is the associate vice president for information technology.  The university’s Emergency Planning Committee, established by the NMSU system president, will also serve as an advisory body to the associate vice president for information technology, as needed for implementation and day-to-day management of this Rule.

PART 3: RULES

Students, faculty, and staff within the NMSU System are required to provide emergency notification information to the university that shall be used to contact them in the event of an emergency.

1. At their discretion, students, faculty and staff may also provide emergency contact information.
2. Both emergency notification information and emergency contact information shall be collected via university central administrative systems.
3. Official NMSU email shall be used as one method of contact.
4. Depending on the availability of notification/contact information, additional communication methods, such as text messaging and cellular phone calls, shall be employed.
5. Emergency contact/notification information provided to NMSU shall be used only by designated offices for notification of emergencies or for testing of the emergency notification system(s).

PART 4: PROCEDURES

A. Types of Information Collected

1. Emergency Notification Information: This information is used for mass notifications sent to the NMSU community. Examples of the use of this type of information include: tornado warning, active shooter alert, chemical release notice, etc.
2. Emergency Contact Information: This information is used to contact next of kin or others in case of a personal emergency. Examples for the use of this type of information include: illness, accident, etc., such as when the student/employee is unable to communicate to emergency personnel.

B. Collection of Information

1. Emergency Notification Information: Students, faculty, and staff have control over their emergency notification information, and shall be responsible for updating their information in the university’s central administrative systems. When a new employee or student establishes a NMSU username, she/he shall be required to provide an email address and phone number. In addition, other optional contact information, such as text and cellular numbers, shall be requested.
2. Maintenance of Emergency Notification Data: NMSU is responsible for controlling emergency contact information. NMSU shall grant access to the data to select offices, including Chancellor – NMSU System Community College, the Office of Information and Communication Technologies, and agents of the university contracted to provide emergency notification services. Written agreements regarding confidentiality of the data and limitations on use shall be maintained by the Procurement Services Office for any contracted services.

C. Mass Emergency Notifications

1. An emergency notification of students, staff, and faculty may be initiated when the following criteria are met:
   1. There is a major incident or threat affecting the safety of the NMSU community
   2. The emergency notification can help alleviate threats to others or shall otherwise improve public safety
   3. The emergency notification will not adversely impact public safety
2. The contents of emergency messages will vary depending on the circumstances of each incident. The following are examples of items that might be contained in a message:
   1. Statement that an emergency situation exists
   2. Location of the emergency
   3. Nature of the emergency (e.g., fire, explosion, shooting, tornado, flood, etc.)
   4. Guidance on actions to be taken
3. Authorized NMSU personnel shall:
   1. Make a determination regarding the notification method (g., text message, phone calls, e-mail, etc.) based on the circumstances of the incident and
   2. Initiate the notifications.
   3. After an emergency notification has been made, additional information shall be posted on the university website.

D. Communication with those Identified as Emergency Contacts

University officials shall use Emergency Contact information to contact in case of a personal emergency. Examples for the use of this type of information include: illness, accident, etc., such as when the student/employee is unable to communicate to emergency personnel.