Emergency Notification

Emergency Notification

Federal law requires colleges and universities to “immediately notify the campus community upon the confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or staff occurring on the campus, unless issuing a notification will compromise efforts to contain the emergency.” The CEO/Dean or designee will, without delay, decide whether to issue a timely campus safety/crime warning or emergency notification on a case‐by‐case basis considering the facts surrounding a crime, including factors such as the nature of the crime, the continuing danger to the campus community, and the possible risk of compromising law enforcement efforts. Information for timely campus safety/crime warnings and emergency notifications may also come from other law enforcement agencies. The CEO/Dean or designee will also determine the appropriate segment or segments of the campus community which will receive the notice, and whether to disseminate the emergency information to the larger community based on the above‐described analysis. The Communications & Marketing Department is responsible for issuing timely warnings and emergency notification.

Timely Warning

Crimes for which a timely warning may be appropriate include, but are not limited to: murder, manslaughter, sex offenses, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, arson, motor vehicle theft, and hate crimes. Timely warnings will typically include the following information, if known:

1. A succinct statement of the incident, including the nature and severity of the threat and locations or persons who might be affected;
2. Any connection to previous incidents;
3. Physical description and/or composite drawing of the suspect;
4. Date and time the warning was released;
5. Other relevant and important information, such as any bias motive, the gender of the victim, and/or student/non‐student status; and
6. Appropriate safety tips.

Notification Types

Depending on the particular circumstances of the incident, timely campus safety/crime warnings and emergency notifications may be distributed by any one or more of the following means:

1. The GFC MSU Alert System text messaging system or recorded messages to other phones or devices;
2. E‐mail;
3. Posting an alert on GFC MSU home page and/or other sites where information will be likely to reach the
campus community such as digital signs and phone broadcast;
4. Posting on the outside entry doors of the College.

Anyone with information warranting a timely campus safety/crime warning or emergency notification should report the circumstances to the Office of the CFO or designee, by calling 406‐771‐2271, or in person at the Great Falls College MSU Campus, Administrative Suite, 2100 16th Ave S, Great Falls, MT 59405.

GFC MSU Alert

GFC MSU also has a text message and email‐based alert system to transmit brief, urgent messages to a large segment of the GFC MSU population as quickly as possible. The system is voluntary for campus community members who enroll. Enrollment is strongly recommended. For more information, visit the GFC MSU Alert web site.

Students, faculty, and staff may subscribe free of charge. Students and employees are encouraged to familiarize themselves with this information.