VI-13.00 -- POLICY ON CAMPUS EMERGENCY PLANNING, PREPAREDNESS, AND RESPONSE
(Approved by the Board of Regents, September 5, 2008)
USM institutions are required to develop and maintain a program of campus emergency
preparedness that prepares the institution to avert a crisis on its campus and to
respond promptly and appropriately when an incident occurs. Campus emergency and
safety and security programs should focus on the protection of individuals, but
must also address facilities, information technology security and infrastructure,
business functions, and academic and research continuity.
1. Emergency Preparedness Plan
Each USM institution must have an Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP) developed
by a campus committee that is comprehensive and represents the campus community
(staff, students, and faculty), guided by leadership at the top level of the
university, and reflects unique institutional characteristics such as location,
size, and population. The EPP must meet the Basic Standards in I A. below and
be reevaluated biannually, including hazard vulnerabilities, scope, practices,
and effectiveness.
A. Basic Standards for Institutional Emergency Preparedness Plans include:
1. Organization and Coordination
a. Designation by the president or director of an USM regional center of
an individual who will oversee campus emergency planning, prevention,
preparedness, response and safety and security;
b. Establishment of clear lines of authority for overseeing and managing
emergency incidents and responding to emergencies, based on principles
of Incident Command Systems (ICS) and National Incident Management
Systems (NIMS);
c. Creation of a permanent Emergency Preparedness Committee (EPC) on
campus that meets regularly to monitor and update the EPP to ensure
accurate contact information, ICS, and building and campus plans,
as well as to address new types of threats;
d. Coordination with appropriate local and state emergency responders,
including communication systems to be used in the case of a serious
incident or major disaster; and
e. Creation of permanent multi-disciplinary behavioral assessment team(s)
to review reports and take appropriate action on potentially distressed
or disturbed members of the campus community, including students, staff
and faculty.
2. Risk Assessment and Planning
a. An annual risk assessment that reviews a comprehensive range of threats,
including natural disasters, hazardous materials, terrorism, violent
crime, and pandemic diseases, and identifies the top hazards faced by
the campus and those that could result in a significant loss of life;
b. A plan for the appropriate mitigation actions for top hazards, including
both short-term and long-term incident planning, evacuation planning and
shelter in place;
c. An action plan to achieve accreditation or recognition for the campus
police force as established by a professional police accrediting
organization by September 2013. In the event accreditation or
recognition is not achieved by September 2013, the institution
must provide a report to the BOR indicating the specific reasons
why accreditation or recognition was not achieved; and
d. Plans for continuation of IT services, communications, and essential
business functions in the immediate aftermath of an incident.
3. Emergency Preparedness and Prevention
a. Regular testing of the EPP;
b. Regular and appropriate training for the campus community on emergency
response plans should be provided for key emergency response staff and
other members of the campus community, including staff, faculty, and
students;
c. A comprehensive communication plan that will advise the campus community
of the emergency warning systems and appropriate responses to warnings;
d. A plan for communicating with the campus, surrounding communities, the
USM office, Board of Regents, families, and media in the case of an
emergency incident;
e. Programs to advise, involve, and solicit feedback from students on
issues of campus safety and security and emergency preparedness; and
f. Training for the campus community and the behavioral assessment team on
appropriate information sharing concerning distressed or disturbed
members of the campus community.
4. Response and Recovery
a. Use of redundant and varied systems of warnings and communications
before, during and after an incident, that include information about
the current incident or threat; and
b. An Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for use in response to specified
emergencies.
B. In addition to the basic standards listed above, USM institutions should strive to
meet best practice standards including the following:
1. Organization and Coordination
a. Include local and state police, fire department, emergency responders,
government, community, local utilities, healthcare providers, and
other organizations, in the creation and implementation of the EPP,
as appropriate, so all local emergency responses are coordinated;
and
b. Establishment of MOUs for coordinated relationships with USM
institutions and external organizations.
2. Risk Assessment and Planning
a. A Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) for the continuation of
essential functions in the case of an incident with a long-range
impact on the campus, including business operations and academic
and research programs.
3. Emergency Preparedness and Prevention
a. Full range of testing of EPP to include tabletop exercises, drills,
and full-scale simulation exercises with priority given to the top
hazards faced by the institution.
4. Response and Recovery
a. Accreditation for campus police force;
b. Utilization of facility coordinators, building emergency response
teams, or other approaches to ensure the safety and security in
each building on campus in the event of an emergency; and
c. Use of satellite phones and emergency network radios to support
Emergency Operations Centers (EOC).
C. Reporting and Accountability
1. Each institution is required to submit its EPP to the USM office by
January 12, 2009, for review and approval in accordance with the basic
standards specified in Section I.A. above.
2. USM internal audit reviews will include an assessment of campus emergency
preparedness plans to (1) determine if the basic standards in I. A. are met
and (2) the status of the campus in meeting the best practice standards in
I.B. of this policy.
3. Campus emergency preparedness plans should be updated annually and any major
revisions submitted to the USM office.
