Incident Response and Post Incident Follow-up Protocols

Student Affairs: Campus Life, Athletics, Enrollment Services, and SJCE

Holy Names University

September 2013

  1. Incident Response Protocols
  1. Incidents involve situations where someone/something is harmed and/or when a suspected violation of university policy occurs. Incidents do not imply that individuals involved violated university policy or that specific sanctions will be applied. Sanctions only apply when an individual is found to be in violation of university policy and a sanction is an appropriate resolution.
  2. Incident reports are official university records of an incident and should be thorough and professional.
  3. Incident reports are mandatory and must be completed by the attending staff member immediately after an incident (e.g., suspected alcohol violation, allegations of sexual assault reported to staff members who are not counselors) occurs.
  4. For all incidents, address the immediate issues first:
  5. if there is an emergency, contact the police
  6. if the incident is a nonemergency that may require police involvement, contact the Dean for Student Development and Engagement
  7. Report the incident and any known information to the Dean for Student Development and Engagement who will review and forward as appropriate to campus safety, vice presidents, and other appropriate parties.
  8. To construct an incident report, complete the electronic form via Incident Tracker on-line database or send an e-mail with the following information in the text or as an attachment:
  9. Information about the incident: Last Name(s), First Name(s), of all individuals involved, when/where the incident happened (date, time, location), and a complete description of the incident.
  10. Response to the incident: Who responded, were the authorities notified (Yes/No) if so, who (Police/Fire/911/Bawar/etc…)
  11. If police or fire authorities were involved, were there special instructions? What was the case number assigned? What was the name of the reporting officer(s)? What contact information for authorities was received?
  12. Follow-up with the report to provide additional details.
  13. Written statements should clearly identify behavior, not opinion. For example, use: student A said there were three guys in the hallway, and I know one of them was X; do not use student A said there were three guys in the hallway and I know one of them, he’s such a jerk.
  14. Incidents may not be forwarded to anyone but university officials.
  15. A copy of all Incident Reports should be sent by the Dean for Student Development and Engagement to the Vice President for Student Affairs and the special assistant to the vice president as soon as possible after the incident has occurred.
  16. The office of the Dean for Student Development and Engagement (Campus Life) serves as the official university storage place for all judicial records and incidents involving students.
  1. Post Incident
  1. If more information is identified after an incident report has been filed, that additional information should be sent to the office of the Vice President for Student Affairs where it will be included with any information on file.
  2. In cases where there may be a violation of university policy, the provisions outlined in the Student Code should be applied. The Guidelines for Adjudicating Student Discipline Matters contain procedures for follow-up.
  3. For all incidents involving residents, the Dean for Student Development and Engagementor designeewill serve as a judicial advisor and follow-up as necessary and appropriate. The Dean for Student Development and Engagement or designee will investigate details surrounding an incident as necessary to obtain information relevant to the incident. The Dean or designee will apply university policies as appropriate (e.g., Student Code of Conduct, Parental Notification Policy).
  4. The Dean will consult with the Vice President for Student Affairs on an ongoing basis as to whether specific cases should be addressed by a judicial advisor or by a hearing panel and whether the application of policies is appropriately aligned with university expectations.
  5. The Dean will consult as necessary with security and/or other entities for investigatory purposes.
  6. Upon resolution of an incident (i.e., conclusion of a hearing), all documents/records, including paper and e-mail, must be provided to the office of the Vice President for Student Affairs.
  7. For other incidents (e.g., athletics, security), reports should be filed as outlined above and Vice President for Student Affairs, in consultation with staff, will determine whether to pursue a matter through the Student Hearing and Appeal system.