Emergency Response and Notification Procedures
Only the College Chancellor or his/her designee has the authority to declare an emergency. In the event of any significant emergency or dangerous situation off college property or on any OTC campus or education center, safety & security will attempt to verify the emergency or dangerous situation through any of the following methods:
- Contacting 911
- Off-duty police officers working on the main campus
- Local Emergency Management Agencies
- Local law enforcement.
- News media
- Safety & Security officers contacting the complainant
- Personal observations
- Homeland Security
- Missouri National Guard
- Missouri Department of Transportation
- National Weather Service
- City, county or state officials
- Local utility companies
- Local hospitals
- Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Once a significant emergency or dangerous situation has been verified, college administration along with Safety & Security will notify the college community without unnecessary delay, using any or all of the following methods:
- One-on-one or small group meetings with employees and students when possible
- Large assemblies of employees and students.
- Emergency Short Messaging System (e2campus). This method of communication is voluntary and requires all receivers to opt-in and is best effort delivery.
- Use of email groups.
- POP-ups on computers (when implemented).
- Use of voice mail messages.
- Regular communication vehicles, such as newsletters.
- Phone calls or visits to important external constituents, such as board members and political leadership.
- Information posted on the web.
- A telephone line established to provide assistance.
- Counseling of employees and students.
- OTC Telephone Alert System over all campus land line telephones.
Taking into account the safety of the community, college officials will determine the content of the notification and initiate the notification system, unless the notification will, in the professional judgment of college administration or local emergency agencies, compromise efforts to assist victims or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency. Depending on the particular circumstances of the crime or emergency, OTC may post a notice on the campus web site at http://www.otc.edu/, providing the college community with more immediate notification. Anyone with information warranting a timely warning should report the circumstances to OTC Safety and Security, at safety@otc.edu or by telephone at (417) 447-6911 or in person at the Safety and Security Office located in Information Commons, room 208, during normal weekday business hours.
See Appendix A: Emergency Contact Numbers