Lesley University Emergency Plan

Introduction

Lesley University is committed to providing a safe environment for its community members in on and off-campus programs. The University maintains a crisis management plan to provide guidance for community members during an emergency situations that might threaten the physical safety of students, faculty and staff, the general public, and the resources of the University. The plan is a general guide and practical outline in what to do in the event of an emergency. Each procedures outlines specific responsibilities of any community member who becomes aware of an emergency. This 2009-2010 academic year also means planning for an expected resurgence in cases of the H1N1 influenza virus. All public health agencies are planning for an increase in flu cases, and at Lesley we are staying in touch with those agencies as we strive to keep the Lesley community healthy through the flu season. For more information, please see Flu Information link on the left hand side bar.

The Emergency Plan is designed to limit loss of life and property and to mobilize the necessary resources, e.g., crisis counseling, Emergency Medical Technicians, and local Police. Emergency planning is under continual review with periodic updates to the plan document. The Emergency Plan is not intended to replace existing Lesley University policies and procedures, including those that address standards of conduct, disciplinary actions, legal sanctions against illicit drug and alcohol use, or unlawful discrimination and harassment.

A complete list of existing University policies and procedures is located on the Lesley University web site at http://www.lesley.edu/policies.html, in academic catalogs, and in faculty, employee, and student handbooks.

As part of our continuing effort for campus safety, Lesley University is now subscribed to an Emergency Alert System (EAS). The system provides Public Safety the capability to alert students, faculty and staff of emergencies, or security-related incidents impacting campus safety. EAS is designed to assist universities to deliver high-level safety alerts to the campus community. The service, powered by Send Word Now (SWN) allows Lesley to send alerts to Students, Faculty and Staff simultaneously via all familiar communications methods such as email, text messaging, SMS, and phone (cell, blackberry, PDA pager, etc.). **Lesley Storm Emergency Closing notices occuring Monday to Friday outside of business hours 8:30am - 5pm will be sent as email and text messages only. Currently, weekend class cancellations are not part of LU-EAS notifications.

Community enrollment will commence with email notices to the community. Students, faculty and staff on the Cambridge and Boston campuses will be asked to update their contact information. The information you provide will establish the means by which you will receive campus emergency alerts and notifications. The information you provide will remain private. The system will be used for emergency alerts and notifications only.

Public Safety strongly encourages all Lesley University students, faculty and staff to participate in this important campus safety program.