Emergency Protocol to Assist with Students

Emergency Protocol to Assist with Students

Policy Name: Emergency Protocol to Assist with Students
Policy Number: 05-04-008
Version Effective Date: April 25, 2022
Last Reviewed on: April 21, 2022
Policy Applies To: Students
Responsible Office: Office of the Dean of Students


INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
In collaboration with the aforementioned departments, to establish procedures to assist faculty and staff in dealing with emotionally distressed and/or disruptive students

POLICY
SCOPE
These procedures apply to all students, faculty, and staff of New Jersey City University.

POLICY
When a student becomes emotionally distressed and/or disruptive, immediate and appropriate action will be taken by the Department of Public Safety and the Division of Student Affairs.

Contents:
Section A. After Hours Medical or Mental Health Emergencies
Section B. Medical Emergencies
Section C. Disruptive Student Behavior
Section D. Minor Inappropriate or Unusual Behavior/Single Event Disruptions
Section E. Minor Inappropriate or Unusual Behavior/Single Event Disruptions
Section F. Multiple Event Disruptions
Section G. Students Who Attend Class under the Influence of Alcohol or Psychoactive Drugs
Section H. Suspensions, Terminations, and Referral to the Judicial Process
Section I. Student Arrests
Section J. Code of Conduct/Administrative Withdrawal
Section K. Follow-Up
Section L. Emergency Telephone Numbers

INTRODUCTION
The New Jersey City University Division of Student Development & Community Engagement provides quality ÃÛÌÒtv services that are proactive and student centered. The Division meets this responsibility by enhancing students' involvement, reinforcing their academic experience, and creating and maintaining a nurturing and healthy climate.

For the most part, emergency issues are handled through the Department of Public Safety, the Division of Student Development & Community Engagement, the Office of the Dean of Students, and ÃÛÌÒtv and Wellness Services.

  • The Department of Public Safety is located in Room 115, Rossey Hall and can be contacted via ext. 3128 or 55 on any campus phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
  • The Division of Student Development & Community Engagement office is located in Room 303, Hepburn Hall and can be reached @ ext. 3507 from 8:30am until 5:30pm, Monday through Friday during the Academic Year, and 8:00am until 5:15pm, Monday through Thursday during the summer sessions.
  • The Office of the Dean of Students is located in the Gilligan Student Union, Room 111 and can be reached @ ext. 3525 from 8:30am until 5:30pm, Monday through Friday during the Academic Year, and 8:00am until 5:15pm, Monday through Thursday during the summer sessions.
  • The ÃÛÌÒtv Center is located at in the Gilligan Student Union, Room 308 and can be reached @ ext. 3165 from 8:30am until 4:30pm, Monday through Friday during the Academic Year, and 8:00am until 5:15pm, Monday through Thursday during the summer session. 
  • The Health and Wellness Center is located in Vodra Hall, Room 107 and can be reached @ ext. 3456, Monday - Thursday between 8:00am - 6:00pm and Friday between 8:30am - 4:00pm during the Academic Year; and Monday - Thursday between 8:00am – 5:00pm during the summer sessions.

Section A. After Hours Medical or Mental Health Emergencies

  • If you are experiencing an after-hours emergency and you are on campus, contact Public Safety at 201-200-3128 or 55 from any campus phone.
  • If you are experiencing an after-hours emergency and you are off campus, call the Jersey City Medical Center's 24-hour crisis line at 201-433-6161.

Section B. Medical Emergencies
Medical emergencies may consist of breathing difficulties, severe bleeding, convulsions, unconsciousness, head injuries, assault, domestic violence, acute allergic reactions, etc. In case of a medical emergency, please follow the indicated protocol:

  • Contact Public Safety @ ext. 3128 or 55 on any campus telephone to give location and request assistance. Public Safety will assess the condition of the student, and if an ambulance is needed (with the student's consent), will arrange to have the student taken to the nearest hospital.
  • If necessary, Public Safety will contact the following offices for ÃÛÌÒtv until the ambulance arrives, the Office of the Dean of Students @ ext. 3525 and/or the ÃÛÌÒtv Center @ ext. 3165.
  • If an ambulance is not needed, Public Safety will transport the student to the Health and Wellness Center if appropriate
  • In both cases, Public Safety and other involved parties will complete incident reports and forward cop(ies) to the Office of the Dean of Students an/or the ÃÛÌÒtv Center if necessary.

Section C. Mental Health Emergencies
When a faculty or staff member is confronted with a student who appears to be emotionally distressed
and/or is experiencing a mental health emergency, s/he should immediately follow the procedures indicated below. Generally, a distressed student might exhibit some or all of the following behaviors: a depressed or lethargic mood, inability to communicate clearly, loss of contact with reality, talking out of turn, hinting of suicidal thoughts or intentions, highly disruptive behavior, or homicidal threats. Although less severe, the following characteristics may also indicate emotional distress: repeated requests for special consideration, withdrawal from activities, changes in interaction with friends, changes in sleep or eating patterns, or excessive absences.

  • Suicide Verbalization
  • Contact Public Safety @ ext. 3128 or 55 on any campus telephone to give location and request assistance.
  • Public Safety will contact the Office of the Dean of Students @ ext. 3525 and the ÃÛÌÒtv Center @ ext. 3165. 
  • Suicide Attempt
  • Contact Public Safety @ ext. 3128 or 55 on any campus telephone.
  • Public Safety will contact the Office of the Dean of Students @ ext. 3525 and the ÃÛÌÒtv Center @ ext. 3165 to assess and make the necessary referrals (contact the hospital).
  • Public Safety will make transportation arrangements.
  • If necessary, contact the Health and Wellness Center @ ext. 3456 to assist in monitoring the student while awaiting transport.
  • Sexual Assault – Contact Public Safety @ ext. 3128 or 55 on any campus telephone. As appropriate, Public Safety will contact the Office of the Dean of Students @ ext. 3525, and/or the ÃÛÌÒtv Center @ ext. 3165 to assess and make the necessary referrals. In all cases, the victim's confidentiality will be maintained. The victim is encouraged to seek assistance as per the information and resources provided in the Sexual Assault and Gender-Based Policy. A record of the complaint will be filed with the Office of the Dean of Students, as well as with the Affirmative Action Office.
  • Dangerous and/or Disruptive Behavior (including after 5 pm, weekends and holidays) – A dangerous student can be described as one who uses an object (i.e., stick, knife, gun, chair, etc.) against him/herself and/or others. Generally a disruptive student might exhibit the following characteristics, interrupting a gathering, class, or meeting, etc. by speaking out of turn, cutting others off, making inappropriate comments, etc. Contact Public Safety @ ext. 3128 or 55 on any campus telephone to give location and request assistance.
  • Public Safety will dispatch officers to the scene and will inform the following offices of the situation.
  • Public Safety (supervisor) @ext. 3128 or 55 on any campus telephone
  • The Office of the Dean of Students
    @ ext. 3525 or the Division of Student Affairs
    @ ext. 3507
  • As appropriate, the ÃÛÌÒtv Center staff will be contacted by a member of the Office of the Dean of Students @ ext. 3165
  • Public Safety officers will clear the area of all spectators.
  • If appropriate, the Director of Public Safety or a member of his unit will contact the Jersey City Police Department.
  • If hospitalization is needed, the ÃÛÌÒtv Center will assume the responsibility for contacting and informing the appropriate hospital of the situation. Public Safety will arrange for the student to be transported to the hospital.
  • The Dean of Students' staff will assume the responsibility for getting in touch with the student's emergency contact.
  • Official incident reports will be submitted by all parties to the Dean of Students and the Vice President of Student Affairs within 12-24 hours.

Section D. Disruptive Student Behavior
Disruptive behavior on campus or in classrooms is not permitted. The primary responsibility for managing the teaching and learning environment rests with faculty or any other person acting in a supervisory capacity over the instructional forum. Faculty/staff have the right to ask a disruptive student to leave a classroom or an office. All incidents are to be reported to Public Safety and to the Dean of Students in order to keep a record of such behavior and to inform students about their rights and responsibilities via New Jersey City University's Student Code of Conduct.

  • Expectations for On-campus/Classroom Student Behavior
  • Students are expected to treat each other and the faculty/staff with common courtesy, decency and respect. They will refrain from those behaviors that interfere with the teaching/learning process and/or conducting university business.
  • Students must respect the authority of faculty/staff and any attempts to dispute this authority will be considered disruptive.
  • General Principles for Handling of Disruptive Students:
  • When faced with disruptive behavior in a classroom, office, or other instructional/business setting, faculty/staff is advised to keep her/his emotional reactions under control and to refrain from using abusive language. The ability of faculty/staff to keep calm may prevent escalation of the behavior.
  • Some students may respond better to an initial private discussion of their disruptive behavior rather than a public admonishment. It is very important that faculty/staff not engage in a physical confrontation with a disruptive student except for self-defense or for preventing injury to other students.
  • If it becomes necessary to remove the student from the area, contact Public Safety at @ ext. 3128 or 55.
  • The Need for Documentation of Disruptive Events:
  • Disruption by a student may be a single major event or it may occur repeatedly as a series of less serious events. In the effort to verify a history of repeated disruption, it is very important for faculty/staff to document disruptive behavior by noting date, time and the specific disruptive student behavior.
  • By the time faculty/staff has decided to remove the student from class/office/department, several disruptive episodes may have occurred. However, unless faculty/staff has documented each episode, it may be necessary to begin the documentation process at the point at which the action to remove the student occurs.

General Principles for Documenting Disruptive Behaviors:

  • When keeping notes or completing forms about disruptive behaviors, faculty/staff should confine comments about the student to describing the specific disruptive behaviors. The comments should not take the form of real or implied statements of psychological diagnosis, speculations on the student's motives or mental status, or value judgments about the student.
  • It is important to document what the student did, not to speculate why s/he was doing it. This can be done by completing an Incident Report Form.

Section E. Minor Inappropriate or Unusual Behavior/Single Event Disruptions
Single Event Disruptions – a student becomes disruptive in a classroom/office/department but there is no previous history or pattern of repeated disruptive behaviors. Examples: A student comes to class intoxicated and engages in inappropriate behavior or a student becomes angry and the situation escalates to a disruptive level of confrontation with another student or the instructor

  • When a faculty or staff member is confronted with a student who exhibits minor inappropriate or unusual behavior, s/he should assume initial responsibility for correcting/controlling the situation. If the situation escalates and/or becomes uncontrollable, the faculty or staff member staff should follow the procedures indicated below.
  • The faculty/staff may ask the disruptive student to leave if her/his continued behavior is compromising instruction or the transaction of business. Faculty/staff should state clearly to the student what behaviors are disruptive and give the student the option of leaving the classroom/office/department and returning after s/he regains control.
  • Faculty/staff should also inform the student as to the consequences for continued disruptive behavior.
  • If the student refuses to leave when asked, faculty/staff may leave the classroom/office and call Public Safety to remove the student. Faculty/staff should not try to remove the student. If faculty/staff believes that other students/staff are in danger due to the situation, s/he may cancel the class.
  • Contact Public Safety @ ext. 3128 or 55 on any campus telephone.
  • Upon contacting Public Safety to request assistance, the faculty or staff member must give his/her name, the class or office location, and the reason for the call.
  • A Public Safety officer will be dispatched to the scene as quickly as possible.
  • The Public Safety officer will determine if additional administrative assistance is required. If so, s/he will contact the supervisor on duty who will assess the situation.
  • Once the situation has been resolved, the Public Safety officer will complete an official incident report, which will be forwarded to the Dean of Students within 24 hours.
  •  The Dean of Students will contact the student and initiate the appropriate action to be taken, as per New Jersey City University's Code of Conduct.
  • The faculty/staff should complete an Incident Report Form within 24 hours. The Public Safety report may serve as the initial incident report. Copies of this report should be filed with the concerned department, the Office of the Dean of Students, as well as Public Safety. A representative of the Office of the Dean of Students will meet with the student and/or faculty/staff to discuss the incident prior to taking action, unless additional immediate action is warranted.

Section F. Multiple Event Disruptions
Multiple Event Disruptions occur when a student shows a pattern of disruptive behavior consistently within several classes and/or an office, which, in the judgment of faculty/staff, impairs the instructional/business process. Because of these behaviors, faculty/staff is less able to teach/transact business and other students are less able to learn/transact business. Examples: A student arrives late repeatedly and disrupts classroom activities as s/he enters the instructional setting. A student distracts by talking out of turn or repeatedly refuses to observe normal expectations for classroom etiquette. A student repeatedly monopolizes the classroom discussion, refusing to allow other students to talk, or repeatedly challenges faculty authority to lead the class. A student repeatedly returns to an office demanding services by talking loudly, threatening or physically attacking staff/students. Procedures to remove the student should be followed as indicated in Section E above.

Section G. Students Who Attend Class under the Influence of Alcohol or Psychoactive Drugs
Attending class under the influence of alcohol or psychoactive drugs may present dangers for the intoxicated student as well as for classmates and others. Because of these dangers, especially in laboratory, field or clinical situations, an instructor is justified in asking a student who appears to be under the influence of alcohol or psychoactive drugs, even if s/he is not overtly disruptive, to leave the class. Such actions should be documented and pursued by the instructor in the same way as described for single or multiple event disruptions. Instructors should be aware that unexpected reactions to prescription medications occasionally occur and this should be ruled out before disciplinary actions are recommended.

Section H. Suspensions, Terminations, and Referral to the Judicial Process
Please note: In the case of either single event or multiple event disruptions, letters from college officials to warn, suspend, or terminate as required by this policy, should be either hand delivered (with a witness) or sent to the student by a form of US certified mail that requires the student to sign for the letter upon receipt. E-mail should not be used for such notifications.

  • If the Office of the Dean of Students elects to request termination of student participation in a course, it will be recorded as an Administrative Withdrawal. The student will be informed in writing by the Office of the Dean of Students with regard to the intended disciplinary action.
  • If there is a suspicion that the student is a threat to her/himself or others, or to University property, or if s/he is disruptive to the normal operations of the University, an Interim Suspension, pending disciplinary proceedings or medical evaluation, may be justified. Such suspensions can be immediate and without prior notice (at the discretion of the Office of the Dean of Students and/or the Division of Student Affairs). The student's suspension may continue until a professional evaluation clarifies her/his mental status or at which time a judicial process can be facilitated in a fair manner with no risk to the University community.
  • Student appeals of the Interim Suspension or an Administrative Withdrawal should be directed to the Office of the Dean of Students.

Section I. Student Arrests

In all cases of student arrest, police should be directed to the NJCU Department of Public Safety, located in Rossey Hall, Room 115. Public Safety will dispatch officers to the scene and will inform the following offices of the situation:

  • Supervisor of Public Safety (ext. 3128 or 55 on any campus telephone)
  • Office of the Dean of Students (ext. 3525) or Division of Student Affairs (ext. 3507) 

The following procedures will be put into place immediately:

  • Public Safety officers will clear the area of all spectators.
  • Staff members from the Office of the Dean of Students will assume the responsibility for reaching out to the student's emergency contact.
  • Within 12 to 24 hours of the incident, all parties will submit official incident reports via to the Vice President of Student Affairs and the Office of the Dean of Students.

The student should contact the Department of Public Safety (201-200-3128) to arrange transportation back to campus.

Section J. Code of Conduct/Administrative Withdrawal
If, because of the above, the student is found in violation of the Student Code of Conduct, and is determined to be mentally competent (since all students are held to the same standard do we need to include this?), the University reserves the right to impose the appropriate disciplinary proceedings and sanctions as indicated therein.

As per the Student Code of Conduct, the University reserves the right to administratively withdraw or deny registration to any student who fails to comply with institutional policies and regulations.

Section K. Follow-Up
As deemed appropriate, additional administrators/person(s) may be contacted. This list includes, but is not limited to:

  • The Executive Director of Residence Life @ ext. 2116 – incident involving dorm students
  • The Director of ÃÛÌÒtv and Wellness Services @ ext. 3165 – incident involving the physical and/or mental health of students
  • The Director of Athletics @ ext. 3317 – incident involving athletes
  • The Coordinator of the Speicher Rubin Women's Center for Equity and Diversity @ ext. 3189 – incidents involving student sexual harassment or assault
  • The Title IX Coordinator @ ext. 3075 – incidents involving students/staff/faculty harassment or assault
  • The Office of Specialized Services and Supplemental Instruction @ ext. 2091 – incidents involving students who are part of Specialized Services
  • The student's parents (if he/she is under 18 years old) and/or other family member if is deemed necessary to protect the health and safety of the students and/or other persons

    Follow-up intervention will be provided for the student, i.e., maintenance of incident reports in the Office of the Dean of Students and the Department of Public Safety, as well as referral(s) to, the ÃÛÌÒtv Center and/or other community resources.

Section L. Emergency Telephone Numbers - Dial 55 or Use Yellow Phone Boxes

  • AIDS Hotline (24 hours)
    1-800-624-2377
  • Al-Anon
    1-973-744-8686
  • Alcohol Helpline (24 hours)
    1-800-222-2284
  • Alcohol Hotline (TDD-voice)
    1-800-322-5525
  • Alcoholics Anonymous
    1-800-245-1377
  • Child Abuse Hotline
    1-800-792-8610
  • Substance Abuse Hotline (National)
    1-800-662-4357
  • Crisis Hotline/ Jersey City Medical Center (24 hours)
    201-915-2210 or 201-433-6161
  • Christ Hospital
    201-795-8374
  • National Substance Abuse Hotline (24 hours)
    1-800-225-0196
  • Family Helpline
    1-800-843-5437
  • Narcotics Anonymous
    1-800-992-0401
  • NJ Self-Help Clearinghouse
    1-800-367-6274
  • Parents Anonymous (Child Abuse Prevention)
    1-800-843-5437
  • Poison Control
    1-800-764-7661
  • Sexual Assault and Incest Hotline
    201-795-8375

DATE TO INITIATE REVIEW AND UPDATE
As deemed necessary or appropriate by the Policy Coordinator but at a minimum, at least every 5 years from the effective date.