Seton Hall University

Collection of Personal Contact Data for Emergency Notification System

Purpose

The University has contracted with an outside vendor to provide the University community with emergency notification services in times of emergency. These emergency notices will be broadcast by voice mail, e-mail and text messages. This system will only be used in the case of an emergency in which the safety and well being of our community is threatened or the normal operations of the campus are disrupted. Therefore it is important that as many members of the campus community as possible participate in this system. The University also respects the right to privacy of all its students and employees. Therefore, as part of the emergency notification system, the University will defer to anyone's decision not to have personal contact information, beyond their University e-mail address, included in the system. 

Policy

The University will, as a matter of course, collect and maintain contact information (including, but not limited to, e-mail address and cell phone number) for all current students and employees. Student information will be collected each year as part of registration. Employee information will be collected through the Banner Self Service system. Information on both students and employees will be stored in the Banner system and uploaded by the University into the emergency notification system. The University will upload whatever contact information it has on students and employees, but it is the responsibility of each person to manage their own contact information and preferences through the vendor's Web site. Regular updates from the Banner system will be scheduled in order to add new students and employees, as well as to delete those who have left the University.
 
The first time that the emergency notification system receives contact information for any member of the University community, the system will issue a message to the individual's University e-mail account to confirm registration in the system. This e-mail message will instruct the user to visit the service provider's Web site in order to update their contact preferences. Individuals can manage their contact preferences through the service provider's Web site and can choose to remove contact information for personal phone or e-mail accounts. However, the e-mail address for each individual that is provided by the University will always remain in the system. If no reply is made, then the individual will default into the emergency notification system with whatever contact information has been provided by the University. The University will maintain a link on its Web site with information on the emergency notification system and individuals will be able to manage their contact information in the system at any time through this site.

Public Safety and Security will oversee the emergency notification system and the information processes that support its functioning. The Registrar's Office will collect and maintain student contact information. The Technology Manager for Human Resources will collect and maintain employee contact information. The Office of Information Technology for Student Affairs and Enrollment Services will be responsible for managing the transfer of data from Banner to the emergency notification system and for maintaining the University's emergency notification Web site.

Responsible Offices

  • Department of Public Safety and Security

Approval

Approved

Effective Date

September 3rd, 2008