EIU Office of Internal Auditing

#156 - Campus Safety Responsibilities

Approved: May 17, 2000

Nomenclature changes: December 13, 2001

Monitor: President

University administrators, department heads, supervisors, and individual employees are responsible for promoting safety in the workplace.

PUBLIC SAFETY

The Eastern Illinois University Police Department has a mission to provide professional, high quality, and effective police services in partnership with the University community.

This responsibility includes but is not limited to:

1. Developing and implementing procedures that ensure the fair enforcement of all laws and policies that are applicable.
2. Securing all the facts reasonably available and applying them to the objective of maintaining a safe campus.
3. Analyzing past University problems and assisting in creating ways to reduce or eliminate such problems.
4. Developing rules, regulations and procedures to help facilitate the orderly accomplishment of public safety functions, including parking, vehicle, and pedestrian safety.
5. Reporting appropriate information to the Vice President for Student Affairs and/or President's Council as requested or required.

The Director of Public Safety, through the Vice President for Student Affairs, shall develop recommendations pertaining to these responsibilities for consideration by appropriate officials and bodies.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

The environmental health and safety program applies to all facilities owned or controlled by Eastern Illinois University. The goal of the program is the protection of life and property in the case of fire, occupational hazards, explosions, harmful chemicals, radiological exposure and a variety of other hazards resulting from equipment failure, natural disasters, and/or human error.

The Campus Safety Manual, which consists of Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA) requirements, National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), other appropriate building codes, as well as procedures for carrying out emergency preparedness activities and internal governing policies related to safety, attempts to ensure safety in planning, organizing and controlling University programs and activities. The Safety Manual is available through the Environmental Health and Safety Department or on the campus-wide information system.

Responsibilities of the Environmental Health and Safety Department include, but are not limited to:

1. Advising and assisting administrators, faculty, staff and students in carrying out the provisions of the Safety Manual.
2. Establishing permitted occupancy requirements for all public assembly areas of the University.
3. Reducing risk by investigating workplace accidents and recommending measures to eliminate future occurrences.
4. Reviewing prior to adoption of the final design new construction and renovation projects.
5. Interfacing with appropriate individuals, groups, and departments in the development of local guidelines and procedures to facilitate regulatory compliance, as well as updating the Safety Manual.
6. Fire prevention, including alarm systems and reporting procedures.

The University Safety Officer, through the Vice President for Business Affairs, shall develop recommendations as needed pertaining to these responsibilities for consideration by appropriate officials and bodies.

GENERAL

Incident/Accident Reporting

Students and employees are responsible for reporting incidents or accidents which cause personal injury or property damage according to the laws of Illinois and procedures established by the University.

Crowd Control

The event promoter (Athletics, University Board, Arts and Humanities, etc.) representing the University shall attempt to insure that life safety standards are maintained throughout a special event. It is incumbent upon the event promoter to consult with the University Police and the Environmental Health and Safety Department during the planning stage of the event where appropriate.

Extraordinary Events

The University does not sanction activities which endanger the health and safety of individuals. Sponsors of events involving University-owned or controlled facilities for extraordinary activities including but not limited to fireworks, parachute jumps, rappelling, ballooning, helicopter landings, pyrotechnics, carnivals, celebrations for the public, etc. are responsible for securing appropriate authorizations in accordance with procedures outlined in the Campus Safety Manual.

Building Evacuation

When a fire alarm is sounded in a building all persons are responsible for immediately evacuating the building and for not re-entering the building until the city Fire Department or the University Police have determined that it is safe to do so.

This policy provides a framework for general campus safety. Other campus safety policies, such as emergency preparedness, can be found elsewhere in this set of policies.