I am taking this opportunity to address questions and share updates about campus safety at PSU.

We recently received questions about classroom safety guidelines in the event of violent or criminal behavior. In an emergency it is important that you rely on information communicated to you, your training, and your best judgment.

The PSU Emergency Procedures Plan provides the following information:

VIOLENT OR CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR ON CAMPUS:

Guidelines for responding to a situation with the potential for shooting violence

Evacuate to a safe area away from the danger, and take protective cover. Stay there until assistance arrives.

• Notify anyone you may encounter to do the same.

• Call University Police at 535-2330 or 911 and give the following information to the dispatcher:

1. Your name

2. Location of the incident (be as specific as possible)

3. Number of, identification or description of shooter(s), if known

4. Your exact location

5. Injuries to anyone, if known

No matter what the circumstances, if you decide to flee during an active shooting situation, make sure you have an escape route and plan in mind.

If activity is outside your building:

1. Go to a room that can be locked. Close and lock all the windows and doors, and turn off all the lights.

2. If your room can’t be locked, barricade the door with furniture; or determine if there is a nearby location that can be reached safely and secured.

3. If possible, get everyone on the floor and ensure that no one is visible from outside the building.

4. One person in the room should call 911 and tell the dispatcher what is taking place.

5. Remain in place until the police or a faculty member or campus administrator known to you gives the “all clear.”

If shooter is in the same building you are:

1. Go to a room that can be locked. Close and lock all the windows and doors, and turn off all the lights.

2. If your room can’t be locked, barricade the door with furniture; or determine if there is a nearby location that can be reached safely and secured.

3. If possible, get everyone on the floor and ensure that no one is visible from outside the room.

4. One person in the room should call 911 and tell the dispatcher what is taking place.

5. Remain in place until the police or a faculty member or campus administrator known to you gives the “all clear.”

If shooter enters your office or classroom:

1. Try to remain calm. Dial 911, if possible, and alert police. If you can’t speak, leave the line open so the dispatcher can listen to what’s taking place.

2. It might be possible to negotiate with the shooter; however, attempting to overpower the shooter with force should be considered a last resort, and only after all other options have been exhausted.

3. If the shooter leaves the area, proceed immediately to a safer place and do not touch anything that was in the vicinity of the shooter.

This information is available online at: plymouth.edu/emergency/procedures/crime.html.

We have also added information about classroom and building safety guidelines called “Shelter-in-Place.” The following guidelines have been developed based on best practices.

SHELTER-IN-PLACE:
Suggestions on how to respond if you encounter a natural or man-made threat that places you in harm’s way

Note: When a fire alarm sounds you are to immediately evacuate the building.

There are several types of incidents that could occur on or near campus which are unpredictable, and your immediate response depends on the situation you face.

The best practice, at least initially, or until you can get detailed information about the nature of the emergency, is to follow the concept of “shelter-in-place.” In other words, if you are already indoors, stay where you are! Then, as soon as you can, call University Police at 535-2330 and give the following information to the dispatcher:

1. Your name
2. Location of the incident (be as specific as possible)
3. Your exact location
4. What you can see/hear/smell
5. Injuries to anyone, if known

If the threat originates from inside your building:

1. Activate the building alarm.
2. Once the building evacuation alarm is activated, leave by the nearest marked exit and alert others to do the same.
3. Once outside, proceed to a clear area that is at least 500 feet away from the affected building. Know your designated area assembly points.
4. Do not return to an evacuated building unless told to do so by Fire or Police personnel on the scene.

==========================================

The President’s Cabinet has also charged the Emergency Communications Committee with having additional safety communication methods identified and operational by the beginning of the Fall Semester. Updates about these plans will be distributed later this spring.

The Emergency Communications Committee is also planning to make presentations in the fall—beginning with Faculty Week in August—to update the campus on the University’s emergency procedures.

Please take the time to review this information and the complete set of PSU Emergency Procedures which is available online at: plymouth.edu/emergency/index.html.

You can sign-up for PSU Alert—the University’s emergency text alert system—online at: plymouth.edu/alerts/index.html.

Please contact me with questions or comments.

Regards,
Chris Williams
Director of Public Relations

535-2476
cwilliams@plymouth.edu

Related items

• PSU Emergency Procedures Update
• How do I get my message out to campus? ‘Plink it!’
• Why P-Link? Why now?
• Say goodbye to PSU Announce, say hello to P-Link

PSU’s top priority is the safety and well being of University students, faculty, and staff as well as the residents of the surrounding communities. This is the basis from which decisions are made and actions are determined in a crisis situation. The PSU emergency plan provides information and instructions in the event of most any emergency situation. Communication, information, and preparation are at the heart of PSU’s emergency plan.

Communication:

• In the event of an emergency the University will work to communicate notifications, instructions, and timely information to the campus.
• The PSU emergency communication plan is one of redundancies. We use PSU Alert (text message and e-mail alerts), Need2Know e-mail, the PSU Web site (www.plymouth.edu), and the myPlymouth Web portal to get the initial warning with instructions out. This initial wave is designed to reach the vast majority of students, faculty, and staff.
• From there emergency responders and word of mouth will capture the balance.
• Once we have identified the scope of the emergency we will continue to update information on the University Web site, myPlymouth, and via e-mail. We can also establish a telephone information line to field calls from outside the University.
• Information will also be distributed to the media for the benefit of the community at large.

Information:

• PSU has made it a priority to familiarize the campus with the University’s emergency procedures. The PSU emergency plan is available online at www.plymouth.edu/emergency (the link is also located at the bottom of most every PSU Web page).
• An abridged version is also included in the University’s campus directory.
• Information posters have been distributed across campus including residence halls and off campus apartments.

Preparation:

• University Police officers, in conjunction with local law enforcement—Plymouth and Holderness—and public safety agencies like the Central N.H. Special Operations Team, sheriff departments and state police, have extensive training in high-risk emergency and crisis response. This includes being trained and equipped to respond to active shooter situations.
• Fire and Emergency medical response—PSU is part of a 26-town fire and medical-aid compact.
• Last April PSU received high marks for its participation in a bioterrorism drill that is an excellent example of a cooperative effort among local, state, and federal agencies.
• Speare Hospital is less than a mile from campus. Speare has relationships with Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center—including the Dart Emergency helicopter—and other regional trauma care facilities.
• Campus counselors are available to students, faculty, and staff.
• The University emergency communication committee meets biweekly to review processes and when appropriate incorporate new communication methods into the system.
• It is important that University students, faculty, and staff familiarize themselves with the procedures for various emergencies.
• Students, faculty and staff should consider signing-up for PSU Alert at: www.plymouth.edu/alerts/index.html.
  Currently when you register for the PSU Alert emergency system you can elect to receive text message and/or e-mail alerts from any, or all, of the following categories:

• PSU campus emergency alerts—this is the category used in an extreme emergency (fire, natural disaster, violent act, etc…)
• Class Cancellations/Curtailed Operations
• Flood alerts
• Graduate Studies Class Cancellations
• Network or Systems Down Alert

We regularly work on the PSU emergency plan and with constant planning, practice, and assessment we will work together to keep PSU safe.

Please contact me with any questions.

Chris Williams
Director of Public Relations
cwilliams@plymouth.edu

Related items

• PSU Emergency Procedures Update–What is ‘Shelter-in-place’?
• How do I get my message out to campus? ‘Plink it!’
• Why P-Link? Why now?
• Say goodbye to PSU Announce, say hello to P-Link

So you’ve got an event to promote or an announcement to make. How do you get your message out to campus? It’s simple really. Just “Plink it!” by submitting the information using the OPR online work request form located here: http://www.plymouth.edu/news/working/index.html and we’ll do the rest.

Using e-mail, myPlymouth, P-Week, and a variety of other channels we will work to get your information in front of your audience.

As always, let me know if you have any questions or comments regarding this information.

cmw

Related items

• Say goodbye to PSU Announce, say hello to P-Link
• Why P-Link? Why now?
• PSU Emergency Procedures Update–What is ‘Shelter-in-place’?
• PSU Emergency Procedures Update
• What’s this ‘P-Link’?

The issue is how do you keep track of everything going on at PSU?

After many hours of discussions and research We’ve concluded that most any bit of PSU news and information one could hope to find is available and accessible. The problem is where? We have information on on the Web site, myPlymouth, through ThisWeek@PSU, and distributed via e-mail–lot’s of e-mail.

The solution? P-Link.

OPR has consolidated information online and developed an efficient and easy to use e-mail system to keep the campus connected.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

cmw

Related items

• How do I get my message out to campus? ‘Plink it!’
• Say goodbye to PSU Announce, say hello to P-Link
• PSU Emergency Procedures Update–What is ‘Shelter-in-place’?
• PSU Emergency Procedures Update

I’m very excited about P-Link as it organizes information sharing on campus in such a way that everything you ever wanted to know about PSU will be centrally located. Plus, you will be able to access all of this important, relevant, and exciting information according to your preferences.

Here’s how it works:

First we identified three unique categories of information–Urgent, Need2know, and FYI–and defined them:

Urgent messages require immediate attention and/or action like:

* Evacuations
* Fire
* Explosions
* Violent or criminal behavior
* Flood evacuations
* Severe weather emergencies
* Unplanned power failures
* Civil disturbance or demonstrations
* Earthquake
* Chemical spills
* Bomb threats

Need to know messages are notices that require attention and sometimes action but not immediate like:

* Canceled classes
* Curtailed operations
* Severe weather emergencies
* Flood evacuations
* IT network issues
* Anticipated power failures
* Select administrative communications
* MRSA, EEE, West Nile, potential pandemics

FYI messages are general information correspondence that inform, entertain, and enlighten—action is optional like:

* Events
* General interest news
* Awards
* Recognition
* Updates
* Promotions

Then we created and defined the vehicles by which we will distribute information to the campus:

* PSU Alert emergency communications is an opt-in notification system for faculty, staff and students who want to receive information via cell phone text messages and/or e-mail. These correspondences will be used only for urgent and select need to know communications.

* Need2Know e-mail is the revamped PSU announce e-mail that is delivered to all faculty and staff and when appropriate will be pushed to all students. These correspondences will include urgent and need to know communications. If a PSU Alert is distributed that message will also be delivered via a Need2Know e-mail.

* FYI e-mail is a new e-mail listserv that employs an opt-in model. This allows faculty, staff, and students the ability to determine if they want to receive the FYI e-mails that will be distributed daily.

All requests for campus distribution of information will be submitted to OPR via the online work request form for consideration. These submissions will be collected, edited and distributed on a daily basis. These correspondences will also be duplicated in the myPlymouth announcements.

*www.plymouth.edu: Information posted on the PSU Web site will be managed by OPR with back-up and support from IT except for those departments managing content via the University’s content management system.

* myPlymouth announcements contain information posted from a variety of campus sources. OPR will review and manage those announcements submitted to them for editorial style, relevance, and timeliness. OPR will also develop a brief style guide for the campus to use so there is consistency among the posts.There will be some duplication in content with urgent, need to know, and FYI e-mails.

* P-Week online will continue to be posted as a PDF so readers will have the option to read it online or print it and enjoy it the old fashion way.

* myNews tab: We’ve created a new and way cool central campus internal news and information repository in myPlymouth called myNews. When you vist the myNews tab you’ll find:

– PSU athletics news
- ThisWeek@PSU
- The Clock
- myPlymouth Announcements
- PSU emergency procedures
- Working with OPR Web page
- ‘PSU In the News’ the online news clips
- P-Week online

Next is visual aid to emphasize the multi-faceted means by which P-Link will get the campus news to you.

PSU internal communications matrix—defining redundancies:

Message Category */ Means of Communications **	PSU Alert “Opt-in” Text to cell phones	E-mail PSU “Need2Know”	E-mail PSU “FYI”	Web	myPlymouth Announcements	P-Week	myNews	Campus presentations	P-Link Blog
Urgent
Off-campus	X	X		X	X
On-campus	X	X		X	X
Personalize	X			X
Need to Know
Off-campus		X		X	X	X	X
On-campus		X		X	X	X	X
Personalize	X				X	X	X	X
FYI
Off-campus			X	X	X	X	X
On-campus			X	X	X	X	X		X
Personalize	X		X		X	X	X	X	X

* Definition of Message Categories: Messages are categorized by the type of message and the intended audience.

** Definition of Means of Communications: Identifies the means by which the University will communicate to its audiences.

If you have questions or comments regarding P-Link, keeping the campus connected please drop me a note at cwilliams@plymouth.edu.

Related items

• How do I get my message out to campus? ‘Plink it!’
• Why P-Link? Why now?
• PSU Emergency Procedures Update–What is ‘Shelter-in-place’?
• PSU Emergency Procedures Update

As you know, I have been planning to develop a blog to use as the primary means of communications between OPR and the University community.

The intended audience is internal–the University community, faculty, staff, students, administrators, etc. It is designed to communicate the changing face of OPR and initiate discussion as to how it functions within the University.

The subject matter will be topical and diverse, but always relevant as to how we collectively manage the brand and reputation of PSU.

Here are just some of the working titles of topics I would like to address in this space and share with the campus:

1. “We’ve got style…” Using the PSU and other style guides
2. “Working for a living…” Roll out of new policies and procedures to work with OPR
3. “The OPR online work request form–what is it and how do I use it?”
4. “Getting to know you…” Who is OPR and what can we do for you?
5. “Review of USNH communicators meeting…”
6. Overview of PSU Emergency Communications Task Force Recommendations
7. Updates from the President’s Communications Task Force
8. “To blog or not to blog…”
9. “Online photo archives…”
10. “Outsourcing in OPR. Is it an efficient means of using additional resources or PSU’s NAFTA?”
11. Updates from the PRSA Yankee Chapter
12. Updates from the USNH BoT External Affairs Committee

After some thought–and having received some sound advice from Kim–I would like the OPR Weblog to be a collaborative effort. I would like each staff member to consider contributing to the blog as you deem appropriate. It’s strictly voluntary, but each of you has a unique prospective that would greatly add to the discussion.

But first-things-first. We need to decide on a name for our blog, determine its look and feel. Then discuss in greater detail the purpose of this tool and set goals by which we can measure the success or effectiveness of this effort.

Please send your comments via the blog’s comment link at the end of this message.

This is a blank canvass so let’s see what we can create together.