To the University Community:

With the winter storm season upon us, we’d like to refresh your knowledge about operations at the Storrs and regional campuses during inclement weather. This information does not apply to UConn Health, which has its own relevant policies.

For those of you who are new to the UConn community, these details will be helpful to understand the University’s decision-making processes before and during unusual weather conditions or other unexpected changes in class schedules and business operations.

First and foremost, the safety of our students, faculty, and staff is paramount. At the same time, the University has important teaching, research, and service missions to carry out. We balance these factors when considering whether the University can safely and effectively maintain normal operations during and after inclement weather or other unusual events.

With that in mind, we make decisions about cancelling classes or curbing business operations at our campuses very carefully, using the information available to us about weather forecasts, road conditions, and other considerations.

You’re part of this process, too. One of the most important steps you can take right now as a member of the UConn community is to sign up to receive text message notifications on your cell phone about schedule changes, cancellations, emergencies, and other important information.

The process is quick and easy, and signing up is free. Instructions can be found under the “Get Alerts” section of the UConnALERT page. Even if you believe you are already signed up, it’s wise to check to ensure that the system reflects your most current cell phone number and other contact information.

We encourage you to review the University’s policy for details about how these decisions are made, expectations of employees, and other information. That policy has not changed in light of UConn’s COVID-related health and safety measures, but any added complexities they present are considered as decisions are made.

The following guidance applies to all UConn locations except UConn Health.

How you’ll know UConn’s status:

• When we determine it is necessary to cancel or delay classes, or to change business operations at the University, we’ll notify the UConn community as quickly as possible.
• When storms occur overnight, we try to make this notification by 5 a.m. Sometimes conditions change rapidly, however, and we might need to adjust decisions about class schedules and business operations on short notice.
• The UConnALERT webpage (http://alert.uconn.edu) is the definitive source of information about the University’s operating status.
• UConn community members at all locations, excluding UConn Health, can also check the 24-hour emergency closing information number: 860-486-3768.
• The University notifies the news media about operating changes at UConn’s campuses, but we cannot guarantee that details provided by news outlets represent the most current or complete information.

What stays open, what might change:

• If classes are cancelled, this applies to all classes — including those online.
• UConn follows suit if the Governor closes state agencies, releases state employees from work, or restricts road travel due to weather conditions.
• Certain essential operations continue despite inclement weather, including University Safety, residential and dining services, health services, animal care, facility maintenance, and other critical services.
• Decisions about whether to continue or cancel specific services, such as transportation, are made on a case-by-case basis depending on existing conditions and needs.
• The Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, UConn Athletics, and other units that sponsor events and activities decide independently whether to continue or cancel their events, and you should contact them directly with questions.

Academic operations:

 If the University has not announced a delay or cancellation of classes, faculty are expected to hold their classes as scheduled in the modality originally advertised.

• In circumstances when a faculty member determines that they cannot travel safely to campus, the faculty member must notify all students in the class in a timely manner along with their dean and department head.
• Faculty must not preemptively cancel class before the University decides and announces whether UConn’s normal schedule will be changed.
• Students should contact their professors as soon as possible if they must miss a class or other activity due to weather conditions.
• Faculty should respect the decisions of commuting students who decide not to travel to campus or to leave class early to get home safely, and should provide options for them to make up missed work.

Keep safety first:

• Always consider your safety first. Weather and road conditions may vary considerably across the state and from one UConn campus to another.
• With that in mind, all members of the University community should evaluate the circumstances they face, plan extra time for their commute if necessary, and take other common-sense measures.
• Employees and students are reminded to be particularly vigilant while driving or walking on campus during inclement weather, including around vehicles conducting plowing and sanding activities. Remember that pedestrians always have the right of way.

Who reports to campus, and when:

• Emergency and essential staff must remain at or report to in-person work as directed, and supervisors must learn and follow their units’ related procedures. UConn’s policy is helpful in understanding these expectations.
• Employees who decide not to come to campus or to leave campus early due to travel safety concerns may use a vacation day, personal time, or other accrued time without advance approval, but must notify their supervisors that they are doing so.
• If approved by their supervisor, they may also be able to work remotely.
• For typically in-person employees: If UConn directs those employees not to report to campus due to weather or other operational changes, they are expected to work from home unless they have a manager-approved flexible schedule.
• Those employees may use any eligible accrued time if they cannot work from home during such circumstances and have not created a manager-approved flexible schedule.
• Supervisors are encouraged to consider difficulties that storms may cause for employees, such as electrical or internet outages.
• All employees working remotely are expected to be accessible and responsive to supervisors during work hours by email and telephone. Supervisors may expect that assigned work that can be accomplished remotely is completed on time.
• Employees on an approved telecommuting or remote work schedule should continue to work that schedule unless they receive approval to flex their time that day.
• Supervisors may make reasonable adjustments to continue University business, including holding meetings by teleconference or virtually; and employees who would normally be present at work may be required to participate.

Again, we wish to emphasize the paramount importance of safety. Faculty, staff, and students should evaluate their own circumstances carefully, exercise appropriate judgment, and take responsibility for their safety when making decisions during inclement weather and other operational changes to emergency situations at UConn Storrs and regional campuses.

We wish you enjoyable winter season, and we thank you again for being a valued member of the UConn community.

The President of UConn formally established the Executive Policy Group (EPG) of the University in 2015. The Executive Policy Group consists of executive-level leadership and key divisional leads, and it meets regularly to provide guidance, pinnacle representation and policy support and modification to the University’s emergency management program.

The Executive Policy Group is comprised of the following entities:

Michael Kirk	Senior Advisor to the President & Assistant Vice President for University Relations
Scott Jordan	Executive Vice President for Administration and Chief Financial Officer
Jeffrey Shoulson	Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
Hans Rhynhart	Associate Vice President of University Safety
William Shea	Director, Emergency Management
Michael Jednak	Associate Vice President of Facilities Operations
Michael Gilbert	Vice President for Student Affairs
Tysen Kendig	Vice President for Communications
Michael Mundrane	Vice President & Chief Information Officer
Radenka Maric	Vice President for Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Nicole Gelston	General Counsel
Chris Delello	Associate Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer
Andrew Agwunobi	Chief Executive Officer & Executive Vice President for Health Affairs

 

On Friday, April 13, 2018 Nicole Hawley joined our Emergency Management team as a Program Specialist.   Nicole comes to us from the City of Hartford, where over the past 10 years she held various roles, including Public Health Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for the City of Hartford Health and Human Services Department. During her time there, she played a key role in the overseeing of all sheltering efforts during major storms; employee trainings; and monitoring all federal and state contract deliverables and reporting. Nicole also worked one-on-one with the State of Connecticut and Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), when monitoring travelers who were coming into the State of Connecticut from high-risked countries. But in her most recent role, her focus was on the health and safety of homes in Hartford, by assisting low-income homeowners in obtaining grants through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and other funding sources to fix up the housing stock and make homes safe.

 

Nicole has a strong background in community outreach, communications, and program development. She holds a Bachelors of Arts from Central Connecticut State University and a Master’s of Science from Springfield College in Organization Management and Leadership.

You’re not alone in checking weather forecasts for information on the fourth nor’easter scheduled to affect the Northeast this month. University of Connecticut personnel are, too.

Although predictions for Wednesday’s snow accumulation may be in flux, preparations are not.

When the snow starts to fall, hundreds of workers at UConn labor around the clock to clear roads and sidewalks, parking lots and stairways. Meet some of the people who don’t rest until classrooms and labs are ready to open.

March 20, 2018 – UConn Chief of Police Hans Rhynhart, UConn Fire Chief Gregory Priest, and Interim Director of Emergency Management Chris Renshaw

On Tuesday, March 20, between noon and 1 p.m., the University will conduct a regular test of its Emergency Alert System. If you’re a student, faculty member, or staff member at Storrs, a regional campus, or the UConn School of Law, you’ll get a text message and email. If you’re at Storrs, you may hear a siren as well.

This test happens every semester, and is intended to keep the entire UConn community in a state of preparedness for any hazard that might present itself. But how much do you know about what to do in an emergency? To make sure this test is something more than just one of many texts and emails you’ll get during the day, this brief “user’s guide” is intended to help acquaint you with what it means when your phone buzzes with a message from UConnAlert.

UConnAlert

UConnAlert is the university’s term for the overall system of preparedness and notification used for emergency situations. Its home is alert.uconn.edu, where anyone with a Net ID can sign up to receive notifications, and which contains a wealth of information. In the event of a serious, long-duration emergency, updated information will be posted on this website in a blog, so keep that url handy.

One of the important features of the Alert website is a quick summary of terms that may be used by the university in communicating during an emergency, like “lockdown,” “shelter-in-place,” “evacuation,” and “all clear.” These terms are familiar in many contexts – many of our students are familiar with lockdown drills from primary and secondary school, for example – but the definitions and protocols aren’t standardized across every agency and institution that uses them.

This can create confusion – what’s the difference between a lockdown and an order to shelter-in-place? – at a time when every second is crucial. This is particularly true for an institution the size and complexity of UConn – a lockdown means one thing for an elementary school, but what does it mean for a university with locations across the state, and a campus in Storrs that’s effectively a small city?

Another factor to remember is that no list of official terminology, no matter how comprehensive, can account for every individual’s experience across an array of emergency situations that will differ hugely in scope, duration, and intensity. If you’re walking across Fairfield Way and see that an order to shelter-in-place has been issued because of a tornado moving into the area, what do you do?

That’s why the Alert site has, among its features, a list of Hazard Guides that detail what you can do to prepare for, and overcome, a range of the most common and most severe emergency situations. It’s hard to feel a sense of urgency when things are calm, but it’s also suboptimal to be trying to download a PDF about tornadoes when one is five minutes away from your location.

When Do You Hear From Us?

The UConnAlert system is intended for use in three types of scenarios: a hazard presenting an immediate danger to life and safety; a large-scale change to the university’s operating schedule for any reason; and limited-impact situations that don’t present health or safety dangers, but which may disrupt the operations of a component or components of the university.

Let’s start with the most common: changes to the university’s schedule. You’re probably familiar with this in the form of alert messages regarding winter weather. When a decision is made to alter the university’s schedule, a message is sent out via text and email, while at the same time the university’s main social media channels and emergency phone line are updated. Alert.uconn.edu is also updated with information on the closure. This is fairly straightforward, but the frequency of its use, depending on the severity of a particular winter, can create the false impression that UConnAlert is only a tool to communicate schedule changes. It’s essential to know that the main intended use of UConnAlert is to quickly convey urgent information in the event of a hazard that presents a danger to human lives.

That’s why only one feature of the system – the email message – is used for the second-most common type of notification: limited-impact situations. A power outage in a residence hall or a water main break that affects a classroom building are headaches for the students, faculty, and staff involved, but they aren’t immediately life-threatening hazards. That’s why it’s important to check the Clutter or Spam folders in your email program, to make sure messages from UConnAlert aren’t being diverted there.

This brings us to the final, and thankfully most rare, scenario in which UConnAlert is used: immediate dangers to life and safety. These can be anything from naturally-occurring hazards, like a tornado or a fire following a lightning strike, to violence.

The threat which provokes the most inquiries from our community is what’s known as an “active shooter.” It is sickening that this has become a routine topic of preparation for universities and K-12 schools alike, but it is the reality of our society. The odds of this happening are low, but they aren’t non-existent; as a result, the university is constantly training and preparing to respond to an active shooter.

If that ever occurs, UConnAlert will send out a text and email indicating the nature of the threat and providing all the information we are able to. The message may also include a simple instruction: “Run Hide Fight.” This has produced an anxious response in other universities that have been forced to communicate it, but the message is the national protocol adopted and taught by the Department of Homeland Security.

In essence, what this means is that your first course of action should be to flee a building where an active shooter is present, if it is safe to do so. Avoid “staging areas” like parking lots, and put as much distance between you and the location with the shooter as possible.

If this isn’t possible, option two is to “hide.” What this means in practice is to get to a room that presents a relative degree of security – a door that locks, ideally without windows, and with materials inside that can be used to barricade the door – and call 911 if you can do so safely.

Finally, there is the last option. If you cannot run and you cannot hide, offering physical resistance may save your life or the lives of others. It is an awful possibility to discuss; we do not live in a society where it can be ruled out as a choice you may have to make.

In conclusion, as a user of UConnAlert, you should make it a point to do the following:

• Visit alert.uconn.edu
• Sign up for alerts if you haven’t already done so
• Familiarize yourself with emergency terminology
• Browse the hazard guides
• Make sure UConnAlert emails aren’t going to your Clutter folder

You can increase your level of preparedness for an active shooter scenario by visiting the United States Department of Homeland Security’s Active Shooter Preparedness webpage at https://www.dhs.gov/active-shooter-preparedness.

The UConn Police Department’s Community Outreach Unit also offers community presentations including Responding to an Active Threat: A Survival Mindset.During this engaging one or two hour program, you will participate in discussions about the realistic, tactical implementation of Run, Hide, Fight ^TM; developing a survival mindset and physiological responses to threat encounters; and identifying and disrupting the pathway to violence through proactive prevention measures on campus. If you or your group is interested in one of these UConn Police Community Outreach programs email PDStartTeam@uconn.edu for more information.

It is our sincere hope that you only get UConnAlerts during once-a-semester tests and in the event of yet another Nor’Easter. Regardless, the emergency alert system exists for your benefit: be an active participant in that system, and remember to stay alert.

It’s natural that campus safety, while always a priority, would be even more top of mind following a mass shooting like what took place in Parkland, Florida, last month.

Within the last two years, UConn has shifted to a progressive model, folding police, fire, emergency management, communications centers, and the fire marshal’s office into a single Division of University Safety. The resources span all campuses, including UConn Health.

Division Director Hans Rhynhart, who is also chief of the UConn Police Department, says the key to readiness for an active threat situation on any campus is preparation and prevention.

“We’ve accomplished and standardized combined training with all division personnel, with police, fire, communications and emergency management, to understand roles and responsibilities to enhance our unified response,” Rhynhart says. “We have threat assessment teams in place which are on the leading edge of trying to prevent a tragedy from happening.”

Part of that prevention component is intelligence gathering. UConn Police have a detective assigned to an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, which provides direct access to real-time information on a threat or activity of interest.

“There is almost no better resource than the task force that we have to call upon should we need enhanced, immediate intelligence gathering,” Rhynhart says.

Another Detective works with the U.S. Attorney’s Office on cyber crimes. Social media monitoring is also one of the tools police use to stay aware and gather intelligence. Monitoring can be done on a specific incident or event as well as through the creation of a geo fence to alert investigators to certain phrases and words being used, all with the goal of intercepting and preventing a critical incident from occurring.

Meantime, a general sense of awareness and vigilance in the community can also help with prevention.

“There exists a ‘see something, say something’ philosophy,” Rhynhart says. “If you think that there’s something ‘off’, if you think that an employee or student is acting in a way that is concerning to you, let one of the police officers assigned to your campus know as soon as you can, so we may work with our partners at the University to try to understand what is going on. Most reports we receive are not threatening in nature and do not rise to the level of a criminal violation, but the information gives us an opportunity to talk with and most of the time develop a solution or positive path for an individual. We want to assist in creating a positive and safe environment for all involved.”

An additional component to campus safety is an extensive network of surveillance cameras and blue emergency phones.

The UConn Division of University Safety offers resources for the public to take an active role in its own safety on its Office of Emergency Management and Community Outreach Unit websites.

“Part of it is being familiar with the information that we put out,” Rhynhart says. “Accessing these websites provides a wide array of tools that will aid in not only your own personal response to hazards, but what you can expect from the University as well. There are fliers and guides, including a campaign we started called ‘Seconds for Safety.’ We break information out into different types of incidents. They’re very quick to consume, you can look at it in seconds, and understand what you should do at any specific moment to ensure a better chance of survival.”

Link to original article: https://updates.uchc.edu/2018/03/09/progressive-approach-to-campus-safety/

 

The University of Connecticut will implement the use of alert sirens during its semesterly emergency alert system test at 12:25 p.m. Tuesday.

“The big change to the way that we’re notifying (the UConn community) is by incorporating the outdoor notification siren system,” Captain Chris Renshaw, the fire and police department’s Office of Emergency Management liaison, said.

Renshaw said they wanted to add this element to the alert system to address the fact that people may not always have their phones on them to get the text, email or social media notifications.

“The thought is not everyone has their phone on them when they’re outside…you may not… know that an alert is going out, but the sirens putting a tone out should be a prompt that: ‘hey something’s going on and you should check out why’,” Renshaw said.

The sirens will emit an audible wave-form tone to alert people to check the UConnAlert website, Renshaw said.

“We didn’t want people to catch only half the message,” Renshaw said.

Renshaw said his office also had concerns about the the waves bouncing off buildings making it difficult to properly decipher the message.

There are nine siren speakers on the main Storrs campus and one at depot campus, Renshaw said. Renshaw said his office may look to increase the number of sirens on the Storrs campus as well as expanding it to the branch campuses.

“Additional sirens may be something we look at in the future but we’re just trying to utilize the ones we have in place right now,” Renshaw said.

Renshaw said the sirens have been in place for a while, but they are only being implemented this year.

“No one’s ever heard them before and, moving forward, every time there’s an emergency notification, which ideally is never…(the sirens)will be associated with it,” Renshaw said.

Another new part of the alert system is the creation of an SMS short code that allows people who do not have a net ID to enroll in text message emergency alerts.

“Parents, local businesses, visitors, community partners, and others can now get the same UConnAlert text messages that students, faculty and staff receive in the event of emergencies or other urgent situations,” the UConnAlert website said.

People can text UCONNALERT (one word, not case-sensitive) to 888-777 to enroll.

Renshaw said this new element was added to the system to allow visitors, businesses near or on campus and religious centers to receive these messages.

“Certainly, if something impacted us, it would impact them as well, and we’re enabling this feature so they can self-subscribe so they can get those notifications in real time,” Renshaw said.

Renshaw said this was a preemptive move to ensure that anyone who may be impacted by a situation can get important information.

“Everyone who may be impacted by an emergency on the UConn campuses, regardless of who they are, should have access to this information,” Renshaw said.

Renshaw said that, while the system is already rather comprehensive, this new dimension expands it even further.

“It’s just another layer of notification(s) into an already robust system,” Renshaw said.

Renshaw said the Office of Emergency Management is looking to work with the Lodewick Visitor’s Center and Events and Conference Services to inform visitors that they can enroll in the system to be prepared should anything happen during their visit.

Renshaw said the purpose of these tests is to make sure people are familiar with the system and that it is reaching everyone in the community as well as make sure the system and equipment are functioning.

“It allows us the opportunity to do a little bit of outreach to let people know the system is there, though we hope we never have to use it,” Renshaw said.

Renshaw said the university only utilizes this extensive system if there is a problem that is deemed to be “an immediate danger to life or health.”

Renshaw said examples of these situations include gas leaks, downed power lines, an ongoing police investigation like the one at Oak hall last year or an active threat.

Renshaw said people must check alert.uconn.edu (http://alert.uconn.edu/) for information about what to do during an emergency and the most up-to-date updates on the situation.

“That’s designed as a constant reference point, so as…things unfold you turn to that website,” Renshaw said. “That’s the pivotal point for information during an emergency.”

Renshaw said that, in addition to updates about a situation, people can find resources about what to do before, during and after an emergency.

“It’s not just ‘hey there’s an emergency’ it’s ‘what do I next’,” Renshaw said.

Renshaw said that after completing these tests, his office always looks for ways to reach more people in more ways.

“What we have pulled from these tests is a continual look at expanding the system to widen our coverage,” Renshaw said.

 

Link to original article: Daily Campus

Starting this fall on the Storrs campus, the UConnALERT notification system will include the use of outdoor sirens any time an emergency alert is issued. Each siren will emit a loud, waveform tone to alert anyone in hearing distance that an incident is occurring that presents an immediate danger to health and safety. The sirens will not include a recorded voice message. Instead, this will be another signal to students, faculty, staff, and visitors that a dangerous situation is taking place, and that they should visit alert.uconn.edu for guidance. The use of the sirens is part of a multi-layered emergency notification system that includes text messages, email, University webpage banners, application notifications through the MyUConn smartphone app and the alert.uconn.edu website.  The sirens will be included in the regular tests of the UConnALERT notification system, which take place once per semester.
 
For more information, contact: Capt. Chris Renshaw at 860-486-4925

The Office of Emergency Management is excited to announce that parents, local businesses, visitors, community partners and others can now get the same UConn Alert text messages that students, faculty, and staff receive in the event of emergencies or other urgent situations.
 
Previously, messages about incidents ranging from weather-related schedule changes to power outages could only be received by people with a UConn “Net ID” code. Now, thanks to a new addition to UConn’s emergency communications toolbox, those messages can be received by anyone who texts “UCONNALERT” (one word, not case-sensitive) to 888-777.
 
Standard messaging and data rates may apply, and anyone who signs up can opt out by simply texting “STOP” to the same number. This is not a routine messaging tool, and those signing up will only receive urgent communications about situations with potential impact to health and safety. Whenever such a message is received, be sure to follow the guidance in the text alert, and visit alert.uconn.edu for additional information and updates.
 
For more information, contact: Capt. Chris Renshaw at 860-486-4925

“Be Safe After a Hurricane” – CDC webpage