Breadcrumb Navigation:

Home > Parents & Families Services > Staying Safe

STAYING SAFE

Campus-Emergency Procedures

North Carolina State University is continuously engaged in emergency planning and preparedness for potential disasters, including, but not limited to, inclement weather, influenza outbreaks, campus shootings, and other types of community-wide crises. The crisis-response and communication plan works to reach students, their families, faculty, and staff. All plans and response scenarios are practiced through simulated drills involving University Police, student services staff, and local agencies. North Carolina State University's Emergency Planning Committee regularly reviews communication and emergency notification systems to ensure that multiple systems are in place to reach members of the campus community.

• How North Carolina State University Communicates with Students
• How North Carolina State University Communicates with Parents
• Establishing A Family Communication Plan

How North Carolina State University Communicates with Students

North Carolina State University uses a broad array of communications tools to get the word out as quickly as possible to as many as possible. These tools are not intended for use in all instances, but are reserved for emergencies that present a broad, immediate and ongoing threat to campus.

Text messaging: Students may register to have a text message sent to their cell phone, which consists of brief instructions on where to seek safety or gather more information.

Home page message (www.ncsu.edu): The University uses two spaces on the home page for alerts. In a “major” emergency, the page would contain only emergency communications. In a minor emergency, the block near the center-right of the page would be utilized.

Broadcast email: A broadcast email goes to everyone who has a University email account. The message contains current information about the crisis, changes to campus operations, and instructions for personal safety.

Audible alerts: Siren-enabled towers located throughout campus will broadcast an alert to signal community members who are outside to seek emergency information (website, media, etc.).

Emergency Listserv: The listserv sends an email message to a network of building liaisons, who are responsible for informing building occupants of important information.

Campus hotline (919.513.8888): Anyone may call this number for recorded messages with details on changes in campus operations and where to go for more information.

Campus and external media: Radio Station WKNC-FM (88.1), the Technician (Technicianonline.com), Nubian Message (ncsu.edu/nubian) and campus cable, as well as the Raleigh print and broadcast media, likely would cover or include information about emergencies on campus.

Back to Top

How North Carolina State University Communicates with Parents

In general, families may always get information about campus emergencies by going to www.ncsu.edu/emergency-information or by calling the University’s adverse weather and emergency hotline at 919.513.8888.

Additionally, the Office of Parents & Families Services works to keep students' families informed about important University information. In the event of a crisis, the office will send updates on any changes to University operations (class schedules, housing, dining, etc.) via the following means.

• E-nouncements to the Parents & Families Association email list. Families must be members of the North Carolina State University Parents & Families Association to subscribe to this service.
• Posted updates to www.ncsu.edu/for_parents
• Recorded messages and staff assistance (if feasible) available on the Parents' HelpLine (877-568-5733 and ncsuparents@ncsu.edu).

Back to Top

Establishing A Family Communication Plan

Because disasters can strike quickly and without warning, North Carolina State University strongly recommends each student's family develop their own communication plan in the event of a personal or community crisis. Here are some suggestions:

• Exchange Contact Info - Ensure your student has all of your contact information (home, work, cell, pagers, email address, etc.), and in return, you should have his or her’s.
• Out-of-Town Contact - Choose an out-of-town contact your family or household will call or e-mail to check on each other should a disaster occur. Your selected contact should live far enough away that he or she would be unlikely to be directly affected by the same event, and the contact should know he or she is the chosen contact. Make sure every household member has that contact's, and each other's, e-mail addresses and telephone numbers (home, work, pager and cell).
• Landline Option - Most students these days use their cell phones as their primary means of telecommunication. However, in the event of a community-wide crisis, many cell phone services can become flooded and fail to operate. Consider also having a landline installed in their residence hall room to have as a back-up means of contacting one another. North Carolina State University's ComTech Department (919-515-7099) provides optional landline telephone service with pre-paid long-distance calling options. In this case, it is also important for students to activate their voice mailboxes and check them regularly.
• Electronic Communication - Establish other means of contact, such as email, instance messaging, or use online communities like myspace.com or facebook.com to post messages to one another.

Back to Top