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CRISIS COMMUNICATION PLAN

REG 04.00.1

Campus Environment

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Authority: Vice Chancellor for University Advancement

History: First Issued: September 1, 2001. Last Revised: April 5, 2005. Additional History Information.

Related Policies: Adverse Weather and Other Emergency Conditions Policy POL04.20.1

Additional References: Appendix A - Logistical Details; and News Conference Guidelines

Contact Info: Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs (919-515-7373)

1. PURPOSE

A crisis communication plan provides policies and procedures for the coordination of communications within the university, and between the university, the media and the public in the event of an emergency or controversial issue. Emergencies may include fires, bomb threats, natural disasters, or major crimes. Controversial issues may include police investigations, protests or other situations that demand a public response. THIS PLAN IS NOT INTENDED TO CHANGE THE WAY EMERGENCIES ARE INITIALLY REPORTED. ALL EMERGENCIES ON CAMPUS SHOULD BE REPORTED IMMEDIATELY TO CAMPUS POLICE (515-3333).

This plan not only addresses media relations and communications issues, but also includes procedures for the rapid identification of potentially harmful situations and the methods for responding to these situations quickly and effectively.

It is the goal of this crisis communications plan to establish guidelines for dealing with a variety of situations, and to ensure that campus officials and communicators are familiar with those procedures and their roles in the event of a crisis. The plan is designed to be used in conjunction with the normal decision-making hierarchy of the university and does not supplant that decision-making process.  It is designed to be used in conjunction with operational crisis response plans managed through environmental health, facilities operations and other units.

2. OBJECTIVES OF THE PLAN

2.1. To factually assess the situation and determine whether a communications response is warranted.

2.2. To assemble a Crisis Communication Team that will make recommendations on appropriate responses.

2.3. To implement immediate action to:

• Identify constituencies that should be informed about the situation.
• Communicate facts about the crisis.
• Minimize rumors.
• Restore order and/or confidence

3. PROCEDURES

Assessment -- The individual who encounters the potential crisis should gather accurate information from the appropriate sources. After fact gathering, the appropriate individual should determine whether an immediate response is necessary and, if so, should consult:

• Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs
• Associate Vice Chancellor for Environmental Health & Public Safety

These Associate Vice Chancellors will determine whether to convene a Crisis Communication Team and will immediately inform the Vice Chancellors for University Advancement and Finance and Business.

Assembling Crisis Team -- Composition of the crisis team will include at minimum (Core Team):

• Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs
• Associate Vice Chancellor for Environmental Health & Public Safety
• Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities
• Department Head or chief contact in area affected (university-related, or non-university related)
• News Services Director
• Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources
• Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
•  Assistant to the Chancellor and Secretary of the University
• Vice Chancellor and General Counsel

Other personnel may be added to this core team to form the larger Crisis Communication Team, which will then formulate a response based on the nature of the crisis. Those added could include the following, depending on the situation:

1. Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
2. Vice Chancellors and Executive Officers not listed above
3. Dean of the appropriate college
4. Assistant to the Chancellor for External Relations
5. Chair of the Faculty Senate
6. Chair of the Staff Senate
7. Student Representative, preferably President of Student Body
8. Other department heads listed on Crisis Response Contact List
9. Director, Business Continuity Planning

4. RESPONSE

The Core Crisis Team, after assessing the nature and scope of the situation, should call together all members of the Crisis Communication Team to develop a plan of action including some, or all, of the following:

4.1. Designate a spokesperson. In most cases the spokesperson should be the person possessing the most direct knowledge of the crisis (for example: the Campus Police Chief in the event of a campus crime).

In cases of a significant crisis, the Chancellor or the highest ranking university official must take the lead in conveying the administration's response to the crisis, showing that the university has control of the situation, calming public concern and setting an example for the entire campus.

Public information spokespersons (those dealing most directly with day-to-day media inquiries) may also include the Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs or New Services Director. Communications spokesperson(s) from specific areas may also be designated (i.e., Sports Information Director).

4.2. Draft a fact sheet. The fact sheet should contain a summary statement of the situation including all known details to be released to the media. This information should be made available to (and approved by) the Chancellor, Provost and appropriate Dean or Vice Chancellor. This fact sheet should be analyzed with respect to the public's right to know and concerns for privacy and security in consultation with General Counsel.

4.3. Notify key constituencies. Determine key constituencies that should be informed of the crisis. It is important to keep administration, faculty, staff and students informed of appropriate details and actions taken by the university during an emergency. Effective communications will help quell rumors, maintain morale, and ensure continued orderly operations of the university.

4.4. Assign members of the Crisis Team to communicate the facts of the situation (contained in the fact sheet) and the university's intended response. Among those that may be notified, depending on the situation, are:

• Law enforcement agencies -- should be notified by Campus Police representative.
• Campus administrators, faculty, staff -- Information to administrators other than those selected to serve on the Crisis Team should be provided via facsimile, electronic mail, campus mail and/or mass meetings. Members of the University Council can be automatically e-mailed important updates upon recommendation by the Crisis Team.
• Students -- Notices to students can be posted on the university home page, circulated via broadcast email, submitted for publication in the Technician, the campus radio station, and through mass meetings if needed. Mass meetings can be set up in Reynolds Coliseum. Dedicated phone lines with taped messages can also be set up by Network and Communication Services, or the Emergency Conditions phone line can be activated (513-8888) A voice mail broadcast to all resident students with voice mail accounts can be issued. Fliers may be distributed in residence halls.
• NC State Board of Trustees/Board of Governors/Office of the President -- May be reached via email, telephone or facsimile. Phone lists are maintained by  the Secretary of the University, who should coordinate any correspondence with these bodies.
• Parents of students -- A rumor-control hotline or a dedicated line with taped updates on the situation can be established by Student Affairs.
• Local community -- If the situation has an impact on local residents, fliers can be distributed. If appropriate, meetings can be arranged with leaders of the neighborhood associations near the university. This should be coordinated by the Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs.
• Mass media -- News Services may prepare news releases for distribution. All media inquiries should be directed to News Services.
• Senior Elected Officials - - If senior elected officials (Mayor's, Governor's offices) need to be informed, this should be handled only by the Assistant to the Chancellor for External Relations
  
  
• Alumni and Friends Advocacy Network (AFAN) - - This group can be reached by Assistant to the Chancellor for External Relations.

4.5. Alert the media. Determine whether a news conference and or news release is an appropriate means of conveying information to faculty, staff, students, the news media and the public. The Director of News Services in consultation with Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs will determine logistics of the news conference including when, where and how the media will be contacted, which media will be contacted, who will supervise the news conference, who will appear, etc.

4.6. Establish Crisis Communication Command Center. Determine whether the magnitude of the crisis merits establishing a Crisis Command Center (for Campus Police and university officials) and/or a Media Briefing Center (for larger gatherings of the media for briefings or press conferences). See Appendix A for command center and media briefing center sites.

If an Incident Command System site is established, the Associate Vice Chancellor for Environmental Health and Public Safety will coordinate communications and interactions between the ICS and the Crisis Communication Command Center.

4.7. Photography. Decide whether to assign videographers and photographers to take pictures of the scene. This may prove helpful in responding to media inquiries, to possible later litigation, as well as documenting events. Determine need to supply video footage from files. Decide whether to provide TV footage for immediate distribution. Determine whether it is appropriate to allow location shooting by TV and newspaper photographers. Determine when, where and who will accompany the media.

4.8. Radio responses. Discuss need to produce taped response for radio, or who to make available for radio interviews.

4.9. Other spokespersons. Identify any other individuals who may serve as spokespersons or who might be made available to the news media; assign a public information staff person to provide counsel to those individuals

4.10. Internal communications. Determine strategy of internal communications to be used if the crisis affects university students and employees, working closely with Human Resources and the university newsletter, Bulletin and Bulletin Online.

4.11. Alternative communications. Discuss alternative or additional means of conveying information including letters or emails to parents of students, alumni or selected constituencies of the university, letters to newspaper editors, consultation with editorial boards.

4.12. Switchboards. The following locations, which receive high volumes of incoming telephone calls to the university should be notified regarding the key facts of the crisis (fact sheet) and where to refer calls pertaining to the crisis:

4.13. Rumor control. Consider establishing a rumor-control hotline and/or a dedicated call-in line for media use. Dedicated line also could be used for taped telephone updates. Contact 515-1638 or 515-7099, to arrange for recorded message or use of the university's back-up telephone lines.

4.14. University radio. Evaluate the use of the university's informational radio frequency (1610 AM). Contact Transportation (515-1600) to arrange for use.

5. ONGOING PROCEDURES DURING CRISIS

5.1. Alert News Services staff member handling newspaper and video clippings to give highest priority to immediately scanning daily newspapers and video reports for stories related to the situation. Deliver copies of these clips or reports as appropriate to the Chancellor, Provost, appropriate Vice Chancellor and/or Dean, Director of News Services, Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs.

5.2. Set up information files on the crisis to reside in News Services office. Material related to the crisis, including clippings, statements, letters, memos and any other documents, should be forwarded to News Services and filed in chronological order.

5.3. Monitor the situation at least daily, and frequently update staff and appropriate administrators.

5.4. Take notes during crisis to be reviewed and used to improve future crisis response.

6. AFTERMATH COMPONENT

Following any crisis, appropriate action must take place to ensure that members of the university community, and others as necessary, receive needed information and assistance to help bring closure to the crisis as well as relief from the effects of the event. Attention also should be placed on identifying and implementing measures to improve the action plan used during the crisis.

6.1. Communications

6.1a) If needed, a public forum should be scheduled and coordinated by Public Affairs to communicate details of the incident and events to all interested members of the university. The timeliness of this meeting is critical and every effort should be made to see that it occurs within three work days from the close of the crisis. Representatives from Campus Police, Student Affairs, the Provost Office, the Division of Human Resources, the State Employee Assistance Program, as well as the University Counseling Center should attend and be prepared to answer questions and share pertinent information. Specific departments and/or individuals also may be requested to attend and participate depending upon the nature of the crisis.

6.1b) Immediately following a crisis, it is imperative that the university be sensitive to the needs of faculty, staff and students who may have been personally affected by the disaster. There may be a need to assist a victim, or victims with obtaining information and/or a referral to available resources. The core team will be responsible for notifying appropriate individuals within the following designated areas: Human Resources will be the contact for employees and Student Affairs for students. Also, representatives from the two areas should follow up with their respective constituents to ensure their needs are being addressed and offer further assistance.

6.1c) It is not unreasonable to expect that rumors would follow a crisis, further creating an atmosphere of anxiety. One means of combating rumors would be to take full advantage of electronic mail, home page notices, rumor-control hotlines, Bulletin and Bulletin Online etc. and report facts as appropriate. Voice mail broadcasts to faculty/staff, students and others with voice mail accounts can be arranged. The Emergency Conditions phone line (513-8888) can be activated.

6.1d) Depending upon the nature of the crisis, services and assistance may have been rendered by agencies, companies and/or individuals from outside the university. Public Affairs should ensure that applicable follow-up information, as well as thank-you letters, are forwarded to appropriate persons

6.1e) The core team shall meet within 10 days following a crisis and review all actions taken as a result of the crisis to determine effectiveness and efficiency of operations and make any needed changes to the Crisis Management Plan.

6.2. Clean Up

The Facilities Division is responsible for overseeing and implementing services necessary to clean and repair areas and facilities damaged as a result of a crisis. Facilities Operations and Network and Communication Services contact numbers are supported 24 hours a day, and procedures are in place for appropriate dispatch in response to any emergency.

6.3. Facility Evacuation/Operational Shutdowns

It may become necessary to evacuate buildings and/or areas surrounding facilities to protect and ensure the safety of people and in some instances, animals. If such a situation occurs, decisions regarding work space accommodations and/or leave requirements for faculty and staff, as well as class schedules and possibly housing accommodations for students, would need to be addressed.

Issues surrounding leave for staff employees should be directed to the Human Resources Division. Note: normally time away from work is accounted for through current leave policies.

Student questions should be directed to the Department of Student Affairs in Student Affairs, and the faculty should address any concerns with the Provost's Office.

6.4. Updates

This plan will be updated regularly. All members of the University Council will be sent the updates.

The core crisis team should be assembled periodically to discuss the plan and any updates. The Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs will serve as core team captain and convene these meetings. Results of the meetings and revisions of the plan are to be documented. Copies of this plan should be addressed to all employees listed in the plan and any other personnel who might play a role in the event of a crisis.