UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA
(SCHOOL/COLLEGE/OFFICE)
GUIDELINE FOR EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION POLICY AND PROCEDURE
I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this policy is to establish and delineate the responsibilities and
procedures that the (School/College/Office) will use to communicate to faculty, staff,
students and general public during an emergency.
II. OVERVIEW - In the event of a community level or campus wide disaster, the University
of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) Emergency Response Plan will be implemented and the
Emergency Response Center (ERC) activated. Upon notification, the
(School/College/Office) will implement their Emergency Plan and activate their Incident
Command Team as appropriate. The Chancellor or alternate will assume control of the
UHM Emergency Response Center (ERC) as the Emergency Management Team (EMT)
Executive and be responsible for the dissemination of information to the Schools, Colleges,
Offices, the University’s Community, and the public at large.
III. POLICY
A. The emergency communication efforts will be directed by the (Dean/Department
Head/Director). In his/her absence, the highest level available person in the
(School/College/Office) chain of authority will assume this responsibility (Associate
Dean/Associate Department Head/Associate Director).
B. The (Dean/Department Head/Director) will appoint a Communications
Coordinator and an alternate in writing to direct and maintain the emergency contact efforts.
C. Each semester, all faculty, staff and student workers will provide and update their
personal emergency contact information. (Attachment A). Emergency contact information
shall be kept Confidential (For Official Use Only), stored in a secure container and area, and
used ONLY for emergency contact situations.
D. A master emergency contact list will be established and maintained by each
(College/School/Department/Office) secretary. This emergency contact list will be sorted by
functional groups and specific personnel will serve as group call down communication
leaders. These leaders will be assigned to conduct and coordinate contact efforts for their
specific group. (Attachment B).
E. All media inquiries shall be directed to the UHM Public Information Officer. The
(Dean/Department Head/Director) shall provide information to the media only when
authorized by the UHM EMT Public Information Officer.
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F. The primary method of communication for the EMT shall be the UH Emergency
Notification System. This is an automated notification system that uses group email and
telephone to communicate. In the event of a power outage at the receiver end, this system
will be disabled and alternate methods of communication used.
III. PROCEDURES
A. The (Dean/Department Head/Director) or designee receives emergency/disaster
advisories, warnings or directions from the EMT or the UHM Warning Point (Campus
Security or Emergency Management Program). Depending on the type of advisory or
warning and the situation, a decision is made on whether an emergency communication
needs to be sent to faculty, staff, and students. Communication can be sent to some or all of
the faculty, staff, or students.
B. The methods of communication used may include the UH Emergency Notification
System, telephone (land-line and cell), campus email, group email, posting on the University
web site, radio or television messages, public announcement (PA) system or hand delivery.
In the event specific information must be disseminated immediately to the
(School/College/Office) staff, faculty or students, the following procedures will be
implemented.
1. Indirect contact procedures will be used for mass distribution.
a. The (Dean/Department Head/Director) will approve or craft the
message to be posted on the mass communication system which may include the UH
Emergency Notification System, University web site, group text message if available, memo
posted on bulletin boards and doors, PA system, public radio or television announcement.
b. A technical person and an alternate will be appointed to assist the
Communications Coordinator in coordinating these efforts and posting messages.
2. Direct contact procedure.
a. The (Dean/Department Head/Director) will approve or craft the
message to be given to each person contacted.
b. The (Dean/Department Head/Director) or designee will initiate the
process for contacting the appropriate personnel.
c. The Communication Coordinator will coordinate the direct contact
procedure via telephone or other approved method.
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3. Acknowledge receipt of message.
a. Should the UH Emergency Notification System be used, it will
generate a log of persons contacted, but only a limited number of personnel with access
to the system can view these logs.
b. The Group Call Down Communication Leader will provide contact
status to the Communication Coordinator regarding who has and who has not been
contacted. This information will be made available to the (Dean/Department
Head/Director).
c. Faculty, staff and student employees may be asked to call into a
specific telephone number to ascertain need for their services and report their availability
to work or assist the University community. This telephone number should be a different
number used for outgoing notifications to prevent tying up the phone line.
C. Based upon the number of persons to be contacted, an appropriate number of
personnel will be assigned to begin contacting those on the list and deliver the approved
message. The emergency Alert Roster (communication tree) will be used to organize the
contact efforts and Group Call Down Communications Leaders will be assigned. People will
be called on the telephone at home or work or may be contacted by cell phone, by email, or
by another emergency contact number or route provided.
APPROVAL:
____________________________________
(Dean/Department Head/Director)
(School/College/Office)
Approval Date:
___________________________
Review Date:
____________________________
Review Date:
____________________________
Revised/ Amended: ____________________________
Revised/ Amended: ____________________________
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ATTACHMENT A
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
(SCHOOL/COLLEGE/DEPARTMENT/OFFICE)
EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION SHEET
INSTRUCTIONS: This form must be completed upon initial employment in the
(School/College/Office) or as directed and reviewed and where necessary updated each fall,
spring and summer semester.
NAME: __________________________ TITLE: ____________________________
CURRENT MAILING ADDRESS: ____________________________________________
____________________________________________
PHONE NUMBERS:
HOME:____________________________________________
CELL: ____________________________________________
PAGER: ____________________________________________
OTHER EMERGENCY #:____________________________________________
EMAIL ADDRESSES:
UH: _______________________________ @HAWAII.EDU
OTHER: ____________________________________________
********************************************************************
PERSONAL CONTACT INFORMATION: IN THE CASE OF EMERGENCY, PRIMARY CONTACT:
NAME: __________________________ RELATIONSHIP TO YOU: ________________
MAILING ADDRESS: ____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
PHONE NUMBER: ____________________________________________________
IN THE CASE OF EMERGENCY, SECONDARY CONTACT:
NAME: __________________________ RELATIONSHIP TO YOU: ________________
MAILING ADDRESS: ____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
PHONE NUMBER: ____________________________________________________
DATE INITIALLY COMPLETED: _________________
DATE REVIEWED: ___________________
DATE REVIEWED: ___________________
DATE REVIEWED: ___________________
DATE REVIEWED: ___________________
DATE REVIEWED: ___________________
DATE REVIEWED: ___________________
ACTION:
ACTION:
ACTION:
ACTION:
ACTION:
ACTION:
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___ NO CHANGE
___ NO CHANGE
___ NO CHANGE
___ NO CHANGE
___ NO CHANGE
___ NO CHANGE
___
___
___
___
___
___
AMENDED
AMENDED
AMENDED
AMENDED
AMENDED
AMENDED
ATTACHMENT B
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
(SCHOOL/COLLEGE/DEPARTMENT/OFFICE)
COLLATED GROUP CALL DOWN LIST
GROUP
#
DATE
DATE
DATE
NAME*
UH
HOME/CELL
EXTENSION
TELEPHONE
UH EMAIL
UH OFFICE
DEPARTMENT
POSITION
LOCATION
INITIALLY COMPLETED: ____________
REVIEWED: ___________________
REVIEWED: ___________________
RESPONSIBLE PERSON: __________________
ACTION: ___ NO CHANGE ___ AMENDED
ACTION: ___ NO CHANGE ___ AMENDED
* = Those persons having an * next to their names will serve as the Group Call Down
Communication Leaders. They will contact all persons on their group call down list.
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