Policy Statement 

Every student who resides in on-campus housing shall have the option to identify a confidential individual, emergency contact, to be contacted within 24 hours of the determination that the student is missing in accordance with the procedures outlined below. In the event the resident does not provide a "confidential" contact and/or until the information is received, the College will use the emergency contact provided in the Residence Life application. Only authorized campus officials and law enforcement officers in furtherance of a missing person investigation may have access to this information.

Reason for Policy 

In accordance with Section 485 of the Higher Education Act (HEA), every institution of higher education that provides on-campus housing must provide a missing student notification policy for those students residing in on-campus housing. 

Organizations or Persons to Whom a Report should be made 

The organization or persons to which individuals should report a student as missing includes: Resident Directors, Resident Assistants, Office of Residence Life, Student Life Office, Public Safety Office, Counseling and Wellness Center and the Office of the Vice President for Student Success.

Procedure for Informing Students 

During the move-in process at the beginning of each semester, Resident Assistants will provide a confidential contact form to new residents. Students should return the completed form to the Office of Residence Life within the first week of arrival. A file will be kept in the office until the beginning of the next academic year when the forms will be shredded. Students can change the information on their form at any time by visiting the Office of Residence Life, or print the formand return it at your leisure. The new form will be placed in the file, and the old form will be destroyed.

Procedure for Determining if a Student is Missing 

If a student is reported missing to a Residence Life staff member, the staff member should be sure to obtain the reporting person’s name, relationship to the resident, and contact information where the reporting person can be reliably reached. The staff member should obtain local directory information about the missing student and immediately notify a Resident Assistant/Director and/or the Residence Life Director. 

Residence Life staff will refer to the Reported Missing Student Checklist and contact the reporting person to obtain the additional information needed. If a credible threat to the well-being of the student reported as missing is verified Snow College Public Safety will be called for assistance and a full report submitted to supervisory staff. The Resident Assistants, under the direction of the Resident Director, should then proceed to contact known student friends/relationships, beginning with roommates. The Resident Assistant should also use direct and indirect methods of leaving messages for the student to make contact immediately. The purpose at this point is to determine if the student is truly missing or has simply failed to make the desired contact with the reporting person. If the student is located or is determined not to be missing, the student should be advised to contact the reporting person. The Resident Director may also contact the reporting person and relay that the student is not missing and has been asked to contact the reporting person.

If pursuing known contacts has not yielded confirmation that the student is not missing, the Residence Life Director may invoke one or more of the following measures may to determine recent activity by the student reported as missing:

• Building card access report
• Meal plan utilization
• Mailbox activity
• Class attendance
• In-plain-sight examination of room to see signs of recent use or planned departure

If the results of these activity measures suggest that the student is indeed missing and unaccounted for, the Residence Life Director or his/her designee will immediately notify Public Safety Officers and request a full law enforcement investigation. All information obtained about the missing student through the Office of Residence Life investigation should be shared with Public Safety and/or law enforcement representatives. The Chief of Public Safety is responsible for notification of the missing student’s identified confidential contact if the student has been missing for 24 hours. If the student is under 18 years of age and not an emancipated individual (by court order, no longer under the control or responsibility of parents), the custodial parent or guardian shall be contacted immediately.

Procedure for Notification of Missing Student 

If Public Safety Officers determine that a student for whom a missing person report has been filed has been missing for 24 hours, then within the next 24 hours, they must:

• Notify the individual identified by the student to be contacted in this circumstance,
• If the student is under 18 years old, notify a custodial parent/guardian and any other designated contact person, and
• Notify law enforcement networks

The above procedures do not preclude College officials from making a determination that a student is missing before the student has been missing for a full 24 hours or initiating notification procedures as soon as it determines that the student is missing.

Confidential Emergency Contact Form