Guiding Principles

The Department of Public Safety is responsible for determining when an emergency exists, which segments of the campus community to notify, and through which means, as well as coordinating with University Marketing and Communications on the content of any messages. University Marketing and Communications is the only campus office authorized to disseminate official information about campus emergencies to the campus community.

When a significant emergency or dangerous situation is confirmed to exist, the public safety department will take into account the safety of the community; determine what information to release; and begin the notification process without delay unless such notification will compromise efforts to assist a victim, respond to the emergency, or contain or mitigate the emergency.

The entire campus community will be notified when the potential exists for the majority of the community to be affected by an emergency situation, or when a situation threatens the operation of the campus as a whole. If the threat is limited to a segment of the population, notification may be limited to that segment, but additional segments of the population will be notified as ongoing assessment of the situation reveals a need to do so. Once the campus community has been notified, University Marketing and Communications will notify the neighboring community by updating local media outlets.

Be aware that the university does not use social media as a form of official communication in the event of an emergency or public safety situation. University faculty and staff should not discuss or post about emergency situations on social media accounts that belong to Ball State. Before discussing or forwarding messages about emergency situations, please check the official communication sources to ensure the accuracy of the information.

The university conducts emergency response exercises each year, such as table top exercises, field exercises, and tests of the emergency notification systems on campus. These tests are designed to assess and evaluate the emergency plans and capabilities of the institution.