Common Situations

Evening Administrator Duty Guidebook

These are samples of common situations that occur on evening duty. They should assist the administrator in defining the responsibilities of the Public Safety Police Department and of the Administrator on Duty (AOD). It is impossible to define all situations – an AOD is expected to use her/his best judgment in fluid or unusual situations. To assist, relevant segments of the College of DuPage Emergency Response plan are included this handbook. The complete plan is located in Public Folders (Public Folders\All Public Folders\Information\Administrative Affairs\Public Safety).

NOTE: While the regional centers have supervisors until 10 p.m. that handle most of the issues arising in those off-campus locations, the AOD may be called for guidance or to resolve situations beyond the regional center supervisor’s authority.

Instructor Will Be Late for Class – Normal Classroom: Generally, classrooms are open for the students to wait for the instructor. The AOD may be called by Public Safety to notify the students to wait for the instructor, but this is usually handled by the Part-Time Faculty Centers (East campus x 2303; West campus x3371).

Instructor Will be Late for Class – Lab/Technical Room: If the class is being held in a technical level room or a laboratory, Public Safety, by College policy, cannot open the room for students. Students waiting in the hall for such rooms to open may require an AOD intervention to answer questions or to keep noise levels down.

Instructor Notifies College They Cannot Make Her/His Class: Public Safety or the appropriate Part-Time Faculty Center will post a notice of cancellation on the classroom to notify the students. The AOD usually does not need to be involved, but may be called upon to resolve situations with irate students.

Instructor Does Not Make His/Her Class and Does Not Notify College: Public Safety or the appropriate Part-Time Faculty Center will most likely be notified first and will notify the students and post a notice of cancellation on the classroom. The AOD may be called upon to resolve situations with irate students. There is currently no policy stating the minimum amount of time students should wait for the instructor, but generally students have been told to wait 15-20 minutes.

Instructor Cannot Access Classroom Equipment: Public Safety may notify the AOD if an instructor cannot access required materials in technical classrooms or laboratories. Public Safety does not have keys to storage cabinets -- if the need is critical to the instructor, the AOD should contact the appropriate area administrator for assistance, i.e. the Associate Dean of Natural Sciences for microscopes locked in a cabinet, the Associate Dean of Technology for computer equipment locked in a cabinet, etc. Public Safety maintains a list of all Administrators’ home phone numbers.

Instructor Requires Teaching Supplies: The AOD may be notified if an instructor requires classroom supplies, i.e. paper, markers, chalk. The AOD should refer the instructor to the appropriate Part Time Faculty Center.

Instructor Requires Audio/Visual Equipment: The AOD may be notified if an instructor requires overheads, projectors, televisions, etc. The AOD should either call, or have the instructor call, the Library Circulation Desk (x2106).

Classroom Is Double-Booked: Public Safety will notify the AOD of this situation. The AOD should attempt to find an open classroom nearby or contact the appropriate Part-Time Faculty Center to locate an open classroom. The situation should be reported by the AOD the following day to prevent reoccurrence. On rare occasions, bad feelings can arise between the instructors involved that require an AOD (or if it escalates) a Public Safety intervention.

Room Set-Up/Custodial Issues: The AOD may be called to resolve issues with rooms set up improperly or otherwise not physically ready for class. Custodial operations can be contacted (x2694) to resolve room set-up issues. In the event the room set-up needs cannot be met, the AOD should explain the situation and follow-up with the appropriate administrators the following day.

Computer/Technology Problems with Classroom Equipment: If the AOD is notified that classroom technical equipment is not functioning, the AOD should either call, or have the instructor call, the Information Technology Help Desk (x4357).

Irate Students/Instructors: The AOD may be called to handles situations involving disagreements among students or faculty, or between students and College staff. The AOD should attempt to address the student/faculty concerns and refer the issue to the appropriate office the following day. (As in the case of escalating arguments, the AOD should contact Public Safety if he/she deems the situation is getting out of hand.)

Loss of Power/Loss of Water: Public Safety will assess the situation in conjunction with Engineering to determine the areas affected and expected duration of the outage. Public Safety may evacuate the building and contact the AOD for a determination as to whether the building should be closed and/or classes should be cancelled. Should such a decision be required, the AOD will have to assess very quickly if there is time to contact a Vice-President. It will clearly be a judgment call.

Severe Weather: If the threat of severe weather is imminent, Public Safety will activate the take shelter alarm. If severe weather is in the area, but not imminent, Public Safety may contact the AOD to make the determination as to whether the alarm should be activated. This, like the case above, is a judgment call that may not allow time to contact a Vice-president. (NOTE: Administrators should be aware of the alarms that could be activated and should learn them. Examples of the alarms are available on the Public Safety Web page.

Violence on Campus: Public Safety responds to all incidents involving violence against persons or property on campus. The AOD may be called by Public Safety if the person(s) involved insist on talking to an Administrator regarding College policies and procedures.

Bomb Threats: Public Safety responds to all bomb threats and will take the appropriate action immediately. If time allows, Public Safety may contact the AOD for a decision whether classes should be cancelled or a building should be evacuated. The AOD should consult the appropriate Vice President when making this determination.

Medical Emergencies: Public Safety responds to all incidents involving medical emergencies, but the AOD may be called in some situations. For example, if a person has fallen and wants to talk to an administrator or if odors are detected in a laboratory, the AOD may be called to determine if classes should be continued or the area evacuated.

Contacting a Cabinet Member

When an administrator is on duty or on call and an emergency occurs that requires a Cabinet member’s attention, the appropriate Cabinet member should be called, i.e. an emergency with facilities would require the VP of Administrative Affairs attention or a student discipline problem that can’t be handled by Public Safety would require the VP of Student Affairs attention. Judgment on who best to handle this emergency should be used and Cabinet members should be called only for serious situations or on those occasions that cannot be handled by the AOD and/or Public Safety. If it is not clear who is to be contacted, or that individual Cabinet member cannot be contacted, then the Cabinet members on call that week should be contacted.