1007 College Death Protocol Procedure

Policy Details 

Policy Name: College Death Protocol  

Policy Number: 1007  

Applicable Code/Law: N/A 

Definitions:  

College Dignitary – Person of importance who is connected to the College in a meaningful way (examples, Foundation board member, community partner, etc) as determined by the President.  

Procedure Guidelines  

The purpose of this procedure is to establish a consistent and respectful protocol for campus communication in the event of the reported death of a College dignitary, employee, or student. This policy applies to both current and former employees and students, provided the College is notified within 60 days of their passing. Exceptions to this procedure may be approved by the College President.  

Notification Anyone who becomes aware of a College dignitary, student, or employee death should notify the College as soon as possible.  

  1. College Dignitary a. Notification should be provided to President’s Office.  
  2. Student Deaths a. Notification should be provided to the Student Affairs Services Office at studentaffairs@shoreline.edu.  
  3. Employee Deaths a. Notification should be provided to the Human Resources Office at hr@shoreline.edu  

Verification of Information  

Upon notice, the assigned office listed above shall complete the following tasks:  

  1. Verify that the death has occurred through reference to county coroner, police, funeral home, newspaper obituary, or immediate family member information.  
  2. Gather information with sensitivity/care regarding the circumstances which may include date/time of death, cause of death, funeral arrangements, others involved (such as other students, faculty, etc). 
  3. Identify others (those directly connected to the deceased) on campus who should be notified prior to public announcement.  
  4. Review the above information with the President (or designee) for approval to post to campus.  
    1. If approved by the President, assigned office proceeds with all notifications to campus below.  
    2. If not approved, assigned office proceeds with operational notifications below only.   

Notification to Campus  

  1. Operational notification should be made by the office assigned above as follows: a. Student Deaths i. Instruction, Registrar, Financial Aid, Cashier, Counseling, Residential Life (if applicable), Executive Team, and Communications & Marketing. b. Employees and Other Deaths i. Executive Team, Communications & Marketing.  
  2. Campus-wide notification will be made by the Communications & Marketing (C&M) Office when approved by the President to do so. Wherever possible, internal notifications to operational offices and connected individuals (colleagues, student peers, etc.) will be made in advance of the campus announcement.  
    1. The assigned office will draft a communication using the assigned College template for Communications & Marketing review prior to posting. 
      1. C&M will post the announcement of all deaths to “Day at a Glance”, with student deaths additionally posted to “Shoreline Today”.  

Public Requests for Information  

The Office of Communications & Marketing will serve as the point of contact for  all public inquiries. 

Approvals 

Procedures Adopted by Executive Team: 7/15/25