Procedure on Death of a Student

In the event of an on or off-campus death, the Office of Student Affairs (Dean or Vice President) should be notified as soon as any member from the university community receives information about the death. In cases where the death is recent or may be expected to have a significant adverse impact on the campus community, all matters concerning the death shall be referred to the Dean of Students or Vice President for Student Affairs for coordination.

In all cases, when a member of the University community learns of a student’s death, he/she should contact the Dean of Students via e-mail (cramerw@wcsu.edu) or by telephone at (203) 837-8547 or (203) 837-9700 or the Vice President for Student Affairs via e-mail (bettsk@wcsu.edu) or by telephone at (203) 837-8600 or (203) 837-8606. In case of an on-campus death after hours, the WCSU Police should be contacted at (203) 837-9300 who will notify the Dean of Students (203) 739-9008 or the Vice President for Student Affairs (203) 470-6664 (or designee).

If possible, the following information should be provided by telephone, e-mail or fax (203) 837-8539) to the Dean or Vice President:

Name and address of deceased student
Student’s ID number (if known)
Date (and time) of death
Circumstances surrounding the death
Source of notification of the student’s death (friend, call from family, media, )
Whether the deceased student was a resident student (which residence hall)
Whether the death occurred on campus
Copy of obituary or article related to death (if available)

Notification and other Responses:

Upon receiving notification of a student death, the Dean of Students or the Vice President for Student Affairs will notify the following offices or individuals:

President–sends out a letter of condolence to the family
Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs–sends out letter in President’s absence Academic Dean–will notify the student’s instructors and academic advisor(s) Director, Counseling Center–provides support and/or counseling as necessary
Director, Residence Life–if the deceased student was a resident student, the director will work with the RD to see if support is needed and return the student’s personal effects to the family or next of kin
Police Chief–shall be notified
Campus Ministries–provides spiritual support for the campus community as necessary
Registrar’s Office–formally withdraws the student from the university and codes Banner so that no further communication is sent to the student, student’s parents, or
Student Financial Services–takes the necessary steps to formally withdraw student from financial aid and/or federal loans
Human Resources–if the student was employed by the university, salary will be suspended as necessary
Cashier’s Office–process refund to the family or next of kin
Health Service–close out medical records and finalize payment on any outstanding medical claims as necessary
WCSU Police Department–remove student’s contact information for parking permit and student identification and/or forgiveness of outstanding vehicle citations
Chief Information Officer–completes necessary steps to close access to Blackboard Vista, Banner, and immediate removal of the student’s email address
University Relations–issue statement to university community and answer questions from media
Library–director would check to see if there are any outstanding library books and notify student affairs
WestConnect Office–deactivate student card record, remove all associated security access and perform refunds on any Connect Cash balances

The Student Affairs office will also do the following:

Send a letter of condolence to the parents, mentioning any relevant refunds and whom to contact regarding housing, books, Coordinate with University Relations to issue a statement to the university community
As appropriate help to coordinate efforts for a memorial service
Update data sheet maintained by Dean of Students office

Please contact Virginia Diaz, Administrative Assistant to the Dean of Students (203-837-9700) or Birte P. Selvaraj, CSU Administrative Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs (203-837-8606) with any questions regarding this procedure.

Revised 10/13/10