VCOM College Catalog and Student Handbook

display their badge for whatever reason, must acquire a temporary access badge from reception for use for 24 hrs. After 24 hours, the temporary badge must be returned to reception and a new badge issued (if the existing badge is lost). Anyone using temporary badges must enter the building through the front entrance only, as temporary badges do not grant building access through the card swipe system. Students, faculty, or staff who observe someone in the building without their photo ID displayed, should report that person to the nearest VCOM faculty or staff member. If you observe suspicious or criminal activity on campus, please report these actions immediately. Students repeatedly violating the ID badge display policy (i.e. refuses to display his/her badge) will be referred to the Student Honor Council for disciplinary action. Lost or stolen badges should be reported to Operations immediately so that they may be deactivated for security reasons. In the event a badge is lost, there will be a replacement fee (fees differ among campuses due to the source we acquire them from). Clinical sites will generally also require a picture ID to be worn or carried. Students should always have a picture ID on their person when working in the clinical setting. Campus Safety Officers are always on duty after normal business hours in the evenings and on weekends while the building is open to students and are available for general security and safety issues. Campus Safety Officers are available to escort students to their parked cars after dark if one feels the need for additional security. For assistance, please call the security number posted throughout the building or report to the front desk. The available Campus Safety Officer will also contact the local police if needed. In addition, in the event of an emergency, courtesy phones, which are located throughout the building, may be used to contact “911.” Fire Safety As part of VCOM’s fire safety procedures, students, faculty, and staff are provided with building evacuation maps. These are provided to all new employees upon hire and all first-year students at orientation. All students, faculty, and staff are also provided these maps annually. The evacuation maps show features of the building, including exits and stairway locations and outline the evacuation route that should be used by building occupants according to where they are in the building. Evacuation plans exist for all VCOM buildings. Faculty, staff, and students should review and be familiar with the evacuation plans. Fire alarms can be sounded for many different reasons including an actual fire, an intentional activation, an accident during cleaning, smoke or steam of any type, or a defective detector. VCOM also conducts periodic fire drills to ensure that all building occupants understand the emergency exit process. It is important to evacuate the building during a fire alarm regardless of the cause. No one may re-enter the building after an alarm until the "all clear" has been sounded by the operations staff in charge or by emergency personnel. In the event the fire alarm sounds, students shall proceed immediately to the nearest exit or stairwell leading to an exit to egress the building. Students, faculty, and staff should become familiar with the site-specific fire plans. Building occupants shall proceed at a walking (not running) pace and use caution to avoid injury to other persons when exiting. Building occupants should proceed to the designated outdoor safe zones and refrain from leaving until properly accounted for. Safety policies & procedures consisting of campus safety, fire and safety procedures, and VCOM building evacuation plan maps can be found on the VCOM website at: https://www.vcom.edu/faculty-and-staff/fire-and-safety policies-and-procedures

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