Table of Contents:

1. Definitions
2. Guidelines

Section 1: Definitions

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1. Incident: An occurrence requiring actions to prevent or minimize loss of life or damage to property and/or the environment.
2. Organizational Resilience Plan: The college Emergency Operations Plan outlines staff responsibilities during an incident and provides guidelines for the transition from normal to emergency operations.
3. Continuity of Operations Plan: A plan which outlines procedures and instructions the college must follow to maintain core business functions or quickly resume them after a major incident or emergency. The plan is activated at the initial phase of an emergency and guides the restoration to normal educational service once emergency operations conclude.
4. Emergency Response Plan: A plan that describes how a specific building will respond to incidents that may suddenly and significantly impact operations. Each building plan should include specific procedures outlining how the department will respond to, mitigate, and recover from emergencies; the chain of command within the department; communication protocol to ensure that accurate information is provided to employees on a timely basis; defined roles and responsibilities of employees.
5. Issues Management Team: The team of personnel who, through their key responsibilities or skills, are essential in determining and implementing campus policy during an emergency. The Issues Management Team provides direction in strategic policy decisions for any incident that may have a major impact upon the college. The College President, or designee, chairs the team which convenes to respond, assure proper interface with other agencies, and direct recovery efforts.

Section 2: Guidelines

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1. College Plan Maintenance
   1. The Western Nevada College Organizational Resilience Plan, which serves as the College Emergency Operations Plan, and the Continuity of Operations Plan require that all departments/units maintain up-to-date response plans for their area . These plans contain information relative to location-specific incidents as well as plans to maintain essential services during an incident or emergency situation.
   2. Response plans should identify employees, resources, and supplies needed to maintain essential business services during varying types of emergencies. Emergencies may arise from a range of natural, technological, or human-caused events.
2. College Plan Activation
   1. Activation of emergency operations, including notification procedures and staffing expectations, is governed by the Organizational Resilience Plan. Refer to the Organizational Resilience Plan for activation criteria and operational guidance.
3. Maintaining Department Continuity of Operations and Response Plans
   1. Departments shall maintain unit-level response and continuity plans consistent with the Organizational Resilience Plan. Each department is responsible for determining its most critical functionality and the appropriate staffing levels for business continuity during activation of the Emergency Operations Plan. Expectations and responsibilities for employees during such plan activation must be communicated to them in advance. Upon receiving notification that emergency actions are necessary, impacted departments are expected to respond in accordance with their established Continuity of Operations Plan.
   2. Departments are expected to maintain a current call tree list including the names, position titles, contact numbers (e.g., home phone, pagers, and cell numbers), emergency contact names and phone numbers for each employee. Continuity of Operations Plans should be updated annually.
   3. During a period in which the Organizational Resilience Plan is activated, it is conceivable that members of the leadership team (Supervisors, Managers, Directors, Executives, etc.) may not be able to fulfill the duties of their positions. It is imperative that departmental response plans include lines of succession to assume decision making responsibilities in the absence of employees in leadership roles. In order to adequately prepare for the potential absence of leaders, departments should establish written standard operating procedures.
   4. Departments shall notify the Organizational Resilience upon any modifications not reflected in their departmental response plan.
   5. Each departmental Continuity of Operations Plans should include expectations for reporting to work when an Continuity of Operations Plans is activated. Employees may be required to report to work in their home department or be reassigned to perform work in other areas based organizational  needs and direction established through the Organizational Resilience.
   6. Departments shall review their Continuity of Operations Plans at least annually to ensure that contact information, personnel assignments, and critical functions remain current. An annual review does not require a full revision of the plan, unless significant changes have occurred.
   7. It is possible that traditional methods of communication may not readily available due to the interruption of services. Departments should consider and implement alternative methods (e.g. text messaging, email) for employees to communicate.
4. Incident Command System and Organizational Structure 

Emergency Response and recovery activities are conducted under the organizational structure and incident management framework, established in the Organizational Resilience Plan. 

1. 1. Departments/Units may suspend services or close with approval from Issues Management Team. Employees may be assigned to the Emergency Recovery Labor Pool as needed.
   2. In an emergent situation, it may become necessary to temporarily change an employees job duties, work assignments, or work location. Department management may assign work consistent with organizational needs and direction established through the Organizational Resilience Plan.
   3. Alternative work arrangements may be implemented to maintain business operations during Organizational Resilience Plan  activation. Departments should coordinate with the Issues Management Team for review and determination of flexible work schedules or telecommuting. Department should have prior knowledge of duties that may be performed off-site and mechanisms in place to track work and productivity.

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