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- Missing Student Policy
Pursuant to the Clery Act, Southeastern has implemented protocols to ensure that all reasonable and proper steps are taken in the event a student is discovered to be missing. The policy that has been implemented is as follows:
The purpose of this policy is to establish procedures for the university’s response to a report of missing students, as required by the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008. This policy applies to students who reside in on-campus housing.
Any person (student, staff or faculty) believed to be missing from the campus unexpectedly shall be immediately reported to the Southeastern Campus Police Department.
Southeastern Campus Police Department
580-745-2727 or 580-745-2911
Campus Police is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is located at the corner of 3rd and University in Durant, OK.
For purposes of this policy, a student will be considered missing, if a roommate, classmate, faculty members, family member or other campus person has not seen the student in a reasonable amount of time. A reasonable amount of time may vary with the time of day and information available regarding the missing person’s daily schedule, habits, punctuality, and reliability. Individuals will be considered missing immediately, if their absence has occurred under circumstances that are suspicious or cause concerns for their safety. If the initial report that a person is missing is made to a department other than the Southeastern Campus Police Department, the employee receiving the report will ensure that the Southeastern Campus Police Department is contacted immediately.
The Southeastern Campus Police Department will conduct an initial investigation to determine if the person appears to be missing, or has simply changed his/her routine unexpectedly, and whether or not there is a reason to believe the person is endangered. Once a determination is made that a student living in on-campus housing is missing, the institution will notify local law enforcement of the situation within 24 hours. This statement addresses any missing student who lives in on-campus housing regardless of age or status, and regardless of whether he or she registered a confidential contact person.
The Southeastern Campus Police Department will check student’s log in records, dining records, class schedules, interview fellow students, faculty and residence hall staff, and use other methods to determine the status of a missing person. From this initial investigation, the scope will continue to expand to make attempts to determine the location of the person reported missing to assure he/she is safe.
Should the Southeastern Campus Police Department not be able to locate a person reported missing within twenty-four (24) hours of the report, the Southeastern Campus Police Department would then notify the person’s designated emergency contact.
Designated Contact: On-campus students have the option of identifying a person of their choice to be contacted in the specific case they are determined missing. The contact will be noted on their student housing contract filled out annually and on the Resident Emergency Contact Information sheet filled out when checking into the residence halls.
Students should be sure that this contact knows how to reach the student in case of emergency, and have a general idea of the student’s general daily routine and any travel plans. This person should be someone you trust to aid officers in determining your whereabouts, or verifying that further investigation and/or entry into national missing persons databases is warranted.
The person you designate and their contact information shall be considered confidential, will be kept separately from the general emergency contact, and is only to be accessed by University officials after the student has been reported missing.
In the event that no separate emergency contact is identified, a parent or guardian as listed in the university records will be contacted.
For any student under the age of 18 who is not emancipated, the university must identify a custodial parent or guardian not later than 24 hours after the time the student is determined to be missing, in addition to notifying the additional contact person designated by the student. For any situation in which a missing person is believed to be endangered, this notification will be made as early as possible while officers are continuing to investigate.
In regard to Missing Persons reports, the information that is registered by the student will be confidential (assuming no FERPA release has been filed), and the information will only be accessible to authorized campus officials and it will not be disclosed, except to law enforcement personnel in the furtherance of a missing person investigation.