Public Safety » Missing Student Notification

Missing Person Procedures

The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) requires Title IV eligible institutions that provide on-campus housing to establish a missing student notification policy for students who reside in on-campus housing.

Gwynedd - Mercy College will require that each student who lives on campus to identify a contact person whom the institution may notify in the case that the student is determined missing, according to the institution’s official notification procedures.

Gwynedd - Mercy College will advise each student who is under 18 years of age, and is not an emancipated individual, that if the student is determined missing, then the institution must notify a custodial parent or guardian within 24 hours.

The missing person policy includes procedures for official notification that a student has been missing for more than 24 hours by the appropriate individuals at the institution;

Gwynedd - Mercy College will initiate the emergency contact procedures in accordance with the student’s designation if the campus security or law enforcement entity has been notified and has determined that such student has been missing for more than 24 hours and has not returned to campus.

Reporting Missing Persons

Gwynedd-Mercy College thoroughly investigates all community people reported as missing whether they reside on or off-campus. To report a missing person dial 1-1-1 from a campus telephone, use one of the blue light emergency telephones on campus or dial (215) 641-5522 from off-campus/cell phones.You may report a missing person in person to the Depertment of Public Safety located in St. Brigid resident hall or to the Lower Gwynedd Police Department at 215-646-5300.

If the Missing Person is a student, Public Safety will follow these procedures:

A Gwynedd-Mercy Security Officer, upon confirmation that a student is missing and cannot be located, shall notify the Office of the Vice President for Student Services.

If the missing student resides in on-campus housing, the Gwynedd-Mercy Security Officer will notify the Resident Life Director or Staff Supervisor on duty. Public Safety and Residence Life will contact neighbors and friends in the immediate vicinity of the student’s room and report any findings to the Vice President of Student Services.

If the missing student residing on-campus has been missing for more than 24 hours,

the Vice President of Student services or designee will notify the student’s designated emergency contact which is maintained in the Student Life database.

If the student is under 18 years old, the Vice President of Student Services or designee will immediately notify a custodial parent or legal guardian; and the missing student will be entered into the National Crime Information Center by the Lower Gwynedd Police Department.

If a student over 18 years old has not designated an emergency contact, the law enforcement agency where the student’s primary residence is located will be notified. All notifications as mentioned in this section will be made by the Director of Public Safety or his/her designee.

If the missing person is a commuter student, faculty or staff the College will assist the investigating jurisdiction upon request.

If the student has not been located within a reasonable amount of time, the Office of the Vice President for Student Services may contact the student’s parents or others for additional assistance.