Missing Student

Hawkeye Community College is concerned about the safety of all students. The following procedure has been developed in order to assist in locating Hawkeye Community College student(s) living and working on the farm—located at 5503 Hammond Avenue, Waterloo, Iowa—who, based on facts and circumstances known to the College, are determined to be missing.

This procedure is in compliance with Section 488 of the Higher Education Act of 2008.

Most missing person reports in the college environment result from a student changing his/her routine without informing his/her roommates and/or friends of the change. Anyone who believes a student to be missing should report their concern to campus Public Safety, to local law enforcement (Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office, Waterloo Police Department, Cedar Falls Police Department, for example), or to the dean of students in the Student Services office. Every report made will be followed up with an immediate investigation once a student has been missing for 24 hours.

Depending on the circumstances presented to Hawkeye Community College officials, parents of a missing student will be notified. In the event that parental notification is necessary, the dean of students or his/her designee will place the call. For students under 18 and not emancipated, Hawkeye will notify a parent/guardian in addition to any additional contact person designated by the student.

At the beginning of each academic year, residential students will be asked to provide, on a voluntary basis, contact information in the event he/she is reported missing while enrolled at Hawkeye Community College. This information will be kept in the dean of students office and in Public Safety and will remain confidential.

General Procedure

1. The Hawkeye Community College administrator receiving the report will collect and document the following information at the time of the report:

   1. The name and relationship of the person making the report.

   2. The date, time, and location the missing student was last seen.

   3. The general routine or habits of the suspected missing student (e.g. visiting friends who live off-campus, working a job away from campus) including any recent changes in behavior or demeanor.

   4. The missing student’s cell phone number (if known by the reporter).

2. The Hawkeye administrator receiving the report will contact the Vice President of Student Affairs, the academic dean, the dean of students, and Public Safety in order to update them on the situation and to receive additional consultation. They will determine if/when other members of the Cabinet and the director of marketing need to be contacted.

3. Upon notification from any entity that a student may be missing, Hawkeye may use any or all of the following resources to assist in locating the student.

   1. Call the student’s room.

   2. Go to the student’s room.

   3. Talk to the student’s roommates to see if anyone can confirm the missing student’s whereabouts and/or confirm the date, time, and location the student was last seen.

   4. Secure a current student ID or other photo of the student from a friend.

   5. Call/text the student’s cell phone and call any other numbers on record.

   6. Send the student an email.

   7. Check all possible locations mentioned by the parties above including, but not limited to, library, lounges, student union, fitness center, etc.

   8. Contact or call any other on-campus or off-campus friends or contacts that are made known. This could include checking a student’s social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter.

   9. Ascertain the student’s car color, make, model, and license plate number. Public Safety will also check Hawkeye parking lots for the presence of the student’s vehicle.

4. The technology staff may be asked to obtain email logs in order to determine the last login and/or access of the Hawkeye network.

5. Once all information is collected and documented and the Deans/Vice President of Student Affairs (or designee) are consulted Hawkeye Community College staff may contact the local police to report the information. (Note: If in the course of gathering information as described above, foul play is evident or strongly indicated, the police can be contacted immediately.)