Student Death Protocol

Office of Student Affairs & Activities

Student Death Protocol

Students and employees of the college or friends and family who would like to report a student death should notify the Dean of Students Office via email at deanofstudents@foothill.edu or by calling 650. 949.7241.

The Dean of Students will initiate the Student Death Protocol outlined below and coordinate support with Psych Services for students affected by the incident.

The protocol was designed to be comprehensive. However, not every instance of a student death will require that each action listed in the protocol be completed.

The wishes of the student’s family and the level of campus involvement of the deceased student will influence the Dean of Students’ course of action.

If the deceased student was an international student, an athlete, part of a learning community, or part of a student club, this will influence who gets notified of the student’s death, including other students, faculty, athletes, coaches, advisors, and program directors.

Action Items and Point Person

Download PDF version for reference

Making Contact with Family

Point Person: Dean of Students (deanofstudents@fhda.edu)

Extending condolences on behalf of the college
Establishing a point of contact for the family to the College (one-stop solution)
Learning cause of death
Identifying family wishes in regard to campus communication concerning student’s passing, college involvement in funeral services, etc.

Arranging Sympathy Messages, Flowers, etc.

Point Person: Dean of Students with President’s Office (deanofstudents@fhda.edu)

Dean of students will provide President’s Office Executive Assistant contact information and family address

Gathering Student Information

Point Person: Dean of Students (deanofstudents@fhda.edu)

Class schedule, course of study, age, division
EOPS, Work-Study, DRC, Veteran, Student Clubs

Notifying Faculty and Division Dean

Point Person: Dean of Students (deanofstudents@fhda.edu)

Provide faculty with guidance based on established protocol
Offer faculty support resources from the (EAP for full-time faculty only):

EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (EAP)

Optum Health

Access Code #: 61570
Contact: (866) 248-4105; 24 hours/day, 7 days/week
Website:
Employees may call the toll-free number, or visit the EAP website, to schedule five (5) in-person visits with a counseling professional--at no cost. After the five (5) visits, if further consultation is needed, employees may continue appointments in accordance with their medical health plan provisions

Notifying Other Students, Classmates, etc

Point Person: Dean of Students will coordinate with faculty if and how it should be communicated to classmates (deanofstudents@fhda.edu)

Decide, in-person or via email (online classes)
Provide support resources and psych services schedule to students and faculty member
Share funeral services information with students(only if it meets family wishes)
Coordinate with faculty in-class announcement
For online classes, Dean of Students will gather from faculty how much interaction there was among students. May or may not be necessary to notify online classmates

Updating Student Records with Admissions and Records Office

Point Person: Dean of Admissions and Enrollment

Once an obituary, web link or death certificate is provided to A&R Banner (SPAIDEN) page will be updated by checking the “Deceased” box and entering the date the student passed away.
Once a student has passed away, verified family request student records
If currently enrolled, A&R will drop the student from their courses with refunds and remove any fees that may be owed to prevent student’s family from receiving late fee notifications. Cashier Supervisor, can also help with this.

Processing Financial Aid Records

Point Person: Director of Financial Aid

All student loans are forgiven and any debt to the college is written off. For Financial Aid balance dues, they are handled by Financial Aid Office.
Federal Loan servicers may notify the college when a student has passed. Financial Aid will notify the Dean of Students Office if or when this occurs

Notify Behavioral Intervention Team

Point Person: Dean of Students (deanofstudents@fhda.edu)

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Office of Student Affairs & Activities