Due to the upcoming holidays, Towson University will be officially closed, Friday, Dec. 22, 2006 to and including Monday, Jan. 1, 2007.
In an effort to provide a safe and secure environment and conserve utility costs, only those personnel classified as essential (maintenance, custodial, police, etc.) may be present in academic or administrative buildings on campus during these dates without special exception.
The university recognizes that other members of the campus community have legitimate reasons for using campus facilities during official closures. As such, procedures were established in 2005 for granting access. These procedures, which apply to all faculty, staff, students and community outreach groups, were designed to aid the Towson University Police Department in maintaining better control of the campus during closures. In addition, the conservation of energy continues to be critical due to high costs and the university?s overall responsibility to the environment, and the closing procedures help with both.
Thank you for your cooperation in implementing these procedures, which will help to create the safe, secure environment that anyone would expect for a closed facility, while concurrently permitting reasonable access to those who properly need it.
Procedure for Requesting Non-Essential Personnel Access to Campus Facilities during the Closure
Non-essential personnel who have a legitimate exception for being on campus during the closure are required to submit a written request through their respective division head. The division head will review the request and either approve or reject it.
On the request please indicate:
1. The reason an exception needs to be granted
2. The date(s) and time(s) access is needed
3. The specific location (building and room number)
4. The name(s) of the people who need access
Approvals will be forwarded by the respective division head to University Police.
Having such information ahead of time helps University Police to understand which activities or functions are approved and who is accepting responsibility, thereby allowing them to proactively plan for the safety of our campus.
Anyone found in academic or administrative buildings without prior approval will be asked to leave by University Police.
Procedure for Requesting Student Access to Campus Facilities during the Closure
Faculty members who wish to allow students access to academic buildings during the holiday closing must make arrangements for supervision of the students. The person designated as the supervisor must follow the procedure outlined above for submitting an exception request.
Accessing Buildings during the Closure
University Police will not unlock academic or administrative buildings during the closing. Those who obtain permission to be in campus buildings over the holiday, following the procedure outlined above, need to make prior arrangements to obtain a key, or have their OneCard access revised for those buildings equipped with card swipe access (Contact Facilities Management at 410-704-2406.).
University Police can make arrangements through their contractual security provider to have a security guard monitor an entrance door to ensure those approved to be in the building are allowed admittance. The department requesting this service will be billed for the costs of the security guard.
Questions
If you have questions, please contact Col. Bernard Gerst (x4-3383, {bgerst@towson.edu}) or Capt. Bob Novak (x4-5735, {rnovak@towson.edu}).
