Students will be informed each academic year that each student, age 18 or above, has the option to identify a person designated as a confidential contact to be contacted by Georgia College no later than twenty-four (24) hours after the time the student is determined to be missing.  The confidential contact may be a person designated by the student in addition to the emergency contact listed with the Office of Registrar. Students who are under age eighteen (18) and are not emancipated will be informed each academic year that the institution is required to notify the custodial parent not later than twenty-four (24) hours after the time the student is determined to be missing.

Notification will be given via information provided in the Annual Public Safety Report which provides information in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Security Crime Statistics Act.

A student may register such confidential contact information:

• during the first two weeks of each semester by filing a form available at the Office of Student Affairs and/or University Housing.

Each student who files a confidential contact registration form is solely responsible for the accuracy of the contact information and the updating of information should the confidential contact person and/or number change.  A student may update information by filing a new form with the Office of Student Affairs and/or University Housing. 

Missing Person Procedures:   

A student is determined to be missing when a report comes to the attention of a Georgia College official and Georgia College Department of Public Safety determines the report to be credible.  Circumstances may include, but are not limited to establishing that:

a)    a student is out of contact after reasonable efforts to reach that student by phone calls, emails, and/or in-person attempts to establish contact; 

b)    circumstances indicate an act of criminality involved, even lacking twenty-four (24) hours in time; 

c)    circumstances indicate that a student may be in danger, even lacking twenty-four (24) hours in time; 

d)    circumstances become known that medicine dependence may threaten life or health, even lacking twenty-four (24) hours in time 

e)    existence of a physical / mental disability indicates that the student’s physical safety is in danger, even lacking twenty-four (24) hours in time. 

Any official missing persons report relating to such student requires that the Georgia College Department of Public Safety must be notified immediately to investigate and make a determination that a student who is the subject of a missing report has been missing for more than 24 hours and has not returned to campus.