People & DepartmentsOfficesFinance OfficeRisk Management

Risk Management

Please complete the Accident/Injury Form for Injured Party anytime an accident, incident or near miss occurs involving an injury or property damage if you are a student, faculty, staff, supervisor or visitor of the WC community. Below you will find the relevant policy as well as the procedures.  If you are an employee, you must report the incident to your supervisor and the supervisor must complete the Accident Form for Supervisors.  Completed reports should be emailed as follows:  Employees/Supervisors – to the Office of Human Resources (hr@washcoll.edu) with a copy to the Risk Manager.  Students:  To Health Services (health_services@washcoll.edu), Public Safety (public_safety@washcoll.edu) with a copy to the Risk Manager.

If you have questions about reporting, please contact the Office of Human Resources or the Office of Risk Management.

Property

Report any College property loss to the Risk Manager and follow up with a written statement to the Risk Manager including:

  • Date and time of loss
  • A description of occurrence
  • Location and description of damage

Please take the following actions:

  • Take emergency steps necessary to protect property from further damage;
  • Take photos of the damage;
  • Document your expenses and keep separate records;
  • Set damaged property aside as the insurance carrier may want to inspect it;
  • Complete an inventory of damaged and destroyed property; and
  • Compile invoices or receipts that document the value of the damaged item, if applicable.

Report the claim as soon as possible.  Do not wait to get an estimate on the damage before reporting.

Motor Vehicles

In the event of a motor vehicle accident while on college business please report the information below to the Director of Motor Pool.  The Director of Motor Pool will report it to the Risk Manager.

If a kit is not in the vehicle, please take the following steps when reporting an accident:

  • Date and time of loss
  • Location and description of the accident
  • Vehicles involved and description of damage(s)
  • Description of injuries, if any (Note: contact HR to complete a worker’s compensation first report to injury if an employee is injured in an automobile accident)
  • Identify witnesses with name, phone number and address
  • Name of the police department and accident report number
  • Name of the other driver, contact information, license number, and insurance information

As a general guideline, do not discuss fault, do not admit liability and do not voluntarily make a payment for any claim. 

Vendors and contractors doing business with the College or organizations using College premises or facilities should carry their own insurance to protect their own interests from allegations of bodily injury or property damage liability caused by their own negligence.

Requiring a Certificate of Insurance:  Certificates of insurance, which provide evidence that such coverage is in place, should be requested from all entities before engaging their services or permitting them to use College premises or facilities. Washington College requires specific levels of coverage for vendors, third parties, and others.  The Risk Manager may review each contract to determine what levels of coverage are required.  Washington College should be listed as an additional insured on the certificate.  All certificates of insurance are to be sent to the Risk Manager along with a copy of the fully executed contract in order to make sure the certificate meets the contractual requirements.  Each department is responsible for uploading these documents (the contract and the certficiate of insurance) into Etrieve.

Requesting a Certificate of Insurance:  Entities with which College departments do business may sometimes request such proof of College insurance coverage. Contact the Risk Manager to request a certificate of insurance.  In your request, please provide the following information: 

  1. Requestor Information
    1. Name/Title/Department
    2. Email Address/Phone
  2. Event, Contract or Lease  Information
    1. Name of Event
    2. Type of Event
    3. Date/Time/location
    4. Contract information, if applicable
  3. Certificate Holder Information
    1. Name of other party/organization with whom WC is entering an agreement
    2. Address
    3. Email of Other Party/Organization
    4. Phone Number of Other Party/Organization
    5. Lines of Insurance Coverage required
    6. Other insurance coverage required
    7. Additional information, such as is the holder asking to be an additional insured? or wanting a notice of cancellation or other?

Please attach a copy of the agreement/contract with the request.  Please allow at least three (3) business days for processing the certificate.  The certificate will be mailed to the Requestor via electronic mail.

Emergency Operations Group (EOG) gathers, confirms and evaluates incident information; coordinates, directs and tracks field level personnel, equipment and material resources deployed; identifies resource needs/shortfalls; and documents situation status during emergencies that occur on the college campus. 

The EOG consists of various campus consitutents, appointed by the President, and is led by a different chair on an annual basis.  The chair rotations can include the following:

  • Director of Athletics
  • Director of HR
  • Controller
  • Assistant VP for Buildings and Grounds
  • Dean of Students/Title IX Coordinator

Risk Management Committee advises the President and Senior Staff of the College on policy and practices that ensure the College appropriately identifies, mitigates and reports health, safety, legal and environmental risks to the college community.

The Risk Management Commttee is made up from the following campus constitutents, with the Investment/Risk Manager being the permanent chair position:

Permanent Members based on position (voting):

  • Director of Public Safety     
  • Asst. Director of Public Safety
  • Asst. Director of Human Resources
  • Associate Vice President for Facilities Management
  • Executive Director, Office of Information Technology
  • Laboratory Manager/Chemical Hygiene Officer
  • Faculty Representative

 Rotating Members (voting):

SGA appointee (annual term)

Student Engagement appointee (three-year term)

Health Services appointee (three-year term)

Member of Dining Services management team (annual

 term)

Athletics appointee (three-year term)

In order to operate a drone on college property please read the requirements and procedures in this policy. If you have any questions please contact the Public Safety or the Office of Marketing and Communications.

All off-campus trips involving the transport of students must be documented with Washington College. Please complete the following form.

 Safety Policies located on the Humans Resources website:

  1. Animals in the Workplace
  2. Code of Conduct
  3. ID Cards
  4. Inclement Weather
  5. Keys
  6. General Safety:
    1. Work-related accident or injury
    2. Fire Safety
    3. Fireworks, Fire Arms, Ammunition, Explosive or other weapons
    4. Safety Equipment
    5. Exposure to Potentially Infectious Material(s)
    6. College Vehicle Operator Safety
  7. State of Emergency Procedures
  8. Vehicle Damage

Safety Policies located on the Public Safety website:

  1. Missing Student Policy
  2. Emergency Guidelines

Safety Policies located on the Student Affairs website within the Student Handbook: 

  1. Missing Student Notification Policy
  2. Password Security for Email Accounts
  3. Fireworks, Fire Arms, Ammunition, Explosives and/or Other Weapons
  4. Smoking Policy
  5. Animal Policy
  6. ID Cards Policy

Other Safety-Related Policies:

  1. Motor Pool& Driver Safety
  2. Self Defense & Safety

Liability Insurance

The College, its Board of Visitors and governors, officers, employees, and others can from time to time be charged with legal liability for negligent actions, wrongful acts or tortious conduct as the result of a real or alleged failure to fulfill a College obligation or duty.  Various risk management practices may be applied to minimize the chance of such legal liability and to finance the costs of such claims.

  • General Liability: College departments and personnel are involved in a number of activities and operations, ranging from athletics, field trips, study abroad programs, special events, intellectual property development, research, student clubs, etc. Any of these operations could result in injury to persons or damage to property and could be covered under this policy.
  • Educators Legal Liability: provides coverage for the legal liability of directors, officers, trustees, faculty, volunteers and others of the college for claims made against them during the policy term for a Wrongful Act committed, attempted or allegedly committed or attempted, before or during the policy period.  Coverage is also provided for Employment Practices Liability and Educational Errors & Omissions.
  • Internships & Professional Liability: provides claims-made, worldwide coverage for Wrongful Acts arising from Internship Programs or covered Professional Services.

Property

Insurance of this nature provides coverage for College-owned buildings and business personal property; College personal property at exhibitions/temporary storage; any other not owned or regularly operated premises; college personal property in most forms of transit.

International Travel

For students traveling abroad, visit the Global Education Office for more information on international travel.  To obtain information about insurance coverage for international travel, please visit the RCMD/Washington College Study Abroad website.

Effective 11/1/2020, the College implemented a policy to mitigate risks when minors are participating in programs and activities on our campus.  To learn more about the minors policy and compliance requirements, please visit the website.

An “Assumption of Risk” form (and waivers) can raise awareness about potential risks associated with a particular activity.  These forms/waivers prohibit individuals from seeking damages against the College on the basis that the individual knew of a hazardous condition/risk and willingly exposed him/herself to it.

Other types of waivers may require an individual, partaking in a particular activity, to provide a release from liability and indemnify the College.

The College uses these forms in a number of ways.  If you have questions about assumption of risk and/or waivers, please contact the College’s Risk Manager.