POLICY AND PROCEDURES CONCERNING THE DEATH OF A STUDENT

The Berkeley Campus has responsibility for promptly notifying the
parents or next of kin of a currently enrolled student if the student
if the student dies on the campus or at a campus-sponsored event away
from the campus.

I.  Notification of Parents or Next of Kin.  If a student dies on the 
    campus or at a campus-sponsored event, the Campus Police Department
    or senior administrative officer most knowledgeable or closely
    associated with the case should notify the student's parents or next
    of kin on behalf of the University.  Notification should be limited
    to the established facts and should not include speculation
    regarding the circumstances of the student's death.  With the
    following three exceptions, notification should be handled by the
    Campus Police Department:

    A. For students under the immediate care of the University Health
       Service or Counseling and Psychological Services, notification
       should be handled by the responsible administrator or clinician,
       according to unit policy.

    B. For students living at the International House (and not in the
       University Health Service at the time of death), notification
       should be handled by the responsible administrator, according to
       unit policy. 

    C. For international students, notification should be handled 
       according to the policies of the Office of International
       Students and Scholars Services.

II.  Notification of Campus Offices.  It is critical that appropriate
     campus units be notified immediately in case of a student's death.

    A. Notification of the Campus Police Department.  If the student
       died on the campus or at a campus-sponsored event, the person
       discovering the death (or the attending physician, if present)
       should notify the Campus Police Department (at extension 2-6760)
       immediately.  This person should also promptly notify the
       administrator in charge of the unit where the student died (for
       example, the Residential Life Coordinator in a campus residence
       hall or the Management Services Officer in an academic
       department).

    B. Notification of the Chancellor's Office.  Whether the student
       was on the campus or away from the campus at the time of death,
       the Executive Officer in the Office for Undergraduate Affairs
       should be notified (at extension 2-6727) as soon as possible.
       He/she will immediately notify the Chancellor, the Vice
       Chancellor for Undergraduate Affairs, the Dean of Student Life,
       and the Manager of the Public Information Office.  He/she will
       also ensure that the Campus Claims Coordinator and the Campus
       Risk Manager are informed.

    C. Notification of the Registrar's Office and Other Campus Units.
       Records in many units must be cleared to expedite University
       business and to protect the student's family from unnecessary or
       inappropriate contacts.  Accordingly, the Executive Officer will
       promptly notify the Registrar (at extension 2-7008) about a
       student's death.  The Registrar will, in turn, notify
       appropriate campus offices including the student's school or
       college, and current instructors (if the student has filed a
       study list).  The Registrar's Office will also note "deceased"
       in the student's academic record.

III. Statement of Sympathy or Regret.  A statement of sympathy or
     regret should be written following the death or a student.  That
     statement, in the form of a letter, should be sent to the
     student's parents or next of kin by the Dean of the school or
     college in which the student was registered (e.g., the Dean of the
     College of Letters and Science or the Dean of the School of
     Education).  A letter of regret to the parents or next of kin of a
     student who has been admitted but not yet registered should be
     sent by the Director of Undergraduate Admission (for an
     undergraduate student) or the Dean of the graduate or professional
     school (for a graduate student).  Those faculty members or
     administrators closest to the situation, including but not limited
     to the senior officer who notified the parents or next of kin, may
     also choose to convey their regrets.

IV.  Documentation of Events Surrounding a Student's Death.  The death
     of a student on the campus or at a campus-sponsored event demands
     factual documentation of the event for the records of the
     department or unit involved and for the Chancellor's Office.
     Documentation, which should be prepared by the Campus Police
     Department or by the unit director or his/her designate, should
     include a brief factual summary of the following information:

     * an objective account of the event

     * consultations made and source of information

     * contacts made and notifications completed

     * information given out

     * reactions to information and need for follow-up

     A copy of this report should be sent to the Executive Officer in
     the Office for Undergraduate Affairs (at 750 University Hall).

V.   Implementation of This Policy.  The following units and
     departments are most likely to be involved with student deaths:
     the Campus Police Department, the University Health Service,
     Counseling and Psychological Services, Housing and Dining
     Services, International Students and Scholar Services, and
     International House.  These units (and others as required by the
     campus) should develop individual unit policies in compliance with
     the campus policy designating the responsible officers in the
     unit, the circumstances obtaining records of the parents or next
     of kin, and means of contact in case of a student death for which
     that unit would have the primary responsibility for notifying
     the next of kin.