Campus Safety & Security

Students, faculty, staff, and visitors of the Catherine Hinds Institute are encouraged to immediately report to the Director of Operations any incidents of criminal activity, medical emergencies, sexual harassment, hate crimes, or other public health and safety concerns.

If fire, hazardous material, or other types of potentially life-threatening environment exists, immediately evacuate the area and alert people in the surrounding area

• Dial 911 to request emergency first response/ ambulance service.
  • Do not move the injured person unless it is necessary to prevent further injury.

• Do not initiate treatment unless you have medical or first aid training.
• The first person to reach the injured person should stay with him/her.

Instructors have been trained to collect the class attendance roster/sign-in sheet from the bulletin board in their individual classrooms, escort their students to the nearest safe exit, and take attendance to ensure that all students are accounted for.

Instructors will then communicate via cell phone text with the school directors for further instructions.

The Institute has developed a “Safe Program” to remind everyone – students, administrators, instructors, etc. of the critical areas where safety can or could be jeopardized.

Throughout the facility are reminders of our safety procedures – large orange posters are displayed for emergency exiting and safe conduct while here at the Institute. These reminders are:

• Students should practice smart safety procedures to protect themselves and their physical property; for example: lock belongings in a locker; never walk alone in the parking lot at night.
• Always be aware of your surroundings; report suspicious activities to your instructor!
• Follow instructions given during an emergency; and stay calm!
• Every student should know how to exit the building in an emergency and must report to their instructor at their designated “safe place”, away from the building.

Upon report or discovery of a campus emergency, the Director of Operations shall evaluate the situation and confirm that there is a significant campus emergency or dangerous situation on campus. Upon confirmation, the Director of Operations, Director of Compliance and the President shall convene to evaluate the extent of the emergency and to determine the appropriate segment(s) of the campus community to receive notification. The content of any emergency notification, as well as the appropriate segment or segments of the community to be notified, will be determined by this team. Decisions to act are made on a case-by-case basis, but if a decision to notify is made, these individuals will use one or a combination of the following:

Emergency Notification Methods

Fire alarm system: When a fire alarm is sounded, everyone must immediately vacate the building and walk calmly to the designated evacuation area.

Main school message for incoming callers — At the direction of the President or Director of Operations or designee will change the incoming message to reflect the emergency, which will override the existing incoming school message.

Broadcast email notification — At the direction of the President or Director of Operations, the Marketing department will disseminate a broadcast email throughout campus indicating the nature of the emergency.

School-wide phone text message notification —The Director of Operations will contact the Marketing department to activate the school-wide phone text message notification system.

Notification signage — At the direction of the President or Director of Operations, the Marketing department will post notification signs at all entrances to Catherine Hinds Institute indicating the nature of the emergency.

Community notification — In the event that a significant emergency or dangerous situation exists which may affect the greater community surrounding the school, and at the direction of the President, information will be made available via employee and student email, the school website (www.catherinehinds.edu), and social media channels. The safety of the community will be taken into account and, without delay, the notification system will be implemented, unless issuing a notification will, in the professional judgment of responsible authorities, compromise efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency.

There are no boarding facilities at the Catherine Hinds Institute.

The school community is periodically reminded and encouraged through postings, staff and student orientations, and electronic mail to report any and all incidents immediately to campus personnel.

Upon receiving a report of any criminal activity, injury or accident, the instructor or Director of Operations will respond by completing an incident report, which is reviewed by the Director of Operations. Copies of incident reports are maintained within our location.

If a student is charged with an off-campus violation of federal, state, or local laws, the school reserves the right to take disciplinary action and impose sanctions against the student. Proceedings under this student code may be carried out prior to, simultaneously with, or following civil or criminal proceedings off-campus.

The Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention and referral Program at the Catherine Hinds Institute applies to ALL students and employees. The unlawful possession, use or distribution of illicit drugs and/or alcohol are strictly prohibited at this institution. Students or employees who do not comply with this standard will be subject to institutional sanctions comprising the following:

Possession, use or distribution of any alcohol and/or illegal drugs will result in termination of employment from the Institute or, in the case of a student, termination from school.

The Institute will notify the student or employee in writing if it becomes aware of any violations of this policy. The student or employee may then request a formal hearing after receiving said notice. Three (3) members of the staff and/or faculty will comprise the hearing board. If the student or employee fails to request a hearing within three (3) business days, immediate termination will take place.

Should a hearing be requested, the student or employee will receive notification of the hearing date from the board. The student or employee has the right to be represented by legal counsel for this purpose. The hearing board will take testimony from all individuals involved in the case. The administration of the Institute will then be notified of the board’s decision, and will in turn notify the student or employee of the decision. In all cases, the hearing board’s decision is final.

We at the Institute realize the many problems that drugs and/or alcohol present to our society today. We will make every effort to assist students or staff with this life-threatening problem. If you feel that you have or might have a problem in this area, please contact a school official. We will refer you to a local alcohol and drug abuse program in our area.

If you would like to contact a program yourself, one is located at:

Alcoholics Anonymous, Inc. (Boston, MA) – 617.426.9444

Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Program at McLean Hospital (Belmont, MA) – 617.855.3141

We at the Institute realize problems also exist in regards to Domestic Violence. If you or anyone you know need help, let us know or please contact:

SAFELINK – 877.785.2020

REACH Program – 800.899.4000

Hazing/Bullying is a crime under Massachusetts law and will not be tolerated at the Catherine Hinds Institute. Hazing means any conduct whether on public or private property, which willfully or recklessly endangers the physical or mental health of any student or other person. Bullying

is the repeated use by one or more students [aggressor(s)] of a written, verbal or electronic expression or a physical act or gesture or any combination thereof, directed at a target that: (i) causes physical or emotional harm to the target or damage to the target’s property; (ii) places the target in reasonable fear of harm to him/herself or of damage to his/her property; (iii) creates a hostile environment at school for the target; (iv) infringes on the rights of the target at school; or (v) materially and substantially disrupts the education process or the orderly operation of a school.

If any individual is found to have engaged in hazing/bullying, the relationship between the School and the student may be severed. See Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 26 sections 17, 18, & 19 on Hazing and see chapter 71, section 370 on Bullying.

Anyone aware of an incident of Hazing/Bullying should contact An G. Hinds, President & CEO at 781.935.3344 ext. 222.

Campus Safety & Security manual is available upon request from the Director of Education.

If any individual is found to have engaged in hazing/bullying, the relationship between the School and the student may be severed. See Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 269, sections 17, 18 & 19 on Hazing, and see chapter 71, section 370 on Bullying.

Anyone aware of an incident of Hazing/Bullying should contact An G. Hinds, President & CEO at 781.935.3344 ext. 222. All information will be kept strictly confidential.

Campus Safety and Security manual is available upon request from the Director of Operations.

Catherine Hinds Institute strongly advocates that a victim of sexual assault report the incident in a timely manner. Time is a critical factor for evidence collection and preservation.

Whom to Contact

A student claiming physical or sexual assault by an employee or another student of the school shall report the incident to:

• Francesca DeRosa, Director of Operations – 781.935.3344 ext. 257 or fderosa@catherinehinds.edu

• An G. Hinds, President/CEO – 781.935.3344 ext. 222 or ahinds@catherinehinds.edu

In matters involving physical assault, students and employees are strongly encouraged to report the incident to local authorities:

Woburn Police – Dial 911 in an emergency, or 781.933.1212.

If requested, the institution will change a victim’s academic situation if reasonable accommodations can be made. Employees of the Catherine Hinds Institute are encouraged to access individual counseling and support through their health benefit plan.

Sexual assault, as defined in the Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reporting System includes forcible and non-forcible offenses, and is a criminal offense. When an allegation of sexual assault is made, the school will inform the alleged victim as to their rights to pursue criminal prosecution under Massachusetts criminal statutes.

All allegations of sexual assault will be handled confidentially and will be investigated. Both the accuser and the accused will have equal opportunity to appeal under due process. Following a final determination of an institutional disciplinary proceeding, the school may involve appropriate law enforcement agencies. In addition, appropriate campus disciplinary action may be pursued, up to and including expulsion.

The Catherine Hinds Institute’s Director of Compliance prepares the Annual Safety & Security Report which is published and made available each October. This report will include important safety information and detailed crime statistics for the previous three years. The crime statistics listed in this report are also available upon request from the Director of Education at 781.935-3344 ext. 259.

Catherine Hinds Institute, in accordance with these requirements and its philosophy of establishing and maintaining an environment of learning and a supportive climate in which to conduct the business and mission of the school, provides the Campus Safety policies and procedures at www.Catherinehinds.edu.

The Clery Act requires institutions to separately report all Hate Crimes statistics. Please refer to Campus Crime Statistics.