Response duties are distributed among departments and individuals. Actual response will depend upon time of year and day, size of resident and commuter populations, and availability of faculty, staff and students with assigned response duties. An Incident Commander or the Emergency Operating Center (EOC) Management Group will assess needs and resources continually to direct appropriate response.

For all departments the first priority is injury response and treatment. Based upon the quantity and nature of injuries, all first-aid trained staff and volunteers may be assigned initially to treating injuries.

Primary response entities include Facilities Services, Security Services, Student Affairs, Counseling, Health and Wellness Services, Spirituality & Justice (chaplain), Human Resources, Student Development, Athletic Training Staff, Technology Services, Communications, and Dining and Conference Services. Key response staff in these departments respond as outlined in this Plan and according to their departmental response plans. If these staff are off campus when a major emergency occurs, they should respond to campus after addressing immediate personal disaster response needs (e.g. residence and family issues). Key response staff automatically should respond to campus if normal communications are interrupted (e.g. phones). These staff should have home preparedness measures established to facilitate their quick response to campus.