The Purchasing and Risk Management office is responsible to coordinate Risk Management activities for the College. 

Dixie State College has a Risk and Safety Committee.  Its mission is to protect the State of Utah and the College from lawsuits and monetary loss due to property damage or theft by reducing risk in our buildings and grounds as well as injury to our students, faculty, staff and other visitors to campus.  To do this, we try to limit liability by keeping the campus as safe as possible.

What is liability?  "An obligation according to the law."  It is the duty of the College to exercise care on behalf of others.  If we are negligent (we fail to exercise reasonable care) the College may be liable and could possibly experience legal action.  If you are aware of unsafe conditions on campus, please feel free to contact the Risk and Safety Committee with your concerns.  It is important to remember that eliminating some unsafe conditions may require significant expeditures, and the College may not have the funding to fix all problems immediately.  However, we need to know what the problems are.  Forward your concerns to Jackie Freeman or any member of the Risk Management/Safety Committee. 

The Committee is comprised of:  Jackie Freeman, Chair; Shanna Alger, Patt Allen, Jeff Cluff, Dave Feller, Pam Montrallo, Don Reid, Sherry Ruesch, Bill Schouten, Shirley Watts, Donna Stafford and a student government representative.

The insurance company for Dixie State College is Utah State Risk Management, an agency of the State of Utah government.  There are very few non-negotiable rules set by Risk Management at the State level -- we are asked to use our discretion when deciding what risks to take, and we take a conservative approach. An example of this would be a request by a group of students to create a club for skydiving.  Dixie State would not sanction this club because of the risk involved. 

One way we are able to reduce our risk to some extent is to use waivers, documents signed by individuals (normally students) which clearly state that the activity they are about to participate in can be dangerous, and that DSC will not accept any responsibility for injuries or death resulting from the activity.  These waivers are somewhat valuable because they are a vehicle to inform participants of possible risks involved in an acitivity and to notify them that there is no insurance to cover any injuries.  In addition, they may provide protection for the College in a legal action if there were an injury to a participant.  Our office has many waivers which may be modified for your use.  All waivers should be reviewed by Jackie Freeman prior to use.  It's important to note that a person under the age of 18 may not sign a waiver because they are not of legal age. Students under the age of 18 would need a parental signature.  Dixie State is normally not liable (or responsible) for accidents unless we have been negligent in some way.   

If you witness an injury to a student or visitor, please contact Campus Security immediately so that they may determine appropriate medical intervention. Do not express any opinion regarding the liability of the College in the incident, and do not provide medical assistance unless you are certified to do so.  If Security is not available to respond, call 911. Injuries to employees are to be referred to the Human Resources Office immediately.  Our office does not handle Workers Compensation issues.

You may be asked to provide a certificate of insurance if you are taking a student group or faculty/staff group to certain destinations.  Please use the following link to request a Certificate of Insurance from State of Utah Risk Management: http://risksurvey.utah.gov/forms/inscert/index.php  Allow about 1 week for processing.  Risk Management will send the certificate to your requestor. Keep in mind that all information must be filled in on the form, and be especially careful to fill in the "Description" box thoroughly including a description of the activity, the group involved, the dates of the activity, etc. Call Jackie at extension 7612 if you need help filling out the form.  When it's completed, be sure to click on the "Submit" button on the lower left.

Groups visiting our campus are normally required to provide a certificate of insurance naming DSC as an additional insured, and stating that they are covered to at least $1 million of liability insurance.  Groups arriving on campus for a meal function only are not required to do so.