Death of a Student

The death of a student is a profound loss that deeply affects our entire university community. EWU is committed to responding with care and compassion, offering support to the student’s loved ones, and ensuring that friends, staff, and faculty receive the support they need. In these challenging moments, we are here to guide you through both the emotional and practical steps, ensuring respect and timeliness in all aspects of our response.

A golden hour photo of a single hand holding 3 white flowers in the foreground, with a field and sunset in the background

Reports of any admitted, currently enrolled, and formally enrolled student death (“enrolled” students include students enrolled at EWU on campus, on study abroad, during summer sessions, on leave of absence or continuous enrollment, or in online or distance education) that occur should be immediately reported to:

Dean of Students or designee (“DOS”)
Pence Union Building 301
526 5th Street
Cheney, WA 99004

Phone: 509-359-7924 (Office)
Email: dos@ewu.edu

Dr. Sam Armstrong Ash
Associate Vice President for Wellbeing and Student Success & Dean of Students

When reporting a student death to the DOS or a designee, please provide the following information:

Student name
Names and contact information of the person reporting

EWU Protocol for Reporting the Death of a Student

The DOS or designee is responsible for notifying senior university staff and will coordinate the flow of information, including convening conference calls as appropriate. DOS will work with law enforcement to confirm the date, time, and manner of death. DOS is also responsible for coordinating support efforts for family members, other students, faculty, and staff.

When reporting a student death to the DOS or a designee, please provide the following information:

Student name
Names and contact information of the person reporting

As needed, the DOS or designee will notify:

University President
Vice President for Student Affairs
Chief of Staff, Office of the President
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Dean of the School/College of the deceased student
Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations
Chief, EWU Police Department

For graduate students and students in professional programs, the DOS will notify the Graduate Programs.

For Running Start students, the DOS will notify the Running Start program.

Other offices that will be notified include:

Records and Registration
Financial Aid
Student Financial Services/Bursar

In instances where a death has not been confirmed, the DOS or designee will keep the Vice President of Student Affairs informed. Expanded notifications, as outlined above, will occur once a death has been confirmed.

If DOS is aware that notification of a student death has not been made to the student’s family, DOS will work with law enforcement to notify the student’s family of the death as soon as reasonably possible. After the family has been notified of the student death, the DOS or designee will serve as the point of contact for the university with the family or their representative.

If a family of a deceased student reaches out to another office on campus, they should be directed to DOS, as all inquiries from family members will be addressed by DOS. Other staff and faculty at the university should not initiate contact with the family without prior authorization from DOS, in order to ensure accuracy and appropriateness of communication. DOS will express the university’s condolences, give contact information, provide guidance about next steps and what to expect, and will advise family members that DOS will be the primary source of university information and assistance.

DOS may gather the information below, if it is not already known and confirmed:

Date and cause of death
Names and contact information (email, cell) of parents, spouse/partner, any children, and/or the person who will serve as the family’s point of contact for the university
Plans for funeral or other services (locations, dates, times, etc.)

In some cases, it may be appropriate for the Chief of EWUPD to be in contact with the family in addition to DOS. In these cases, the two offices will share information to ensure the communication is coordinated.

The university understands that the preferred method of parental/family notification of a death should be in person and delivered by law enforcement.

The DOS or designee will manage all communication with appropriate stakeholders as necessary.

The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) should be consulted regarding inquiries about the circumstances of a student’s death or requests for information about student records. Email messages sent to OGC for legal advice should include “Confidential and Privileged” in both the subject line and in the first line of the email and should not be further distributed.

DOS will be responsible for maintaining records of the information gathered and follow-up steps taken in response to reports of a student death. As part of a further effort to coordinate this response, if law enforcement contacts any office at the university, that office should contact DOS immediately.

Individual-Level Student Response

DOS will collect affected student data and outreach will be facilitated Student Accommodations and Support Services (SASS) staff:

Affected students may be close friends, roommate(s), floormates, classmates, in the same extracurricular organization(s), etc.
These students are identified through community outreach and available data.
Students are also brought to the attention of DOS by concerned friends, families, staff, and faculty.
This includes students who are first responders or who may have been eyewitnesses to the incident.

The DOS will review the list of students not previously associated with the student in question, but about whom DOS was already concerned [based on previous interaction(s) and behavior(s) such as recent expressed suicidal ideation or attempt, having suffered a significant loss, etc.]. The Vice President for Student Affairs, the DOS, and other departments will continue to reach out to these students to provide additional support as appropriate.

For the student’s roommate(s), significant others, close friends:

The DOS, in collaboration with the Director of Housing and Residential Life, will be the point of contact immediately following notification that a death has occurred.
Outreach from the DOS or designee and SASS to these students will happen on-site and immediately.
This outreach will include connection to counseling services, communication with faculty and academic advisors, and offering new room(s).

For the student’s friends and others in the residential community:

The DOS, Director of Housing and Residential Life, or designee for that residence hall will be the point of contact.
As these students may need counseling services, the Director will connect students to CWS, SASS, and other resources.
The Dean of Students or designee will communicate with faculty and academic advisors during the next business day.

For all students affected:

Student Affairs staff and DOS will be the point of contact immediately following notification that a death has occurred.
Outreach from the Vice President for Student Affairs and DOS or designee to these students will happen immediately by phone and email.
This outreach will include notification of family members, connection to counseling services, and communication with faculty and academic advisors.

Community-Level Student Reponse

If the deceased student lived in an on campus facility (residences halls, etc.) the Vice President for Student Affairs and DOS or designee will work with CWS and SASS to coordinate outreach to the residence hall in which the student lived.

Ongoing email communication will occur in the weeks to follow to emphasize the resources available to students as they need additional support.

May include, but are not limited to: athletic/club sports teams, classes, student organizations, community groups, student employment, and academic affiliation groups.

The Vice President for Student Affairs and DOS or designee, will identify “micro-communities” in which the student was involved and will coordinate outreach to these groups.

After the outreach to the group, follow up outreach will take place 1-2 weeks later through both email and direct community-based communication.

Death of Student in Study Abroad Program

In the event of a death (or presumed death) of a student in a university study abroad program, DOS, in consultation with the Office of Study Abroad, will contact the On-Site Program Director or local program official, who will:

Contact the in-country U.S. consulate or embassy to notify them of what has happened.
Determine the identity of the student, including the student’s full name, and will communicate that information to the Office of Study Abroad and to DOS.
Work with local authorities to determine the nature and cause of death and maintain communication with local authorities in cases of on-going investigations and/or evolving situations.
Refer all media inquiries to the Director of Communications and Media Relations.
Work with other students impacted by the death and, in coordination with DOS, arrange for counseling and support services.

DOS will work through the Office of Study Abroad; the Office of the Vice President of Business and Strategy; and/or EWU Risk Management to contact our insurance provider to make them aware of what has happened. DOS will connect the family of the deceased to the insurance provider to discuss what may be covered.

If the death of a student abroad is the result of a public health emergency, the On-Site Program Director will follow the direction of local and international public health officials and the U.S. Department of State, in consultation with the University.

The On-Site Program Director should be mindful of the emotional well-being of other students in the program and may arrange for on-site counseling and support for these students as appropriate.

CWS may provide individual counseling and/or group outreach services to students impacted by the death, as necessary. These students may include roommates, classmates, teammates, fraternity/sorority members and other student group affiliation members. CWS will also be available to the university community for consultation.

SASS staff will act as an on-going resource for those affected by the loss, which may include outreach to faculty, staff, classes, student organizations, athletics, and others impacted by the death.

The Employee Assistance Program is a free confidential counseling and referral service that is available to assist employees in working through a wide range of personal and work-related concerns.

DOS in collaboration with the Dean of the school/college in which the student is enrolled at the time of death will serve as the primary person communicating information to the members of their school. The Dean should also serve as a mechanism of support to the faculty and staff impacted by the student death and work with Human Resources to facilitate such support. Deans of the college and faculty should reach out to the DOS to determine protocol moving forward.

Events that support student and community grieving can be important for those impacted by the death. Formal memorial services will not be organized by the university. Schools/colleges, departments, students, and student organizations are encouraged to work with DOS to plan and organize events as appropriate for those grieving and impacted by the student death. As these types of events are, by their very nature, private, media should not be included or invited to cover the activities. Staff from CWS and/or SASS may be present.

University Communications

Communications and Media Relations will coordinate official/public university communications regarding the incident and will serve as the primary point of contact for all media inquiries. Other members of the university community are not authorized to speak with the media (including student news media) on behalf of the university without first consulting with and obtaining approval from Communications and Media Relations.

If the student death has public health implications, CWS will be notified and will coordinate notifications and response with the local Health District, and other EWU entities as appropriate.

SASS is responsible for communicating notice of a student death to the university community. The specific protocols governing this communication will vary from situation to situation. It is important to note that the wishes of the family will not otherwise preclude the university from making notifications or providing support to the EWU community.

When reporting a suicide, the university will make every effort to adhere to the CDC Guidelines for Reporting on Suicide and the Higher Education Mental Health Alliance (HEMHA) Guide.

Any monies owed to the university by the deceased student will be forgiven. DOS will work with appropriate university offices to close all accounts and mark the student’s record.

A posthumous degree may be awarded to a student subject to the following provisions:

The request for posthumously awarding a degree must be made by a family member of the deceased student, department chair, program director or the dean of the college of the student’s field of study.
The student must be in good academic standing and be within 20 credits of meeting all requirements for the undergraduate degree or 10 credits of meeting all requirements for a graduate degree. Exceptions to these thresholds must be supported by the department and college dean to be qualify for further consideration.
Requests must be approved by the academic department chair (and/or program director), the college dean, provost, and president.

Procedure

Requests for a posthumous degree will be directed to the chair/director of the academic department/program in which the student was enrolled.
The chair/director shall work with the requestor to complete the posthumous degree request form.
The chair/director shall review the request and a recent degree audit, make their recommendation, and forward the request to the dean of the college.
The dean of the college will review the request and the recommendation of the chair/director. The dean will make a recommendation and will forward the request to the provost. The dean will include the chair/director’s recommendation in the file forwarded to the provost.
The provost will review the recommendations of the chair/director and dean and will make a recommendation to the president. The president has final authority over the awarding of a posthumous degree.
If approved, the college dean or designee will notify the family/requestor and make arrangements for the diploma to be delivered. The formal request will be forwarded to the registrar for degree posting and ordering of the diploma.
If the request is made by a family member and that request is denied, the dean of the student’s college will notify the family and include a letter of explanation.

DOS will work with families regarding graduation activities.

The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) generally prohibits release of personally identifiable information from a student’s education records without the student’s consent. Further, depending on the circumstances, other federal and/or state laws may restrict disclosure of certain information. Accordingly, if records of a deceased student are requested, please consult with the Office of the Associate Vice President – Compliance and Business Services prior to the release of any such information in order to ensure that disclosure does not violate privacy or disclosure laws, or breach an applicable privilege (e.g., doctor-patient and attorney-client).

For deceased students, members of the family or other persons with the written approval of the family or representatives of the estate may request education records. The request for education records must be accompanied by a copy of the death certificate or obituary. Absent written approval from the family or representative of the estate, only directory information will be disclosed to persons upon request.