C302: Bereavement

2. DEFINITIONS

College community: Includes members of the Board of Governors, employees, students, designated contractors, alumni and retirees.

3. POLICY

When a death of a student, employee, former employee, graduate, dignitary or a wide-spread tragedy occurs, the College makes concerted efforts to effectively and compassionately coordinate expressions of sympathy and memorial. Timely notification to the broader College community always occurs. National Days of Remembrance are also officially observed.

3.1. PROCEDURES

Any member of the College community who becomes aware of any such event advises the Corporate Communications department.

3.2. The Director, Corporate Communications is responsible for preparing the notification and coordinating the overall College response.

3.3. The Executive Director, Reputation and Brand Management is responsible for maintaining procedures as necessary to implement this policy in a consistent and appropriate fashion. For ease of access, such procedures are attached to this policy in the College Policy manual. The Executive Director, Reputation and Brand Management, may amend such procedures without reference to Senior Leadership Council.

3.4. The Executive Director, Reputation and Brand Management, may apply some discretion and offer recognition in limited situations where the circumstances warrant.

3.5. Funeral or memorial service

In the event of the death of an employee or of a full-time student, the President or designate makes every effort to attend the funeral or memorial service if conducted locally and sends a letter of condolence to the family.

3.6. Charitable donation

In the event of the death of an employee or of a full-time student, the College will respect the wishes of the family of the deceased employee or student regarding a College memorial donation. If a specific preference is not expressed, the donation will be made to the Fanshawe College Foundation.

The Executive Director, Reputation and Brand Management shall determine the donation amount.

4. REFERENCES

None

5. ATTACHMENTS

• Guideline A: DEATH OF AN EMPLOYEE
• Guideline B: DEATH OF A FULL-TIME STUDENT
• Guideline C: DEATH OF A FORMER EMPLOYEE OR GRADUATE
• Guideline D: DEATH OF A DIGNITARY OR IN THE EVENT OF A WIDESPREAD TRAGEDY
• Guideline E: RECOGNITION OF NATIONAL DAYS OF REMEMBRANCE

---

Guideline A: DEATH OF AN EMPLOYEE

Issued by: Executive Director, Reputation and Brand Management

Effective: 2023-03-13

1. PURPOSE

The purpose of this document is to provide a checklist of College actions to appropriately recognize and communicate the death of a current Fanshawe College employee.

2. DEFINITIONS

College community: Includes members of the Board of Governors, employees, students, designated contractors, alumni and retirees.

3. DEATH OF A CURRENT EMPLOYEE

On becoming aware of the death of a current employee, the Director, Corporate Communications initiates this procedure and coordinates its completion. The head of the responsible department (underlined) ensures that all steps are completed in a timely fashion.

3.1. Corporate Communications

• Attempt to obtain a copy of the obituary; confirm that the identity and information for release are accurate.
• Notify the Office of the President of the death and provide related information.
• Inform the following: employee's department head, Human Resources, Facilities Management and Community Safety, Office of the Registrar and Alumni Office.
• Determine a designated recipient organization, if any, for a College donation. If none is designated, the recipient will be the Fanshawe College Foundation.
• Arrange for donation payment of $100.
• Communicate news of the death to the College community via email and post an In Memoriam notice on the College portal.
• Arrange for the College flag to be flown at half-mast on the day of the funeral or memorial service. If the College is notified of the employee death after the funeral or memorial service has taken place, Corporate Communications will determine an appropriate date to lower the College flag.

3.2. Human Resources

• Provide personnel information to the Office of the President for use in the preparation of a letter of condolence to the next of kin.
• Communicate with next of kin regarding belongings, insurance, pension and related matters.

3.3. Office of the President

• Arrange for the President or a designate to attend the funeral or memorial service If feasible.
• Send letter of condolence to next of kin. Letter conveys condolences on behalf of the College, mentions that the College flag was flown at half-mast, and that a memorial contribution was made to a designated recipient organization or to the Fanshawe College Foundation.

3.4. Facilities Management

• Lower the College flag to half-mast on the day of the funeral or memorial service.

3.5. Office of the Registrar

• If the employee was a student, update student records as required (obituary is required for verification).
• If the employee was a student receiving financial aid, obtain a copy of the death certificate and send to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.

3.6. Employee's Department

• Advise Information Technology Services to retire the employee's email and other IT services.
• Arrange for the availability of counselling for fellow employees and others as appropriate.

3.7. Alumni Office

• Update alumni records as required.

---

Guideline B: DEATH OF A FULL-TIME STUDENT

Issued by: Executive Director, Reputation and Brand Management

Effective: 2023-03-13

1. PURPOSE

The purpose of this document is to provide a checklist of College actions to appropriately recognize and communicate the death of a full-time Fanshawe College student.

2. DEFINITIONS

College community: Includes members of the Board of Governors, employees, students, designated contractors, alumni and retirees.

3. DEATH OF A FULL-TIME STUDENT

On becoming aware of the death of a full-time student, the Director, Corporate Communications initiates this procedure and coordinates its completion. The head of the responsible department (underlined) ensures that all steps are completed in a timely fashion.

3.1. Student Services

• Attempt to obtain a copy of the obituary; confirm that the identity and information for release are accurate.
• Notify the Office of the President of the death and provide related information that may be used in preparation of a letter of condolence to the next of kin.
• Inform the following: Corporate Communications, Associate Dean of the student's school, Counselling and Accessibility Services, Facilities Management, Office of the Registrar, Alumni Office and the Fanshawe Student Union.

3.2. Corporate Communications

• Communicate news of the death to the College community via email and post an In Memoriam notice on the College portal.
• Arrange for the College flag to be flown at half-mast on the day of the funeral or memorial service. If the College is notified of the student death after the funeral or memorial service has taken place, Corporate Communications will determine an appropriate date to lower the College flag.
• Determine the designated recipient organization, if any, for a College donation. If none is designated, the recipient will be the Fanshawe College Foundation.
• Arrange for donation payment in the amount of $100.

3.3. Office of the President

• Arrange for the President or a designate to attend the funeral or memorial service If feasible.
• Send letter of condolence to next of kin. Letter conveys condolences on behalf of the College, that the College flag was flown at half-mast and that a memorial contribution was made to a designated recipient organization or to the Fanshawe College Foundation.

3.4. Student's school or campus

• Advise the student's program coordinator to prepare for discussion with fellow students.
• Advise Information Technology Services to retire the student's email and other IT services.

3.5. Counselling and Accessibility Services

• Arrange for the availability of counselling for fellow students and others as required.

3.6. Facilities Management

• Lower the College flag to half-mast on the day of the funeral or memorial service.
• Arrange for student locker contents to be delivered to next of kin.

3.7. Office of the Registrar

• Update student records as required (obituary is required for verification).
• If a student received financial aid, obtain a copy of the death certificate and send to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.

3.8. Alumni Office

• Update alumni records as required.

---

Guideline C: DEATH OF A FORMER EMPLOYEE OR GRADUATE

Issued by: Executive Director, Reputation and Brand Management

Effective: 2023-03-13

1. PURPOSE

The purpose of this document is to provide a checklist of College actions to appropriately recognize and communicate the death of a former employee or a Fanshawe College graduate.

2. DEFINITIONS

College community: Includes members of the Board of Governors, employees, students, designated contractors, alumni and retirees.

3. DEATH OF A FORMER EMPLOYEE, STUDENT OR GRADUATE

This procedure is normally applied only in cases where the former employee has left the College within the last five years or the student graduated within the last year. For a death beyond these timeframes, this procedure is initiated only in exceptional circumstances and at the discretion of the Director, Corporate Communications and the Executive Director, Reputation and Brand Management.

On becoming aware of the death of a former employee or graduate, the Director, Corporate Communications initiates this procedure and coordinates its completion. The head of the responsible department (underlined) ensures that all steps are completed in a timely fashion.

3.1 Corporate Communications

• Determines the timeframe since the deceased left the College and assesses the current community and College profile of the deceased; decides whether recognition action is warranted.
• Attempt to obtain a copy of the obituary; confirm that the identity and information for release are accurate.
• Confirm that the Office of the President is informed of the incident.
• Communicate news of the incident to the College community via e-mail or post an In Memoriam notice on the College portal.
• Inform, as appropriate, Human Resources, the Office of the Registrar and the Alumni Office.
• If the deceased was a graduate, inform the dean of the faculty and the associate dean of the school.
• If the deceased was an employee, inform the department head of the employee's existing (i.e. most recent) department.

3.2 Human Resources

• Update employee records as required.
• Inform retiree association.

3.3 Former employee's department/former student's faculty/school

• Write a card or letter of condolence to the family.

3.4 Office of the Registrar

• Update student records as required (obituary is required for verification).

3.5 Alumni Office

• Update alumni records as required.

---

Guideline D: DEATH OF A DIGNITARY OR IN THE EVENT OF A WIDESPREAD TRAGEDY

Issued by: Executive Director, Reputation and Brand Management

Effective: 2023-03-13

1. PURPOSE

The purpose of this document is to provide a checklist of College actions to appropriately recognize and communicate the death of a dignitary, or in the event of a widespread tragedy.

2. DEFINITIONS

College community: Includes members of the Board of Governors, employees, students, designated contractors, alumni and retirees.

Dignitary: A person considered to be significant because of high rank or office. (e.g., the Sovereign or prominent member of the Canadian Royal Family; current or former Governor General of Canada; current or former Prime Minister of Canada; current or former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario; current or former Premier of Ontario; current serving local Member of Parliament (MP) or local Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP), representing a riding in which Fanshawe College conducts operations; current elected official serving a municipality in which Fanshawe College conducts operations; or a prominent community member who has made significant contributions to public life which impact the College community).

Wide-spread tragedy: a significant international, national or local tragic event during which the College community would like to express collective mourning, or a later official period of recognition for such an event.

3. DEATH OF A DIGNITARY OR IN THE EVENT OF A WIDESPREAD TRAGEDY

On becoming aware of the death of a dignitary or of a wide-spread tragedy, the Director, Corporate Communications initiates this procedure and coordinates its completion. The head of the responsible department (underlined) ensures that all steps are completed in a timely fashion.

3.1 Corporate Communications

• Confirm that the incident information is accurate.
• Confirm that the Office of the President is informed of the incident.
• Communicate news of the incident to the College community.
• Inform Facilities Management and Community Safety.
• Arrange for the lowering of the Canada, Ontario and/or College flags as appropriate.

3.2 Facilities Management and Community Safety

• Lower the Canada, Ontario and/or College flags in accordance with applicable protocol.

---

Guideline E: RECOGNITION OF NATIONAL DAYS OF REMEMBRANCE

Issued by: Executive Director, Reputation and Brand Management

Effective: 2023-03-13

1. PURPOSE

The purpose of this document is to provide a checklist of College actions to appropriately recognize days of national remembrance with the half-masting of the Canada, Ontario and College flags.

2. DEFINITIONS

Half-mast, half-masting: The half-masting of flags is a well-established procedure that bestows an honour and expresses a collective sense of sorrow. The Canada flag can never be the lowest flag flown, so when the Canada flag is lowered all other flags should also be flown at half-mast.

3. RECOGNITION OF NATIONAL DAYS OF REMEMBRANCE

Fanshawe will half-mast the Canada, Ontario and College flags on national days of remembrance as identified by the Government of Canada including the following:

• January 29 – National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque Attack and Action Against Islamophobia
• April 28 – Day of Mourning for Persons Killed or Injured in the Workplace (Workers' Mourning Day);
• September 30 – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
• November 11 – Remembrance Day
• December 6 – National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

3.1 Corporate Communications

• Informs Facilities Management and Community Safety of the need to lower the Canada, Ontario and College flags to half-mast on the day of remembrance.

3.2 Facilities Management and Community Safety

• Lower the Canada, Ontario and College flags to half-mast on the day of remembrance.