Collegiate Times

Beginning this week, the university will require students to submit emergency contact information on Hokie SPA before registering for classes for the next semester.

The new policy was set up to ensure that Virginia Tech has correct information in case a student is hurt, dies or needs to contact someone but is unable to do it themselves.

"It goes along with what we're trying to do around campus to provide for more consistent and immediate communication," said David Ford, Vice Provost for academic affairs. "After our April tragedy we didn't have complete records of how to get a hold of everyone."

Ford, who came up with the idea for the policy, said after April 16, the university had a limited number of resources as to how to contact the victim's families.

"The only place we could go was into the student's paper file, where we might've found a number they put down on an application for admission," Ford said. "In some cases we had it, but in others we didn't."

Now, students will have to provide one or two emergency contacts in order to access the course request screen after logging into Hokie SPA. The person can be anyone they choose, but Ford said he hopes students will take this new policy seriously and provide accurate records.

"If the occasion arises, we truly want to be able to make the necessary contact," Ford said. "So we hope students will take this new policy in the spirit in which it was put together."

Nick Delpopolo, a junior finance major, said this policy is something Tech should've had before April 16, but that doing it through Hokie SPA is the best way.

"Every student has to do course request so it's probably the only way to make sure everyone does it," Delpopolo said.

Delpopolo also said that students should fill the screen out seriously because you can never anticipate what will happen.

"The university is doing their part so the student should do theirs'," Delpopolo said.  "And it takes hardly any time at all to do."

In addition to university officials, this new policy will make the jobs of Virginia Tech Police officers much easier. Geoff Allen, community outreach officer, said police are always looking for ways to get information faster, and this is just one example.

"In any situation, the quicker you can get the information you need, the better," Allen said. "And with new technologies such as this, people are receiving messages they need much faster."

It's also important to note that the information given will have the same safety and security as all other personal information stored with the university.

"The information will be stored in each person's individual student database," Ford said. "It's not available to anyone except those from the university who have the authority to view it."

Some students may have already submitted their emergency contact information, because the link is posted on the registration page on each student's Hokie SPA account. In that case, a simple confirmation of the name already listed will allow students to register for classes.

Course request for the spring semester began yesterday and will continue until Oct. 23.