Harper College

Emergency Information

Update for Wednesday, October 11: Harper College's Palatine campus will be open. All classes and events will be held as scheduled.

Life Threatening Emergency: Dial 911

Give the following information:

  1. Your name.
  2. The nature of the emergency such as injury or fire.
  3. The location: Harper College, 1200 West Algonquin Road, Palatine, the building, floor, and room number.
  4. Do not hang up until told to do so. Additional information may be needed.

Non-Life Threatening Emergency

Contact Harper Police at 847.925.6330 or go to Environmental Health and Safety, Risk Management guidelines.

Emergency Procedures

Crimes in-progress or other emergencies on campus should be reported immediately to the Harper College Police at extension 911 (for emergencies only). The HCPD will make every effort to resolve the conflict and identify the offender or hazard. Multiple requests for services will be prioritized according to the seriousness of the circumstances. Non-emergency reports may be made in person at HCPD, Building B or by calling 847.925.6330.

All incidents of a criminal nature that occur at a Harper College Extension Site should be reported promptly by the respective department to the appropriate law enforcement agency and the Harper College Police Department. It will be the responsibility of the respective department to report the crime in compliance with the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990.

There are 53 police emergency call boxes on campus located in the buildings, parking lots and near the athletic fields. Their locations are marked with a blue light. The call box is activated with a push-to-talk and release-to-listen button. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to utilize these call boxes anytime police services are needed. A HCPD employee will promptly respond to any emergency call box activation.

If you are the victim of a crime and do not want to pursue action within the College system or the criminal justice system, you may still want to consider making a confidential report. With your permission, the Chief of Police or a designee of the Harper College Police Department can file a report on the details of the incident without revealing your identity.

The purpose of a confidential report is to comply with your wish to keep the matter confidential, while taking steps to ensure the future safety of yourself and others. With such information, the College can keep accurate records of the number of incidents involving students, determine where there is a pattern of crime with regard to a particular location, method, or assailant, and alert the campus community to potential danger. Reports filed in this manner are counted and disclosed in the annual crime statistics for the college.

Harper College employs professional counselors to assist students at the college. If a student chooses to report a crime to these counselors the student should be aware that, as a result of the negotiated rule making process which followed the signing into law, the 1998 amendments to 20 U.S.C. Section 1092 (f), clarification was given to those considered to be campus security authorities. Campus "Pastoral Counselors" and Campus "Professional Counselors", when acting as such, are not considered to be a campus security authority and are not required to report crimes for inclusion into the annual disclosure of crime statistics. As a matter of policy, they are encouraged, if and when they deem it appropriate, to inform persons being counseled of the procedures to report crimes on a voluntary basis for inclusion into the annual crime statistics.

The Harper Alert system enables the College to send timely notifications -- by email, text message and/or phone simultaneously -- to Harper students, employees and registered community members. In the event of an emergency, Harper Alert will provide information about the nature of the emergency, what to do and where to get additional details. In addition to the automated alert system, emergency notifications will be posted to Harper's web site and social media.

Some examples of the types of information you might receive in an emergency:

  • Campus closure for weather or other circumstances
  • Shelter in-place or evacuation order
  • Avoid a certain area of campus because of a localized emergency

Current Students and Employees:  All current students and employees are automatically enrolled in the Harper Alert system. The Harper Alert system broadcasts messages to Harper-issued email addresses as well as telephone numbers that students and employees have provided the College.

Parents and Community Members: Parents and community members can enroll in the system by going to Harper Alert.

Add/Update Contact Info: Personal Email Addresses and Phone Numbers: You may add personal email addresses as well as additional phone numbers by logging into Harper Alert. (Your username is your Harper College email address. If you do not know your password, use the Forgot Password feature. If you need assistance, contact the Service Desk at 847.925.6866). The information you provide is kept completely confidential and will only be used for the Harper Alert system.

Safety Videos and Resources

For the latest information, visit harpercollege.edu or sign up for Harper Emergency Alerts

Last Updated: 12/14/23