Guest Speakers Facilitation

1.0    Purpose

This policy establishes guidelines for inviting non-college affiliated speakers or groups to campus.

2.0    Revision History

3.0    Persons Affected

3.1    All Casper College employees.

3.2    Casper College students clubs and organizations.

4.0    Policy

The policy of Casper College is to ensure the following.

4.1    The college supports inquiry, exposure, discussion, debate, civil discourse, diverse viewpoints, and the exchange of ideas and opinions in a mutually respectful and civil environment.

4.2    The college provides a safe campus environment that provides for the regular and essential operations of the college.

4.3    The college can adequately prepare for an event or speaker.

4.4    The college coordinates events or speakers to maximize attendance and manage college resources.

4.5    The college has a process to invite non-college affiliated speakers or groups to campus.

5.0    Definitions

5.1    Non-College Affiliated Speaker. A person not enrolled as a student or employed by the college who addresses or intends to address persons on campus or in a college facility.

5.2    Speaker Event. An event that occurs or is planned to occur on campus or in campus facilities that include a non-college affiliated speaker and is open to a larger audience than a class with the assigned instructor and registered students or an internal-only event. This policy includes guest speakers or groups invited to speak to a class when the college community or the public is invited to attend the class to hear the speaker.

5.3    Registered Student Organization or Club. A student organization registered with the Vice President of Student Services Office. Individual students may not invite a non-affiliated speaker to campus. Students who wish to invite a speaker to campus must seek the sponsorship of a registered student club or organization.

5.4    College Unit. Any officially recognized section of the college’s organizational structure.

5.5    Executive Council. This council consists of the president; vice presidents of academic affairs, student services, and administrative services; directors of information technology, human resources, and public relations; and the executive dean of continuing education.

5.6    Non-affiliated Speaker Form. College employees or student clubs or organizations use this form to provide notification and request approval of a non-college affiliated speaker to speak on campus. The applying employee or student club or organization is the organizer and responsible for the speaker’s conduct.

6.0    Responsibilities

6.1    The Executive Council is responsible for maintaining compliance with this policy.

6.2    Those organizing speakers or groups are responsible for making the necessary arrangements and provisions per this policy.

7.0    Procedures

7.1    The organizer must complete and submit the Non-affiliated Speaker form at least 30 days before the event.

7.2    Executive Council reviews the form and takes into consideration the time, place, and manner of the event and the likelihood that the event may result in unlawful activities, violate college policies or the Student Code of Conduct, endanger college community members, obstruct or disrupt normal and essential college operations, or poses a threat to the physical facilities. The council will not use these considerations as a tactic to ban or restrict particular viewpoints or topics.

Executive Council reserves the right to reschedule, relocate, limit attendance, or cancel an event or rescind an invitation to a speaker if the college administration determined that having the speaker on campus will constitute a clear and present disruption or threat to the college or college community.

7.3    Upon Executive Council approval, the organizer will request the location of the event with the facilities scheduler, who will assign the location and any applicable fees per the Facilities Use policy.

7.4    The organizer confirms an invitation to the speaker after the facilities scheduler assigns a location and the organizer has secured funding for the speaker and associated cost. The organizer is responsible for notifying the speaker in writing that they are prohibited from advocating action or urging the audience to take action that is illegal under law or prohibited by college policy or the Student Code of Conduct.

7.5    Any material or communication used to market the event must include the following statement, “The views expressed in presentations made on the Casper College campus are those of the speaker and do not imply acceptance or endorsement by Casper College.”