ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY

Animals on Vanderbilt University Campus

Approval Authority: Vice Chancellor for Administration and Provost & Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Responsible Administrator: Assistant Vice Chancellor, Plant Operations

Responsible Office: Plant Operations

Policy Contact: Assistant Vice Chancellor, Plant Operations

POLICY STATEMENT/REASON FOR POLICY

It is the policy of Vanderbilt University to only allow animals that meet the requirements of this policy on campus grounds or inside University buildings.

It is the policy of Vanderbilt University to comply with all laws, regulations, and local ordinances; to ensure the health and safety of the Vanderbilt community; to prevent disruption to the educational environment and Vanderbilt’s research activities; to preserve the integrity of its grounds, buildings, and other property; and to ensure a campus environment that respects the rights of all individuals.

This policy promotes a learning and research environment and workplace that minimizes health and safety risks to members of the campus community. Individuals with certain respiratory diseases or who are allergic to animals can suffer adverse health effects when exposed t animals or animal dander or saliva. Buildings with recirculating ventilation systems may transmit allergens from one area to another and individuals could inadvertently be exposed. Nonresearch animals can transmit diseases or parasites to research animals. Restriction of companion animals and non-research animals is especially critical in research facilities (e.g., buildings with laboratories) due to the sensitive nature of the operations and the regulatory restrictions imposed on certain research labs. Non-research animals, particularly companion animals, whether trained or untrained, may also be disruptive, pose safety or sanitation risks to visitors and the campus community, and potentially violate local ordinances.

With respect to campus grounds, companion animals may be disruptive or hazardous and violate local ordinances. Waste from animals on campus grounds is unsanitary and disruptive to other visitors and members of the Vanderbilt community.

THIS POLICY APPLIES TO:

This policy applies to all Vanderbilt faculty, staff, students and visitors who enjoy the use of the Vanderbilt campus and its facilities. Vanderbilt faculty, staff, and students using Vanderbilt Originally issued:

July 2023

Current version effective as of: July 2023

University Medical Center (VUMC) facilities also are subject to VUMC’s Animals in VUMC Buildings Policy, which sets forth similar restrictions.

DEFINITIONS

Companion Animal or Pet: Any animal that is not being used in research, used to assist a person with a disability, or a working animal such as a police dog is considered a pet or companion animal for purposes of this policy.

Service Animal: An animal that meets the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) definition of Service animal in that it is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Emotional Support Animal (ESA): An emotional support animal is any animal that provides emotional support, well-being, or companionship that alleviates or mitigates symptoms of an individual’s disability. The animal need not be individually trained. Emotional support animals are not limited to dogs and can be other species of animal. Emotional support animals are not considered service animals.

POLICY

Animals in Campus Buildings and Facilities

Animals are not permitted inside any Vanderbilt University campus building or facility (on or off-site), with limited exceptions as listed below:

Exceptions:

• Service Animals used to assist persons with disabilities, as defined by law;

• Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) when approved by the Vanderbilt University Equal Opportunity and Access Office (EOA) or Student Access (SA) and restricted to those areas for which they have been approved;

• Animals used in research covered by the Animal Care and Use Program (ACUP) and overseen by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC);

• On-duty K-9 police dogs under the control of Vanderbilt University Public Safety (VUPS), Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD), or other law enforcement officers;

• Animals specifically approved under the Vanderbilt University Pet Policy for Live-in Employees;

• Aquarium animals limited to fish, with an established aquarium maintenance program;

• Third party therapy (or other) animal organizations or activity brought to campus for a specific short-term special event that has been approved by Risk Management and the Office of Emergency Management (OEM)/VUPS and include completed pet owner or organization contractual agreements;

• Rare additional exceptions require Vice Chancellor approval.

Companion Animals on Campus Grounds

Companion Animals are permitted on campus grounds only if they:

• Are under the control and custody of the owner or their designee;

• Are not aggressive;

• Do not interfere with the use of the grounds by others; and

• Do not defecate on any sidewalks, walking paths, or paved areas.

If Permitted by Exception in a Building and When on Campus Grounds, the Following Applies:

• Dogs must be in compliance with local ordinances requiring dogs to be in full control of the owner by leash or cord.

• Dogs used to assist persons with disabilities must also be in full control of the handler and must be on a leash or cord unless either the handler is unable to use the tether because of a disability or being tethered would interfere with safe and effective performance of work or tasks.

• Dogs may urinate or defecate only in dirt and grass areas other than those areas where members of the community may walk or congregate.

• All dogs must be properly licensed and vaccinated and must wear the appropriate tags.

• The dog owner or designee is required to properly dispose of solid waste by bagging it and placing it in an appropriate trash receptacle.

PROCEDURES

A. Employee Disability Accommodation: Employees should contact the EOA for questions regarding disability accommodations relating to service animals.

B. Student Disability Accommodation: Students should contact Student Access to request disability accommodations relating to assistance animals.

C. Violations of this Policy with respect to animals in campus buildings may be reported to the employee’s supervisor, the Office of Emergency Management, Division of Occupational Safety and Health, the Office of Risk and Insurance Management, or the anonymous compliance reporting hotline.

D. Violations of this Policy with respect to animals on campus grounds may be reported to Vanderbilt University Public Safety.

E. Visitors with questions about bringing service animals to campus should contact the EOA.

F. Animals brought to campus as part of a special event on campus as discussed in the Exceptions section must be approved and contracted with a third party.

REPORTING CONCERNS:

CONSEQUENCES OF NON-COMPLIANCE

Violation of this policy may result in the full range of disciplinary actions set forth in university policies governing students, staff, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty. Owners of Service or Emotional Support animals exhibiting hostile or disruptive behavior in any location may be asked to remove their animal from the building or grounds. Regardless of designation, the owner of any animal exhibiting specific behavior which endangers the safety of others in any environment should remove the animal immediately and is required to follow the requests of others to remove the animal.

Dogs in violation of Metro Nashville Government ordinances may be removed from campus and seized by Metro Health or Police departments and their owners may be subject to fines. Visitors to campus are subject to this policy and may be asked to leave campus for non-compliance.

Owners of any animal are responsible for the conduct and behavior of the animal and may be held financially responsible for any damage, injury or other liability should their animal cause harm to persons or property.

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS

RELATED POLICIES/DOCUMENTS

Americans with Disabilities Act: Commonly asked questions about service animals in places of business.

https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html

Assistance Animal Policy for Vanderbilt Students.

https://vanderbilt.edu/student_handbook/university-policies-and-regulations/

Vanderbilt University Student Handbook: Residential Life.

https://www.vanderbilt.edu/student_handbook/residential-life/

Metro Government of Nashville and Davidson County, TN Code of Ordinances, Chapter 8.04, Dogs.

https://library.municode.com/tn/metro_government_of_nashville_and_davidson_county/codes/code_of_or

dinances?nodeId=CD_TIT8AN_CH8.04DO

Vanderbilt University Student Centers Policy for Non-Vanderbilt Affiliated Groups.

https://vanderbilt.edu/studentcenters/policies__trashed/offcampuspolicies/

See also, https://vanderbilt.edu/recreationandwellnesscenter/reservations/specialevents.php

Animals in Vanderbilt University Medical Center Buildings.

https://vanderbilt.policytech.com/dotNet/documents/?docid=10382

HISTORY

Issued: 07/15/2023

Disclaimer: Vanderbilt reserves the right to modify its policies and practices, in whole or in part, at any time. Revisions to existing policies and procedures, and the development of new policies and procedures, will be made from time to time at the discretion of the University. When new policies are implemented or existing policies are revised, the University will notify members of the University community as soon as practicable. However, where differences occur, the most recent policy as reviewed and approved by the University will take precedence.

DOWNLOAD THE POLICY HERE

POLICY

All Vanderbilt University employees are required to abide by the institution’s Conflict of Interest and Commitment Policy, refer to the following link: https://www.vanderbilt.edu/generalcounsel/docs/coifiles/CurrentCOIPolicy.pdf

As stated in Vanderbilt Conflict of Interest and Commitment Policy, “All individual members of the University community are expected to:

I. abide by the Conflict of Interest and Commitment Policy and standards set forth in this Policy (including any specific procedures adopted by specific schools or departments pursuant to or in furtherance of this policy),

II. fully and continually disclose professional and relevant personal activities and relationships that create a Conflict of Interest or Commitment or have the appearance of creating a Conflict of Interest or Commitment as required by the University,

III. remedy Conflicts of Interest or Commitment or comply with any management or monitoring plan prescribed by the University,

IV. Remain aware of the potential for Conflicts of Interest and Commitment; and

V. Take initiative to manage, disclose, or resolve Conflicts of Interest or Commitment as appropriate.”

In light of the fact that employees of the Facilities department (Campus Planning and Construction; Plant Operations; Sustainability and Environmental Management; Environmental Health and Safety; Facilities Business Operations Center; and VU Real Estate) engage with and process extraordinarily large amounts of transactions with many vendors, suppliers, contractors, consultants, etc., many times at high dollar values. It is incumbent that all Facilities employees understand that we are held to a higher standard. As such, offering additional clarity so that Facilities employees understand how the Conflict of Interest and Commitment Policy is applied, the Facilities Department within the Division of Administration will adhere to the following procedures, rules and values regarding “Section C” of the aforementioned policy:

Facilities personnel:

• May accept gifts, meals, entertainment, and other normal social amenities no greater in value than $100 per occurrence, not to exceed $300 per year from a single source, whether an individual or Business. The Facilities employee must declare in the annual COI report every occurrence whose value is $25 or greater, while gifts valued under $25 do not require disclosure.

• May NOT accept gifts, meals, entertainment, and other normal social amenities greater in value than $100 per occurrence from a single source, whether an individual or business. Failure to adhere to these rules and limits, including improperly or not declaring occurrences as required above, will result in appropriate disciplinary action, including suspension or termination.

COI Disclosure/Reporting

We require that all Facilities Department employees disclose all occurrences within 30 days of the receipt of the gift, service, or discount.  The form to disclose can be found here: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=OX9aur7js0q0UGf6gPrsrWxWgl3Ce2VCvB0MCz4AO_tUOUo5UTZHVEQ5WkY0MUZZWVo1RTFORVdGSi4u

OBJECTIVE:

Facilities recognizes that designated employees may be required to conduct routine business during the workday via cell phone, or outside of normal business hours. They may receive and make business telephone calls, text messages, and emails while in the field or after scheduled hours. Employees who are required to perform these functions as part of their job duties will either be issued a university-owned cell phone under the current plan or will receive partial reimbursement via a monthly stipend. If the employee selects the stipend, the stipend will be added to the employee’s paycheck once a month and is a taxable benefit. For both options, the departmental senior leader must review and approve all requests.

This policy specifically establishes the proper use and responsibilities for those employees who have university-issued communication devices (e.g. cell phones, iPads).

EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBLITIES FOR UNIVERSITY-ISSUED DEVICES:

1. Employees are responsible for keeping their devices charged and protecting them from damage.

2. Damage should be reported to the employee’s manager immediately.

3. Lost or stolen devices should be reported to the employee's manager immediately.

4. Employees shall use their devices for university business only. Incidental use of a device for personal business will not result in disciplinary action as long as that use does not result in a financial cost to the university and as long as all university policies and rules are followed.

5. Employees shall adhere to Vanderbilt University’s Electronic Communications and Information Technology Resources and Acceptable Use policies.

6. Employees shall not download apps or make any modifications to the device hardware or software. If an app is desired, the employee may send a request to their manager who will forward the request through their director (for approval if applicable) and then to the Senior Director of Systems for review and implementation.

7. Employees shall acknowledge that they have read and understand this policy via an online platform such as Oracle Learn.

MANAGER RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Managers will review and validate the business need for devices for new employees, and for existing employees on an annual basis.

2. Managers will submit each device request through their director (for approval if applicable) and then to the Senior Director of Systems to be processed.

3. Managers are responsible for collecting and returning devices and peripheral equipment (case, charger, etc.) to the Senior Director of Systems when an employee leaves the university.

4. The Senior Director of Systems shall be responsible for managing device software updates, app updates, and settings, and shall produce an annual report listing the user, status, and annual service cost of each device.

Download the full policy here

In the interest of providing the Vanderbilt University community with a safe environment to learn, teach, live, and work, the University limits and controls keys to University facilities and spaces. Keys and locks to University facilities and spaces are the property of Vanderbilt University, and should be obtained and managed in accordance with this procedure. The specific purpose of this procedure is to ensure that keys are issued only to appropriate persons and for appropriate reasons; to define the responsibilities of University key holders; and to provide for the responsible care of keys held by key holders. Keys are managed according to the risk that would be presented by the key being lost, missing, or stolen.

This procedure applies to all students, faculty, staff, vendors, suppliers, designers, consultants, and contractors accessing University controlled areas. However, this procedure does not include card access locks, keys for leased space, Vanderbilt University Real Estate held properties, rental housing units, or construction sites wholly controlled by a contractor.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL KEY CONTROL PROCEDURE HERE

Hiring an Employee 

Trash Removal Procedure

Click here to view Tree Replacement Policy

Purpose: 

To establish a policy and set forth a procedure for unlocking a door or building

Policy: 

Any time a Facilities employee unlocks a building or door, that employee will not leave the area until the building or door is locked back. 

Procedures: 

1. This policy will be included in all new employee orientation and reviewed with each employee every January.

Violations: 

Violations of this policy will be considered a serious offense and violators will be subject to disciplinary action.

Download the Unlocking a Door/Building procedure here

DOWNLOAD THE GENERAL PROCEDURE FOR VENDOR TRAINING/EDUCATION/EQUIPMENT HERE