Local educational agencies (LEAs) play an integral role in protecting the health and safety of their district's staff, students and their families. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed this checklist to assist LEAs in developing and/or improving plans to prepare…

Because of recent violent crimes, natural disasters, and other emergencies or crises, colleges and universities are convening committees and task forces to reexamine or conduct a comprehensive review of policies, procedures, and systems related to campus safety and security. As with many critical areas on the agendas of administrators, campus…

In June the U.S Climate Change Science Program, which is sponsored by 13 government agencies, released a report saying that extreme weather like heat waves, heavy downpours, and superpowered hurricanes would be more common in the future. The timing of the report--coming just as officials in Iowa were surveying the damage from the swollen Iowa…

The gun smoke had barely cleared from the lecture hall at Northern Illinois University where last week a former graduate student had executed five students before killing himself when local and national scribes began speculating about a new trend in mass murder American-style. The "Chicago Tribune" Web site, quick with coverage of the…

Sixty cultural heritage leaders from thirty-two countries, including representatives from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, South America, Australia, Europe, and North America gathered in October 2009 in Salzburg, Austria, to develop a series of practical recommendations to ensure optimal collections conservation worldwide. Convened at Schloss…

Reports of swine flu have led some colleges to pull students and faculty members out of Mexico, the epicenter of the outbreak, and to cancel study-abroad programs there. But even as the number of new cases appears to be falling, the health scare offers some lasting lessons for colleges, says Gary Rhodes, director of the Center for Global Education…

In the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the immediate demand for data about displaced students overwhelmed many school districts that had gained or lost students because of the disasters. The scale of these crises and their effects on school operations and management were in many ways unprecedented. This guide reflects "lessons…

Conducting exercises provides a critical bridge between the theory of an Emergency Action Plan and its effective implementation. When conducted properly, exercises can fill the gap between training and after-action review to close the preparedness loop--before an actual emergency occurs. Often exercises are planned and conducted on campus based on…

Many colleges use cellphones to warn the campus of potential threats. The devices are, after all, in almost every student's pocket. Now worried instructors and administrators say that students might use phones to cheat on tests. Not only do cellphones give students a new way to stealthily ask a friend for help. They now have the ability to access…

Immediately after 9/11, Burlington County College (BCC) realized that the focus of emergency preparedness must change. BCC responded by identifying community needs, developing customized simulation training using high-fidelity human patient simulators and laptop/desktop technology; developing partnerships, and securing outside funding. Over 8,500…

In the past year, adding new security has "become like a religion." The business of electronic notification hadn't really gained much attention until the terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon in 2001, killing more than 3,000 people. Critical attention on alerts got a huge boost after the Virginia Tech…

Colleges and universities have been engaged in pandemic planning since 2005 when the threat of H5N1 was brought to the attention of health care providers and organizations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization. Schools developed plans, based on a 1918 scenario, that were centered on evacuation of…

In this article, the author discusses the important relationship between robust technical and human systems when face with emergency. It offers several strategies as essential to reacting effectively to a crisis. When a crisis occurs, it is critical that the administration provide the appropriate information as fast as possible to the people who…

Schools presently operate without a method for recognizing how the relational aspects of the school environment impacts physical safety. Using two previously unrelated frameworks, NIMS/ICS and the Taguiri model, this paper connects the formal curriculum to relational, administrative and physical safety. The first model presented, National Incident…

This article describes how colleges are seeking the best ways to respond to dangerous incidents like the shootings that occurred at Virginia Tech, and how best to alert people on their campuses to various threats to public safety and emergencies.