The realities of the community colleges along any coastal region involve the constant threat of a hurricane crisis. One of these realities is that colleges near the coast in North Carolina will face another hurricane; it's just a matter of when and how severely. In turn, this means that community colleges need to be prepared and especially for the…

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a steep decline in enrollments at community colleges, especially among Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous populations, males, and part-time students. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Acts provided funds for emergency aid and engaging disconnected students,…

Disruption is an inevitable factor in business and society, while inability to mitigate and manage risk can cause irreparable damage to business, the economy, and our ways of life. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened interest in standards-based strategies for risk management and crisis preparedness to enhance organizational and societal…

Hurricane Katrina reshaped college workforce development programs as thoroughly as it did the coastline--but in this case, the changes were for the good of students, employers and the community. This article discusses the effects and changes made by 4 community colleges who were effected by Hurricane Katrina: (1) Louisiana Community and Technical…

This article describes emergency management and the part that social media technologies and mobile messaging have made when they are included as part of the campus emergency plan. Administrators have found that ample notification and preparedness must be built into campus communication systems. Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook…

This article provides the reader with information regarding forming a community emergency response team (CERT) at a community college. College public safety departments are efficient entities in ordinary times. However, recent events at community colleges across the country have shown that there have been situations where their capabilities have…

When the deepwater horizon offshore oil drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, 11 crewmen were killed; the accident led to the largest oil spill in U.S. history. Forty workers on the rig managed to escape the catastrophe, thanks largely to a safety-training program they had taken at community colleges in the Louisiana Community…

West Virginia University at Parkersburg uses a two-way emergency system as a baseline for emergency communications. The college has found that such a system, a key component of its safety and crisis management plan, can be integrated with other communication initiatives to provide focused security on the campus.

Colleges across the country are rising to the task by implementing safety programs, response strategies, and technologies intended to create a secure environment for teachers and students. Whether it is preparing and responding to a natural disaster, health emergency, or act of violence, more schools are making campus safety a top priority. At…

Community colleges, while safe, are not immune to violence. In the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, community colleges are committed to making campuses safer. From training first responders to understanding and identifying potential threats, the author describes what schools are doing to eradicate their so-called [in] securities and improve…

There are close to 1,200 community colleges in the United States, and their level of crisis preparation ranges from very thorough to not prepared at all. A survey of American Association of Community Colleges membership found a number of community colleges that not only had good crisis plans but were proud of the work that had gone into them and…

This guide offers suggestions to college administrators for dealing with a variety of emergency or crisis situations that could affect a community college's effectiveness. The authors used the Institute for Crisis Management's (ICM) four types of crises in higher education as the framework for the guide. The four types of crises are: (1) sudden;…

With its global vision, community partners and cutting edge curriculum, Kirkwood Community College has become a leader in emergency preparedness and response training. The college is integrally involved with a variety of training consortia and entities including HMTRI (Hazardous Materials Training Research Institute), PETE (Partnership for…