Are Campus Emergency Plans Inadequate?

Doug Lederman writes about a recent study of 28 campus emergency plans: 

While colleges can do little if anything to stop emergencies like these from unfolding, emergency preparedness experts and federal agencies generally agree on a set of steps that postsecondary and other institutions should take to be ready to respond to crises. A study published in the latest issue of Radiologic Technology suggests, though, that the emergency preparedness plans at a significant proportion of colleges and universities lack some of the key elements seen as necessary to prepare, prevent, respond and recover from "mass casualty events.'"

The full study is available here. Below is its brief synopsis in the publication, Radiologic Technology:

Background: Tragic university shootings have prompted administrators of higher education institutions to re-evaluate their emergency preparedness plans and take appropriate measures for preventing and responding to emergencies.

Objective: To review the literature and identify key components needed to prevent shootings at higher education institutions in the United States, and in particular, institutions housing radiologic science programs.

Methods: Twenty-eight emergency preparedness plans were retrieved electronically and reviewed from a convenience sample of accredited radiologic science programs provided by the Joint Review Committeeon Education in Radiologic Technology Web site.

Results" The review of the 28 emergency preparedness plans confirmed that most colleges are prepared for basic emergencies, but lack the key components needed to successfully address mass-casualty events. Only 5 (18%) of the 28 institutions addressed policies concerning school shootings.