Why Plan? Most Colleges Avoid Risk Management

A recent report by AGB and United Educators is labeled "a wake-up call for higher-education leaders," by the United Educators CEO. We have a link to the report, as well as to a brief Chronicle blog post about it. The comments to the blog post are themselves quite interesting and educational:

"So we sit around and play what if and then make a plan for it? I have thousands of more urgent things to take care of. Thanks anyway."

Find the full report here:
http://www.agb.org/wmspage.cfm?parm1=1596

And The Chronicle post here:
http://chronicle.com/news/article/6703/most-colleges-avoid-risk-management-report-says

Pandemic-Ready Planning: What's Your Crisis Management Plan?

NACUBO has consistently located or created useful resources relating to crisis management and planning. The latest is this article in Business Officer:

The Legal Imperative for Preparation
“Failure to produce a pandemic response plan may create liability for the institution, particularly given the amount of warning and guidance offered by governmental officials and the encouragement to develop such a plan.” This language from the “Blueprint for Pandemic Preparedness Planning for Colleges and Universities” reinforces the importance of developing a deliberate plan for dealing with a pandemic.

Indeed, a number of legal reasons underscore the need for proper planning, including directives contained in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration General Duty Clause and the Homeland Security Presidential Directive Number 5 (February 28, 2003), which maps out the National Incident Management System (NIMS).

It is a description of a more complete document published elsewhere, Blueprint for Pandemic Flu Preparedness Planning for Colleges and Universities (DOC).