School Security Technologies

Oh, no! You won't be getting a printed SCUP–45 Preliminary Program in the mail this year. Instead, SCUP is going green and regularly updating this digital version (PDF), which you can download at any time.

Check it out! You don't want to miss higher education's premier planning conference, and your one chance this year to assemble with nearly 1,500 of your peers and colleagues: July 10–14, Minneapolis.

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SCUP Link

We often find useful resources at the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF), which is headed by SCUPer Judy Marks. This (currently 16-page) resource is created by NCEF and updated quarterly, because the technologies and their use are changing so rapidly. The NCEF's mandate is for K–12 education, but this and many other resources there are valuable to higher education planners as well.

Over the past decade electronic security technology has evolved from an exotic possibility into an essential safety consideration. Technological improvements are coming onto the market almost daily, and keeping up with the latest innovation is a full time job. At a minimum, a basic understanding of these devices has become a prerequisite for well-informed school security planning.

Before resorting to high-tech security solutions, school officials should think carefully about the potential for unintended consequences. Technological fixes may be mismatched to the problems being addressed. They can be expensive. Any network will require continual maintenance, eventual upgrading, and constantly updated virus protection and intrusion detection systems (IDS) to watch for hackers or unauthorized transfers of data. A full-blown information technology (IT) department will usually be essential.

An over-reliance on electronic technology can backfire with power outages and technological failures. Some security technologies raise political and philosophical concerns. Still, technology, used correctly, can be highly functional and cost effective. Its pros and cons must be weighed carefully within the context of local sensibilities and conditions.

Don’t start by choosing a technology and looking for a problem it can solve. The process should be the reverse: Identify and prioritize the problems before jumping to solutions, and analyze solutions carefully before committing funding. It’s not uncommon for districts to invest in a particular technology district-wide before analyzing and priority-ranking the real concerns of the individual schools. Every school should be capable of quick lockdowns and evacuations, but the details beyond that can vary considerably. Some schools are in rough neighborhoods where violence is endemic, others are not. Some schools are constrained by meager budgets, others have deep pockets. Leaky roofs may take precedence over electronic access control systems.
Partial measures can prove to be wasted investments. Secure front doors are of little value if back entries remain uncontrolled. Metal detectors and ID cards won’t stop bullying behavior, nor will security cameras stop offenders, as has become all too evident at many school shootings. On the other hand, comprehensive access control and improved emergency communication systems are usually good investments.

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Regional SCUP Events! Enjoy the F2F company of your colleagues and peers at one of three SCUP regional conferences this spring:

• March 24–26: Cambridge, MA - "Strengths and Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats"
• April 5–7, San Diego, CA - "Smart Planning in an Era of Uncertainty"
• April 7, Houston, TX - "Sustaining Higher Education in an Age of Challenge"

For a Campus in Crisis, the President's Voice Is Key

Three related SCUP resources:

• Topical resource page on crisis and disaster planning;
• Knowledge Community (email list) on emergency management planning; and
• Monograph for presidents by Sal D. Rinella, Lessons from the Front: The Presidential Role in Disaster Planning and Response (PDF).

Everyone knows about disaster or emergency planning, but how do those differ from crisis planning? Good crisis planning, or crisis management, is fully integrated and covers any kind of possible negative impact on a campus. That includes the kinds of physical disasters we commonly think of, as well as situations like the recent tragic shootings at UAH, or even the news that a university official in a high place has been arrested for a felony. (The field of crisis management got its start during the Tylenol tampering of the last century.)

This recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education by Scott Carlson focuses on the presidential perspective in managing crisis. "Larry Hincker, associate vice president for university relations at Virginia Tech, says that Mr. Steger is not naturally inclined to talk to the news media. But Mr. Hincker advised from the beginning of Virginia Tech's response to the 2007 tragedy on its campus that the president should be visible as the steady face of the university during a crisis, and he says Mr. Steger did not hesitate."

SCUP Resource. Current SCUP president-elect Sal D. Rinella authored a monograph on this topic, Lessons from the front" The Presidential Role in Disaster Planning and Response (PDF). Its advice is sound and timeless, and a copy of this monograph should be in every campus top PR staffer's backpack, as well as in every president's. Why don't you ensure that your president has a copy?

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Regional SCUP Events! Enjoy the F2F company of your colleagues and peers at one of three SCUP regional conferences this spring:

• March 14–16: Baltimore, MD
• March 24–26: Cambridge, MA
• April 5–7, San Diego, CA

Higher Education Was Also Leveled by Quake in Haiti

This New York Times article by Marc Lacey examines the state of Haiti's higher education system post-earthquake. It was a troubled education system before the quake. Now, buildings are destroyed. Faculty, administrators, and students are dead. Haiti's main nursing school and medical school are gone, as is the country's best computer school. One bright spot: Hundreds of students at the state university had left classrooms to protest at the national palace and were thus out of doors when the quake struck. Those higher education leaders who are left bemoan most the loss of life of many of the country's brightest students and potential leaders.

At St. Gerald Technical School, workers going through the wreckage with heavy machinery came across a classroom in which dead students were still at their desks. At Quisqueya University, much of the multimillion- dollar renovation work that had just been completed was shaken to bits. Joseph Chrislyn Bastien, 25, an engineering student, peered into a foot-high crevice of concrete where one could see shoes, books and flattened furniture. “This was a classroom,” he said.

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Regional SCUP Events! Enjoy the F2F company of your colleagues and peers at one of three SCUP regional conferences this spring:

• March 14–16: Baltimore, MD
• March 24–26: Cambridge, MA
• April 5–7, San Diego, CA

After Katrina, Delgado Community College Slowly Climbs Back

Delgado Community College leaders have had a rough road to repairing their campus. For one thing, federal funds were allocated based on the original cost of facilities and equipment, not replacement cost. And post-Katrina building codes created more expense. Then, of course, the recession hit. And the chancellor says it's hard to compete for state funding with the big institutions. In her article for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Katherine Mangan writes:

It's a scene one might have expected months—even a year—after the 2005 hurricane, which devastated New Orleans and forced most local colleges to close for the fall semester. But this August will mark the storm's fifth anniversary, and only now is the state's oldest and largest community college able to move ahead with reconstruction.

Seventy percent of the buildings on Delgado's campus were damaged by floods and wind, and as the spring 2010 semester begins, 30 percent of the building space is still unusable. Still, students are coming in droves, looking for affordable ways to retool their skills and find work in a city that, like the college, is still in recovery mode.

"Last fall we had to turn away around 1,500 people because we couldn't turn another closet into a classroom," says the chancellor, Ron D. Wright. "That was the most distressing thing I had to do. I've never told anyone they couldn't come."

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Regional SCUP Events! Enjoy the F2F company of your colleagues and peers at one of three SCUP regional conferences this spring:

• March 14–16: Baltimore, MD
• March 24–26: Cambridge, MA
• April 5–7, San Diego, CA

What Can Any Higher Education Administrator Do to Help Haiti Right Now?

A question that each of us has been asking ourselves. After we texted "HAITI" to "90999" and sent $10 via our cell phone bill to the Red Cross, of course.

Tracy Fitzimmons, president of Shenandoah University, has put together a thoughtful piece in Inside Higher Ed. It deserves a few minutes of your time to read and reflect. Really, this is a SCUP-like, integrated, even strategic approach to the current crisis that looks at what campuses are, do, and can do in what one might say is a very sustainable way.

Read it.

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Regional SCUP Events! Enjoy the F2F company of your colleagues and peers at one of three SCUP regional conferences this spring:

• March 14–16: Baltimore, MD
• March 24–26: Cambridge, MA
• April 5–7, San Diego, CA

The Dollars and Sense of Closing Schools for H1N1

This Scientific American article, subtitled "As the H1N1 virus picks up speed this fall, economists have outlined just how much it would cost to close schools--hotbeds of flu contagion," covers a recent report by The Brookings Institution about the economic impact of mass school closings. It focuses on K-12, but the breadth and scope of the dollar impacts considered are of interest to anyone weighing options for campus crisis management and planning.

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.

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

Some Swine Flu News

Due to the fast-moving pace of this potential Swine Flu (H1N1 influenza) crisis, and its temporary nature, we will for a while maintain a list of pertinent resources which we discover in this blog post. Please bookmark it and come back to see what's new. Our more generic page of resources on disaster and crisis planning is here.

New: Use this this easy-to-remember URL to get back here - http://tinyurl.com/SCUP-H1N1

Resources

Newest (Monday, May 4):
Inside Higher Ed, When To Call a Flu Day

Friday, April May 1
Federal Government Guidance on Facility Closure: School Dismissal and Childcare
APPA's (Leadership in Educational Facilities) Swine Flu Resource

As SCUP has done before—for 9/11 and Katrina—we've started up a simple (free to all) Lyris email discussion list [SCUP-H1N1] for those interested in staying on top of the potential Swine Flue epidemic/pandemic, the preparations on campus for it, communications about it, and the effects on campus, should it come to that. We hope it doesn't.

This is a Google map with "pins" at locations where the H1N1 Influenza virus has been reported in students, faculty, or staff on higher education campuses in the United States and Canada.

The American College Health Association (ACHA):

• 2009 Swine Flu Emergency: Updates and Information
• ACHA's Pandemic Planning Resources.

The University Risk Management and Insurance Association: Resources and Information Regarding Current 2009 H1N1 Influenza Outbreak

From University Business magazine: Flu Pandemic Prep.

The Greentree Gazette previously published an excellent series on pandemics, with a focus on Avian Flu, but the content is still very relevant.

Scientific American's Guide to Swine Flu.

Flu Wiki
CDC's H1N1 Flu Resource Page
PandemicFlu.gov

News Items

From Inside Higher Ed:

• 4/30/09 - Swine Flu Hits Several Campuses
• 4/29/09 - Study Abroad Programs Canceled for Swine Flu
• 4/28/09 - Preparing for Swine Flu

From U.S. News.com: Colleges Prepare for Swine Flu

From The Chronicle of Higher Education (access may require subscription or day pass):

• 4/28/09 - U.S. Colleges Suggest Simple Precautions and Devise Just-in-Case Strategies
• 4/28/09 - As Flu Cases Mount, U.S. Students Abroad Stay Put
• 4/28/09 - Mexico Cancels Classes Nationwide Amid Growing Fear of Epidemic

The Multi-Dimensional Nature of Emergency Communications Management

Someone has been paying attention for the past couple of years, and this new article from EDUCAUSE Review is either a must-read or a must-bookmark:

Within an incredibly short period—perhaps less than twenty-four months—the need for emergency preparedness has risen to a higher level of urgency than at any other time in the history of academe. Large or small, public or private, higher education institutions are seriously considering the dual problems of notification and communications management when potentially life-threatening events confront a campus environment. . . . On the one hand, there seems to be a growing tendency toward violence; on the other hand, an increasingly rich collection of notification, communications, and management tools can assist in mitigating the impact of these situations. . . . [t]he rich variety of tools and solutions leads to two important questions for colleges and universities to consider. First, how can these technologies be best leveraged to benefit emergency notification services? And second, what are the implications of all of these options on emergency communications management policies and operational procedures? We define an emergency notification system (ENS) as a specific technical service designed to achieve mass notification in the event of an incident demanding such an action. Emergency communications management (ECM) refers to the policies, procedures, and operations acting in concert with an ENS.

To help institutions answer these two questions and also to provide insight into the basic parameters of emergency communications in higher education today, the Steering Committee of the EDUCAUSE Net@EDU Converged Communications Working Group (CCWG)1 (http://www.educause.edu/ConvergedCommunicationsWorkingGroup/13524) recently sent a short survey to a group of carefully selected colleges and universities.2 The objective was to discover the nature of the work being accomplished at these institutions. The responses to this survey also helped to inform two case studies, prepared by the CCWG Steering Committee, on ENS and ECM solutions at Virginia Tech and the University of Iowa.

Emergency Management Forum: Sharing Information, Promoting Dialogue

The Emergency Management Forum, among other things, runs a top-notch series of interactive events on a wide range of aspects of crisis and disaster planning and management. Each event is live and interactive, as well an archived version is available to all, as well as transcripts. Each session is reviewed and rated, so you can see which your peers thought most highly of. We can't recommend these events highly enough.

Campus Safety and Security: January-February Issue of Facilities Manager Magazine

This issue of APPA's Facilities Manager focuses on Campus Safety and Security, with the following articles: "Planning for Campus Safety" by Alan Dessoff; "APPA Participates in Innovative Effort to Enhance Campus Safety and Security" by Ruth E. Thaler-Carter; "Blueprint for Safer Campuses" by the IACLEA Special Review Task Force; and "The Price of Paralysis" by Steven C. Thweatt.

Enterprise Risk Management: Learning to Harmonize

By Shulamith Klein, Michael Mandl, and Stephen Sencer, this is one of two related articles in the December issue of Business Officer:

To manage for potential threats, Emory University worked from the most basic operational level upward to fine-tune a strategy that’s now part of its overall planning process.

Over the past two years, Emory University, Atlanta, has built an enterprise risk management system tailored to the higher education environment. The process, which involved more than 100 staff and faculty, was a useful and productive experience for Emory, and the resulting ERM system is now integrated into our planning and evaluation of administrative issues. It is not perfect, it does not rely on outside consultants, and it does not use three-dimensional cubes. But, it does constitute a significant step forward in Emory's ability to manage its risk, prepare for adverse occurrences, and ensure that senior management is communicating with those in the field about key issues facing the university.

The ERM process began at Emory when a number of developments, some national in scope and others unique to our campus, focused attention on corporate governance. On the national level, notorious corporate governance failures such as Enron and WorldCom had heightened scrutiny of all large corporations, including nonprofits. In addition, several higher education institutions had been publicly criticized for failing to handle adverse events effectively, with the allegedly inadequate response gaining as much or more attention as the underlying event.

Risk Management: Ensemble Performance

By William G. Shenkir and Paul L. Walker, this is one of two related articles in the December issue of Business Officer:

Enterprise risk management orchestrates an approach that includes all areas on campus. Together, rather than solo, leaders evaluate and plan for the impact that unexpected events might have on the institution’s objectives.

In today's uncertain world, college and university leaders must deal with complex risks that can potentially have substantial effects on an institution. Safety and security, natural disasters, and conflicts of interest are some of the more well-known areas, but risk is inherent in many other decisions made on campus. Academic leaders need to be aware of the hazards facing the institution's programs and operations; they also need information about the potential risks embedded in opportunities that may present themselves.

In the private sector, many businesses are implementing a relatively new approach to managing risk: enterprise risk management. This article highlights the major elements of ERM and relates the process to decision making in academia.

When Counterparts See Eye to Eye: Business Officers and Student Affairs Directors

In Business Officer, Marta Perez Drake interviews Steve Relyea, vice chancellor of business and external affairs, and Penny Rue, vice-chancellor of student affairs, both at the University of California, San Diego.

When uncontained wildfires whipped across Southern California in October 2007, administrators at the University of California–San Diego (UC San Diego) had no choice. They shut down the campus. Amidst the ensuing chaos, two leaders—Steve Relyea, vice chancellor of business and external affairs, and Penny Rue, vice chancellor of student affairs—coordinated efforts to ensure the safety of students and faculty. Both agree that the partnership they had already established helped alleviate the unavoidable tensions that could have arisen during the emergency.

As campus safety and security continue to make headlines, the connection between the chief business officer and the chief student affairs officer becomes readily apparent: The collaboration between the two professionals can be crucial to calmly restoring order during an unexpected crisis. In addition, everyday cooperation can expedite capital projects, increase student satisfaction, and improve town-gown relations.

Hazards and Hurricanes: Hallmarks of IT Readiness, Response, and Recovery

This publication of the EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR) is available to staff and faculty at ECAR subscribing institutions and companies. Especially if you are at a large institution, even if you are not directly connected with ECAR you may be able to complete an EDUCAUSE personal profile and access this and other reports.

This report is based on an interview with Louisiana State University's Melody Childs about that institution's readiness and reactions to the recent Hurricane Gustav.

Abstract and citation:

This ECAR research bulletin provides five hallmarks for IT readiness, response, and recovery in the face of a devastating natural disaster. It is based on an ECAR interview with the deputy CIO of Louisiana State University conducted 10 days after Hurricane Gustav shut down the city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on September 1, 2008. It illustrates the fortitude of an institution that has built a campus environment based on a culture of safety, security, and trust—especially in times of crisis. The bulletin also illustrates the power of planning, openness, communication, teamwork, training, attention to detail, focus, practice, and leadership.

Citation for this work: Childs, Melody. “Hazards and Hurricanes: Hallmarks of IT Readiness, Response, and Recovery.” (Research Bulletin, Issue 21). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

University Risk Management and Insurance Association (URMIA)

From this organization:

Goals: To protect the reputation and resources, both human and financial, of institutions of higher education through the incorporation of sound risk management practices into all aspects of their operations; to make available the best and complete risk management information for institutions of higher education; and to provide excellent professional development opportunities for the risk management professionals in higher education.

International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA)

The following organization is either wholly dedicated toward certain kinds of disaster and crisis plans in higher education or are engaged in meaningful related initiatives.

The International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) advances public safety for educational institutions by providing educational resources, advocacy, and professional development services. IACLEA is the leading voice for the campus public safety community. IACLEA was created by eleven college and university security directors who met in November of 1958 at Arizona State University to discuss job challenges and mutual problems, and to create a clearinghouse for information and issues shared by campus public safety directors across the country. Today, IACLEA membership represents more than 1,200 colleges and universities in 20 countries. In addition to the colleges and universities, which are institutional members, IACLEA has 2,200 individual memberships held by campus law enforcement staff, criminal justice faculty members, and municipal chiefs of police.

Campus Safety, Health, and Environmental Management Association (CSHEMA)

The following organization is either wholly dedicated toward certain kinds of disaster and crisis plans in higher education or are engaged in meaningful related initiatives.

CSHEMA provides information sharing opportunities, continuing education, and professional fellowship to people with environmental health and safety responsibilities in the education and research communities. CSHEMA leads by listening to its members, organizing their efforts, developing leadership that responds to the needs of the education and research communities, and striving for excellence in everything it does.

Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Communications & Marketing

The following organization is either wholly dedicated toward certain kinds of disaster and crisis plans in higher education or are engaged in meaningful related initiatives.

Welcome to the Communications and Marketing section of the CASE Network. Whether you are a public relations counselor or a market researcher, a media relations officer or a periodical editor, a campus events coordinator or a speechwriter, here you will find a wide array of regularly updated resources designed to enhance your work and to advance your career.