What do other schools do in a crisis?

In the event of an emergency, a college or university — no matter its locality, urban suburban or rural; no matter its population; one campus location or several — must have a crisis management and communication plan in place. The number of stakeholders involved will be larger than expected, and involves everyone from first responders to student and faculty family members to the general public to the media (including social media) and more.

Although your institution has a plan in place and it’s one you have confidence in, there still could be room for review and improvement. Some of the best ideas to improve your plan may come from other schools. A number of colleges and universities post their crisis management plans to the web; don’t hesitate to review others’ plans and determine if they have established protocols and procedures that would enhance your own.

Here are a few examples:

Dominican College, Orangeburg, NY
Crisis Communication Plan

Eastern Oregon University, La Grande, OR
Crisis and Issues Management Plan

Lewis & Clark, Portland, OR
Crisis Management Plan Policy

The University of Delaware, Newark, DE
Critical Incident Management Plan

The University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Crisis Communication Plan Summary

The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK
Crisis Management Plan

Wingate University, Wingate, NC
Crisis Management Plan

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

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