For the past decade, fire safety programs on college and university campuses have focused on keeping students safe while in campus residence halls and fraternity and sorority houses, buildings that are often most at risk. While from a numbers standpoint, campuses are relatively safe from the effects of fire, there are a number of small, too often deadly, fires in student housing on campus generally caused by student carelessness. There are a number of ways to enhance student fire safety.
Federal law requires that schools prepare an individual educational program (IEP) for each student with a disability, providing related services known to include safety in an emergency. Codes stipulate warning systems and require regular drills for all st
In March, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a revised Hazard Communication Standard that requires employers to train any employees who work with hazardous chemicals to use newly designed hazardous material labels and materi
Both security and sustainability are important. Newtown and other school shootings make the case for security. The case for sustainability is strong, too. Estimates say that buildings produce 35 percent of the carbon dioxide emitted in the U.S. and use 37
Information technology is a highly dynamic, rapidly evolving sector. So are the risks and threats that surround it, and the functions it provides for our institutions. Effective risk management is essential.
Higher education has already taken a leadership role in climate mitigation — that is, preventing climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions — as displayed by the 660 signatory campuses of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) who have collectively reduced net carbon emissions by 25 percent in just five years. Now, higher education must take the lead in climate adaptation — preparing for and responding to the impacts of climate change.
Everybody loves the idea of creating a clean, green world and passing that world on to future generations. People recycle competitively, monitor energy usage dashboards, and approach LEED certification with gusto. Security, on the other hand, is reactive. Most individuals don’t really consider it until an event brings safety to the forefront. Yet both must co-exist on today’s college campuses even though they may be at odds.
Schools that opt to rely upon plans that have been purchased rather than those that have been properly developed to fit local risks, realities and resources are at serious risk for plan failure and are significantly exposed to civil liability. Often refer
Following the enormous destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina and other disasters over the past decade, institutions have placed higher emphasis on disaster recovery and business continuity planning, testing, and execution. Business continuity plans are built on a foundation of processes, people, information, technology — and perhaps most importantly, assumptions. Whatever the level of careful planning now in place, we must continue to reassess all of these elements. And whatever was in place before November 2012, Superstorm Sandy forces a careful, objective, and immediate reconsideration.
Can security people on an open college campus ensure that a visitor — someone from outside the campus community — doesn’t walk onto campus and begin stealing laptops or, worse, start shooting people? Of course they can’t. Then again, it probably is possible to discourage crime at all levels by presenting a friendly and welcoming yet security-conscious face to visitors.
Naturally, when education leaders learn that they have significant gaps in their organization's crisis plans, they want them to be corrected immediately. The problem here is that it can often take six to 18 months to do this in a cost-effective way.
For better accountability, some school systems are avidly embracing biometrics as means of identification and authentication to address this concern and to use for many other applications within a school environment.
What happens when school roofing challenges are caused by an act of Mother Nature? Well, because her fickle mood ranges anywhere from slightly irritated to downright angry, the best way to protect a roof is to maintain the upper hand.
Carrying on our beginning-of-the-year tradition, here is what we can look forward to during 2013, from the viewpoint of several people who dedicate their time and talents for the purpose of improving our education system in a variety of ways -- energy and
College Planning & Management asked four schools in New Jersey to describe their preparations and their experiences battling Hurricane Sandy at the end of October.