When I get in bed at night, I can look out my window and see the Superdome, one of the most recognizable features of the New Orleans skyline. Its brilliant white facade is a point of stark contrast at night against the darkened skyscrapers and blinking rooftop lights.
I bring up my view of the Superdome because much of what I do at night during my NODA internship is turn over and over in my head the experiences I am having as an outsider in post-Katrina New Orleans. The Superdome, for many outside observers, was the epicenter of Katrina's wrath; a roof over thousands of displaced and battered New Orleanians. My work with new first-year students and parents this summer in orientation programming at Loyola University has become just a part of a larger whole of understanding what happened in this southern pocket of the country nearly four years ago.
Student Affairs and Campus Crises- A View from New Orleans
July 20th, 2009 | Posted by in Campus Issues | Risk Management - (0 Comments)You’ve received the honor, now what do you do with it?
Campus risk managers take different forms on every campus. Some institutions have specific departments that cover the spectrum (threat assessment, event safety, bystander intervention, classroom management, hazing recognition, etc.); others outsource to local attorneys or companies. A few use a combination and select one or two individuals to manage an aspect of the protocols.
Having served in the role in regards to campus activities, here are a few recommendations to help you cover your… uh, assets. (Please adapt them to fit your campus culture and needs.) Please note, I am not an attorney. Using the advice below as legal advice to save you in a situation is not recommended.
1.) Meet with those in the know – ask your institution to clearly delineate your responsibilities in regards to risk management. (ie. Responsible for walk-thru’s of venues prior to events occurring.)
2.) Obtain professional insurance. (ACPA recommends Professional Liability Insurance.)
3.) Attend a work-shop on risk management in student affairs, as it pertains to your job duties. ( NCHERM, NACA, or APCA are great resources.)
4.) Ask questions (especially if a situation is unclear).
5.) Be aware of all necessary paperwork (ie. Event participation waivers when traveling off-campus, incident reports, meeting history notes).
6.) Know that anyone can sue for anything. (It costs less than $50 to file in several states.) If you’ve done your homework and have written documentation, it may be a rough ride during the process but you’ll usually come out on top.
Risk management. Words, much like lawsuit, that can make any professional cringe. Of course, everyone looks at the protocols differently depending on personal experiences. In the end, risk management for me comes down to two choices: the art of illusion or the act of preparation.
When I look at being a campus risk manager for events, I strive to find a bit of excitement in the position as this role is usually one that is loved, hated, but hardly ignored. Enter – Harry Houdini. 
Yes, Houdini was a magician, an escape artist, an entertainer; but he was also a risk manager. The “Challenge of the Mirror” (as noted in The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero) is an example of Houdini in dual roles of risk manager and entertainer. He was challenged by The Daily Illustrated Mirror to escape from handcuffs made by a local blacksmith with a lock that “no mortal man can pick”. The actual escape from the cuffs took over an hour by all accounts and included requests to have his jacket removed (only to have to personally cut it off with his mouth using a pocketed penknife), for a drink of water, and for more comfortable arrangements (he was inside a cabinet). The audience was entertained.
Houdini had already proven to be a master with card tricks and in reacting to situations thrust upon him. Roll in Houdini – Risk Manager. Substantiation exists that the “Challenge of the Mirror” was one performance Houdini minutely planned. He commissioned the handcuffs using his own sketches, worked with the newspaper to issue the challenge, and encouraged local politicians to be in attendance. In effect, he knew the circumstances, the props, and the audience. He sealed his reputation as The Handcuff King.
In the role of campus risk manager, you take steps like Houdini’s – performing your own act of preparation. For an event: you evaluate the venue, the performer’s needs, available staff – ensuring you know your risks. The approved marketing scheme is intentional and appealing to your campus population, ensuring a high attendance and participation. Your institution’s reputation, or that of the sponsoring organization, is revered because the event is successful.
In my experience, institutions that rely on the art of illusion are often those that have dialogues about risk management in stealthily held meetings. The conclusion of the meeting may or may not be disseminated to staff members that have to respond in the situation. Campuses that are growing rapidly also use the art of illusion. For example, if your risk management plan still lists having a “crier” run building to building alerting individuals to an emergency – you fall into this category (Yes, this is in an emergency handbook at one not-to-be-named institution). Conversely, institutions (or departments) that rely on the act of preparation often have a task force to write policies, share information, and ensure all staff know the plan. If you have attended a meeting about quarantining students and entertaining them during an avian flu outbreak, you may fall into this category.
The next time that you receive the honor (or draw the short –straw) of campus risk manager, just remember Houdini –make a comprehensive plan and expect success.
Faculty Ethics on Facebook – The Collaborative Project
January 9th, 2008 | Posted by in Myspace/Facebook Best Practices | Risk Management | Technology and Programming - (0 Comments)
Mark Clague, a faculty member at Michigan State, created a Facebook group titled Faculty Ethics on Facebook. The goal of the group is to collectively define a set of guidelines for faculty members to use when entering into the social networking world.
Here’s the current list:
1. Keeping official course activities in official online tools and not on Facebook.
2.
Never requiring students to participate in Facebook or having Facebook
participation influence a course grade. (An exception is for class
projects that might use Facebook for research purposes [such as a
statistical analysis of how Facebook groups grow and fade] and make
their connection to a course explicit.)3. Not friending
students unless they request the connection. Not poking students. Never
pressuring students to friend the professor (such as repeated mention
of a faculty profile in class).4. Accepting friend requests from all students (unless the instructor makes the decision not to friend students at all).
5.
Not looking at student profiles unless the faculty member has been
friended by the student and even then using Facebook information
judiciously and for educational purposes. In short, not spying on
students, but getting to know them better when invited to do so.6.
Faculty members should avoid association with Facebook groups with
explicit sexual content or views that might offend or compromise the
student / teacher relationship. This guideline must be applied
sensitively within the context of a diverse educational environment in
which both students and faculty practice tolerance and accept competing
views.7. Taking extreme care with privacy settings and faculty
profile content to limit profiles to information relevant to
educational purposes. A broad variety of information may be
appropriate, however, given the area of expertise / subject, the local
customs of an instructor’s school, and the personal dynamics of his or
her classroom. Content should be placed thoughtfully and periodically
reconsidered to maintain this educational standard.8.
Exercising appropriate discretion when using Facebook for personal
communications (with friends, colleagues, other students, etc.) with
the knowledge that faculty behavior on Facebook may be used as a model
by our students.9. Never misrepresenting oneself by using a
false name or persona on Facebook, unless that characterization is
connected explicitly with the real identity of the instructor.10.
Considering that the uneven power dynamics of the academy in which
professors have authority over students, continue to shape the online
relationship, even when the network tool (such as Facebook) is
apparently democratic.11. Keeping wall posts and other
Facebook communication in concord with standard ethical practices of
the educational relationship.12. Never posting official course
communication (feedback on an assignment, for example) in a public area
of Facebook. Feedback might be given through private Facebook messaging
when the student has asked a question via Facebook or a previous friend
connection exists.
I previously posted a similar set of guidelines and think the two compliment each other well. What do you think about the guidelines? Would they work for you? If you were to add or change a point, what would it be? Join the discussion on this collaborative list and share your two cents.
Bias Incident Reporting Systems
November 30th, 2007 | Posted by in Campus Issues | Risk Management - (0 Comments)
After reading an article about Bias Incident Reporting at The College of William & Mary, I am not sure what is a fair, safe, legal system to implement.
The goal of W&M’s system is “to assist members of the William and Mary community—students, staff, and faculty—in bringing bias incidents to the College’s attention.” In theory it sounds like a good program. They initially allowed for anonymous reporting. But that lead to an outcry from not only within the school, but from outside groups. The pressure was so great that W&M revised the system, but it’s still not perfect.
Problems still remain—for one thing, the website states that “If you are uncertain whether an occurrence meets the bias incident definition, please report the occurrence.” Even with the new, constitutional definition of a “bias incident,” this statement opens the door for abuse. Moreover, although anonymous reporting is no longer allowed, it is unclear whether someone accused of a “bias incident” has a right to know his or her accuser’s identity—and the right to confront one’s accuser is an essential aspect of due process.
Other schools have similar systems such as The University of Virginia and Oregon State University. Most include reporting via email, paper, phone, or in person but all are still torn as to the level of privacy given to both the reporter and the accused.
I wonder what the level of abuse is for anonymous systems or is the reaction unfounded and exaggerated? I can’t find any data saying the systems are abused or not abused.
How to Prepare your Campus for a Crisis
October 1st, 2007 | Posted by in Risk Management - (0 Comments)
Karine Joly of Collegewebeditor.com wrote a short blog with five steps for preparing your campus for an crisis. Here is a repost of the five tips:
- Make sure the chief communication officer of your institution is part of your emergency team.
- Include in your crisis plan your institution response to different possible scenarios. Define the type of communication channels to be use for the different situations and prepare the notification templates for each. In case of a crisis, you’ll be able to update and send these templates in minutes.
- Practice, practice, practice. Train your emergency team to assess, evaluate and make decisions. Review and edit your crisis plan with what you learn from your drills.
- If a crisis happens, send your alert notifications via several communication channels (phone, cell phone, email, text-messages, loud speaker, PA systems, etc.) and post the notification on the homepage of your website.
- Use your website as the main hub for your communications with your campus community, parents, media representatives and the rest of the world throughout and after the crisis.
My 2 cents on this would be what about also having a Facebook app that flashes red when an emergency at your school is announced?
Follow Up to – Woman Sues University Over MySpace Controversy
June 9th, 2007 | Posted by in Myspace/Facebook Best Practices | Risk Management - (0 Comments)Kevin Guidry, the author of MistakenGoal which is a wonderful blog about the crossroads of Technology and Student Affairs, shared this PDF. It’s a response from the high school where Stacy worked. Here’s the full reprinting:
PAGE 1:
PAGE 2:
PAGE 3:
PAGE 4:
PAGE 5:
Woman Sues University Over MySpace Controversy
June 9th, 2007 | Posted by in Myspace/Facebook Best Practices | Risk Management - (0 Comments)
Stacy Snyder, a former student, is suing Millersville University for $75,000 for denying her a teaching degree after the university found a picture of her drinking when she was underage on her Myspace page.
The day before her graduation, the university informed her of their decision and while the rest of her classmates received their teaching certificates, Stacy was denied. The university claimed she was promoting underage drinking by posting the picture on her Myspace page.
While a precedent isn’t set yet on this issue, With the limited information I read about the case, I think Stacy is right to sue and I think Millersville had a knee jerk reaction as is oh so common with a lack of understanding among universities. Stacy was stupid for posting the picture and it’s not clear if the university confronted her about it before going right to such a harsh discipline.
To pull a learning for the story, We need a bigger push to have year long training on proper internet use, including social networking sties, just as we have training on alcoholism, diversity and job placement. This is not the first or the last time this will happen. Universities should be more proactive in this training rather than wait until an issue occurs and then react.
Student Activities is on the front lines of this issue as they are embedded with the students and will usually be the first ones to hear about something and the first ones asked to do something about it.
Cornell University Moves Event Planning to the Web
May 28th, 2007 | Posted by in Community College | Risk Management | Technology and Programming | University - (0 Comments)Posted By: Tom Krieglstein, Swift Kick
The web is filled with articles related to Student Life. The hardest part is finding the content. Here is an article I stumbled on from a company called United Educators,which provides liability insurance and risk management services to universities. While normally too much lawyer talks scares me, this one is interesting because they are using the internet to make risk management more…well…manageable.
Cornell University, in partnership with United Educators, has developed a new, high-tech solution to the dilemma of how to make campus events safer. The Ithaca, NY institution has harnessed the speed and convenience of the World Wide Web to connect campus groups that organize events with the administrators who must approve each activity.
Cornell’s "On-line Event Planning and Risk Management System," created using FileMaker Pro 4.0 for Macintosh OS, the leading database software and Home Page 3.0, a web authoring tool both from FileMaker, Inc. enables university officials to identify all the factors that can create event-planning risk, says Allen Bova, the university’s director of risk management. He says the system helps alert administrators to a host of problems – everything from potentially overcrowded dance halls, gridlocked parking lots, and noise violations, to the threat of food-borne illness, the possibility of underage drinking, and the need for emergency medical technicians at club rugby matches.
The system, made possible in part by funding from United Educators’ General Liability Grant Program, has made Cornell’s campus a safer place. "Since we put the system online, we’ve seen about a 20 percent increase in event planners and campus groups giving advance notice of their events" says Bova. "The result has been faster, more complete, and more comprehensive decision making on campus event-planning issues," he says. "We have found that we can better assess the impact and the risks of special events."
The on-line system also makes campus events more successful by prompting student groups to think carefully about how they plan and run their events.
The Old Way, the Slow Way
Event planning can be especially difficult at a large institution such as Cornell. With a student body numbering over 19,000, the university hosted more than 1,000 events during the 1997-98 academic year. The On-Line Event Planning and Risk Management System has been bringing order to that potential chaos since September, 1998.
The system computerizes what used to be a paper- and time-intensive process. The new system – essentially a series of interactive Web pages – works because everyone on Cornell’s campus has access to e-mail and the World Wide Web. The entire process "lives" on a computer in the Student Activities Office, but anyone can access the system via the Web.
I would add here that using just the world wide web and e-mail is a bit outdated at this point. Communication channels are evolving all the time and this system would be wise to keep up.
It’s a far cry from the old days. Since the early 1990s, Cornell has required officially registered student organizations to fill out a lengthy form for each campus event they sponsor. But the number of student organizations has grown dramatically in recent years, increasing from 450 to more than 580 between 1996 and 1998 alone. Those groups now sponsor dozens of activities each week, including meetings of student clubs and support groups, academic gatherings, cultural events such as dance recitals and concerts, and athletic events.
"Along with the increase in student organizations came an increase in the number of events taking place on campus," says Joseph Scaffido, the assistant director of student activities who was instrumental in developing the program. "As more and more events were registered using campus facilities, the ability to keep track of events became much more difficult."
Creating a Campus-Wide Resource
Before the on-line system existed, the event planning and approval process required plenty of time, endless patience, and sometimes, comfortable shoes.
In my days as a student leader, the registration process to host an event was extremly intimidatating. There were pages of instructions on what fors to fill out and who needed to sign off on it
Event planners had to complete an official form and then gather as many as 10 approval signatures from administrators throughout the university. "After completing the form, they would meet with a representative from the Student Activities Office, who would indicate various university officials who the event planner would have to notify," Scaffido says. Trekking from office to office, "the event planner would then meet with and get signatures from the approvers. This was a tedious and sometimes frustrating process and could take weeks to complete."
The On-Line Event Planning and Risk Management System changed all that. Now that it is up and running:
- Event planners can register the details of their proposed event without having to submit paperwork.
- Student Activities Office staff use e-mail to notify all administrators who need to review the event information.
- University officials can grant approval or submit comments and questions on-line, without having to sign papers or return phone calls.
- Administrators have the ability to conveniently search for and review all scheduled events that need their approval.
- In most cases, event planners can have their activities approved in less than one working day.
Streamlining the Process
The on-line system has made event planning faster, more convenient, and more efficient. At one time, a member of the Student Activities Office staff was dedicated full-time to collecting event forms, inputting the information into a database, and serving as the primary campus contact for event planning matters.
In contrast, the new system requires only a few hours a week for routine record keeping. Events are still approved by a team of campus administrators, but they now handle most event planning issues by routine e-mail, not hard-to-schedule meetings or rounds of telephone tag.
Most event approvals happen entirely electronically. Event planners go to a special Student Activities Web page and choose between two on-line forms: one for events where alcoholic beverages will be served and another for "dry" events. They fill in the blanks, providing all logistical information, and then click on a "submit" button. That automatically sends the information to Student Activities, where a staff member reviews the form and then sends it electronically to the various departments that need to give their approval.
At the same time, the system sends an e-mail message to the event planner stating that the approval process has begun and providing a password that enables access to a Web page reporting on the status of their event.
These departments typically need to approve events:
- Student Activities has overall responsibility for coordinating on-campus events.
- Athletic Facilities approves events taking place on athletic fields, in gyms, or at other buildings and areas that the athletic department is responsible for.
- Community Relations/Sales makes sure the Cornell name and logo are used properly and oversees events where merchandise of any kind is sold or given away.
- Cornell Police track where and when events are taking place for campus security, traffic control, and occasional crowd control purposes.
- Risk Management and Insurance evaluates the liability factors an event may present.
- Transportation Services considers events’ traffic, transit, and parking implications.
- Environmental Health and Safety must approve events that involve an array of vital campus services, enforcing building occupancy limits and providing emergency medical response and fire prevention services.
Administrators in each appropriate office receive an e-mail with a link to a unique Web address where they can find the event’s approval form. They can then look at the information that applies to their departments and either approve it or not.
The system lets them ask questions or add comments, which are sent automatically by e-mail to the event planner. A club rugby tournament this fall illustrates the importance of this feature. Although all necessary administrators approved the event, several took the opportunity to advise the organizer of key considerations. Risk Management and Insurance noted that players needed to sign and file waivers before participating. Environmental Health and Safety reminded the organizer to make sure the campus emergency medical services staff knew about the event. Once all administrators have signed off and all comments or questions have been addressed, an email message is automatically sent to the planner stating that the event has received final approval, and can go forward. Only if issues remain unresolved will the event planner be invited to meet with administrators to iron out details.
Bova says the Risk Management and Insurance Department has ultimate authority to approve or disapprove an event. "I consider our department the final check," he says. "If one of the event planning team members isn’t happy, then I’m not happy."
Effects on Campus Operations
Once approved, the event information becomes a tool for campus departments to use to plan their work and minimize risk.
"The Cornell Police post all events that come through the system so officers know all the details of the events that are supposed to be taking place on their shift," Bova notes. "If they come upon an event that wasn’t listed, they can and do shut it down." Campus police use event information to help coordinate security when student groups invite dignitaries to speak.
Environmental Health and Safety staff refer to the approval information to issue burning permits for bonfires. Food service staff check to make sure that caterers comply with health and safety regulations.
The on-line system is not foolproof, Bova cautions. Students, for example, can sometimes fail to tell the whole truth about their events, just as they could before. A student play produced last fall illustrates the problem. "They had flash pots on stage to create explosion effects," Bova explains. "Well, they never told anyone about that little detail or included it on the form. And of course, some stage props caught fire during the performance. Fortunately, they did have fire extinguishers, and no one was injured, but the fact that they never told anyone about this risk is cause for concern."
In the wake of that incident, Cornell officials have begun conducting on-site inspections of student theater sets. The university is also drawing up safety guidelines that student troupes will have to follow.
Bova remains enthusiastic about the on-line system’s value as a planning tool. "It keeps all the members of our event planning team on the same page, and helps us anticipate and prevent problems and increase safety," he says. That doesn’t mean Cornell administrators are content to rest on their laurels. For example, they made several software upgrades within a month of rolling out the system last fall.
Bova also believes there is room for improvement in who must use the on-line system. Right now, only registered student organizations are required to use it. Academic departments and individual schools within the university can and do opt out, sometimes with worrisome results.
"A number of Cornell units aren’t using the system now, and we want to encourage them to do so," Bova says. "One school was the site of a wedding recently, but they did not enter the event into the system. One of the caterer’s employees had a slip-and-fall accident, which raised potential liability issues that my office, of course, was concerned about." They have since agreed to begin using the on-line event planning system. "I called the chief business officer, who talked to the dean of the school. Between them, they decided to get on the team," he says.
As more segments of the campus community begin to use the on-line system, Bova envisions it becoming an even more valuable resource.
Advice for Other Schools
Other institutions can learn from Cornell’s experience. Bova offers three tips, whether a school seeks to computerize an existing event planning and risk management system or start one from scratch:
- Get everyone involved. "Approach event planning as a team effort," Bova counsels. "Risk management cannot do it alone." He credits the success of Cornell’s on-line event planning system to the participation of administrative departments from throughout the institution.
- Anticipate resistance. "Be prepared for people to complain that the process is too time-consuming or too bureaucratic," Bova says. Managing risks through systematic event planning is difficult, but it is easier to plan ahead than deal with the adverse consequences of a mishap that could have been prevented. "You have to be able to communicate the benefits of systematizing the event-planning process to get other departments to join in the effort," he says.
- Be positive. Bova says it is easy but wrong to approach event planning in a negative way. "Go into it with the idea that you want to approve every event," he says. "You are there to help the university community safely host events that support its educational mission." The On-Line Event Planning and Risk Management System has "helped us be a resource to event planners, not a hindrance," Bova says. "We’ve approached this conversion very positively and proactively. That’s the whole idea behind our effort."
For More Information
For more information about Cornell’s On-Line Event Planning and Risk Management System, contact Joe Scaffido, Assistant Director of Student Activities at jss44@cornell.edu, or Allen Bova, Director of Risk Management and Insurance at ajb4@cornell.edu. To view the web site, go to http://www.activities.cornell.edu/EventReg
Everyone’s Talking: Emergency Text Messaging (Part 1)
May 28th, 2007 | Posted by in Community College | Risk Management | Technology and Programming | University - (0 Comments)The Virginia Tech shootings were a huge tragedy.
Like many tragedies, afterwards, many tried to put together cause and effect in a way that 1) makes the extraordinary understandable (justifying blame) and 2) can prescribe the necessary preventative so that it doesn’t happen again.
The fear of blame leads to focus, focus leads to plans, and plans lead to money.
The process is normal and irrational. This type of tragedy is overwhelming and emotionally powerful precisely because it is rare.
It doesn’t make sense to prioritize our spending on the rare and sensational over the commonplace and more statistically dangerous, but we do it any way. We waste tremendous amounts of time and money worrying about terrorism when we should worry about driving and heart disease.
With the help of the news, and “security consultants”, schools are under “pressure” to do something to prevent another Virginia Tech.
The “low hanging fruit” in the conversation seems to have gelled into “emergency text messaging.” The thinking, mostly by the media, goes – if only Virginia Tech could have warned everyone, lives would have been saved.
I’m starting here in a post about text messaging because it seems like schools are right in the middle of the reaction phase. “We have to get something . . . “
And the companies in the space are doing everything they can to attach their solutions to the irrational fear to close the sale. This is one of the more egregious examples from the home page of e2campus:
Just pay one dollar per student and “prevent another tragedy”. If only it were that simple. Of course it is not.
This may or may not be a conversation that you as a student affairs professional are involved in. Perhaps it’s conversation in IT and security.
Communication, emergency or otherwise, should be a conversation that student affairs professionals get involved in – because communication and engagement go hand in hand. For every day of emergency, thousands and thousands of regular days with programming, learning, and community building will take place.
If student affairs can get in on the conversation, perhaps the money can go to a solution that actually works for the thousands of days, instead of trying to cover for the highly unlikely. Maybe the money can go towards a little more proactive instead of just reactive.
I’ll post a part 2 with a roundup of some of the available solutions to help with the conversation.