samedi 28 mai 2016

How To Strengthen Campus Crisis Response Plan

By Michelle Stone


Safety is a primary concern in areas that experiences high traffic of people on daily basis. Campuses are highly exposed to disasters such as fire, terrorist attack, disease outbreaks, and violence. The administrators are tasked with responsibility of ensuring efficient response plan and measures have been put in place to manage the crisis and their effects. A stable campus crisis response plan can be developed when the type of disasters that are likely to occur are thoroughly studied and appropriate strategies for dealing with them implemented.

Once sources of crisis are identified, a plan for countering them can be developed. Disease outbreak is a crisis that arises in many campuses due to the high number of people sharing amenities such as washrooms, dining halls, and hostels. To eliminate water-borne diseases, the administrators should ensure the water availed to the students has undergone proper treatment. The security personnel must be equipped with modern equipment and tools to check vehicles that get in or out of the campus. That way, the college will be protected from terrorism activities. Organizing competitions and introduction of cultural exchange programs is recommendable.

A recent study has established that a correlation exist between emotional health and increase in violence in college. Therefore, a well-equipped medical facility must be available within the college environment. An experienced team of medical experts should manage the health facility. They should store medical histories of each student, teaching staffs, and non-teaching staffs, and teaching staff and retrieve them when necessary. Students dealing with mental complications should be treated when psychosis symptoms begins to manifest.

A good response plan should incorporate cost effective tactics for handling emergencies. The dining halls, hostels, and classes must be installed with efficient communication systems and alarms. The communication devices will be used to report disasters to the authority and alert people residing within the campus. The communication and security devices must utilize modern technology and function effectively. Installing outdated devices such as CCTV cameras compromises the lives of people living within the campus. Creating a response team comprised of highly trained and equipped professionals is a wise move.

Both the students and staffs should be trained on how to carry out first aid by incorporating it as a course in the syllabus. Alternatively, both the students and employees can be sponsored to attend paid conferences and workshops. Immediately after a crisis has occurred, experienced professional should counsel both the students and staff. The school must have a clear plan for responding to emergency. Introduction of class outreach program is a wise decision.

The relationship that exists between the community and the campus determine the rate of violence. A weak relationship translates to increased rates of student-community conflicts and violence. Therefore, the college must involve both the students and employees in carrying out community initiatives. The campus should financially support community projects.

When students participate actively in making decisions that affect their life, instances of strikes is eliminated. Therefore, a leadership board comprised of students who are democratically elected should champion the rights of students. Training the leaders guarantees effective representation.

The tactic used to pass information from the management level to students matters a lot. Improper communication will increase tension even when the crisis is minor. A clear communication should follow protocols to eliminate confusion and conflict.




About the Author:



Aucun commentaire:

Enregistrer un commentaire