Emergency Preparedness

When thinking about disaster preparedness and recovery, colleges and universities are no different than traditional businesses - they should not operate without a disaster plan. In developing your institution's plan, keep these three elements in mind: the human toll, physical resources, and business continuity. The following are resources to help you develop or refine your plan, respond to and recover from an emergency, and reduce risk through mitigation.

Business Officer Magazine Articles

Security 101 for Small Colleges
(April 2009)

Safety From All Angles
(July 2008)

Straight Talk About Data Security
(December 2007)

Accidents Can Happen
(July 2005)

Data Defense
(July 2005)

When Foul Winds Blow
(July 2005)

Planning

UC Ready The University of California, Berkeley has made its robust web-based business continuity planning tool freely available to all colleges and universities.
Building a Disaster-Resistant University
This report builds on the experiences of six universities to provide a how-to guide to help colleges and universities identify hazards, assess risks, and plan mitigation strategies.
FEMA Emergency Management Guide for Business and Industry
Download this step-by-step approach to emergency planning, response and recovery for companies of all sizes.
Partnerships in Preparedness - Exemplary Practices in Emergency Management
In this four-volume compendium (1995 - 2000), FEMA compiles creative ways and means to better utilize the resources that are available at the Federal, State, and local levels of government, as well as in the private and volunteer sectors.

Model Campus Emergency Response Plans

The Disaster Resistant University Project is a matching grant program begun by FEMA as an outreach of that agency's Project Impact to help universities improve life safety and continuity of operations in the event of a natural disaster. Plans from two of the five institutions selected are listed below.

The following are additional plans or procedures, geared toward smaller colleges and universities.

Rollins College Hurricane Plan
Mount Holyoke College Emergency Procedures
Emergency Planning For People With Disabilities
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's fact sheet addresses the interplay between privacy protections in the Americans with Disabilities Act and employers' needs for information concerning employee physical conditions that may require special arrangements.
Emergency Procedures for Employees with Disabilities in Office Occupancies
This resource is from the U.S. Fire Administration. To download a copy, type "disabilities" in the search box at the top of the page.

Response and Recovery

Communication

The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) provides a number of resources on crisis communication. (Some are restricted to members.)

Human Resources

National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) resource page on National Guard and Reservists rights
When Tragedy Strikes...What Your Workplace Can Do For People To Ease Pain and Encourage Hope
Employee Assistance Professionals Association
U.S. Department of Justice Information on Responding to Hate Crimes and Bias-Motivated Incidents on College and University Campuses

Disaster Recovery Resources

Disaster Recovery Yellow Pages. This reference publication, compiled by the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), is designed to assist in putting your organization back together after a crisis. A nationwide listing of over 2,000 vendors in over 180 categories such as drying and dehumidifying paper and microfilm records, smoke odor counteracting services, trauma counselors, emergency rental of computer equipment, etc.