CS: Who usually completes the self-assessments?
McElrath: Each institution normally assigns who will complete the self-assessment. This person is called the Point of Contact (POC). In most cases, the POC has been a high ranking police or security director within the institution. Naturally, he may not be aware of every aspect of the institution, particularly in the areas of mental health awareness and response, fire safety and facilities management-related issues. The POC will then reach out to the subject matter experts on their campus to get the proper responses. Ultimately, the completion of the self-assessment and onsite review is a team project. This is one of the strengths of the tool. It encourages joint participation and team building within and outside the institution.
Marshall: In the majority of cases, the responsibility rests with the president of the i
nstitution to designate an official POC who will normally have something to do with campus public safety. With that said, there are a number of variables based on the size of the institution. We have been fortunate in developing the right level of participation by exercising an outreach program where we start to network with the institution to see who is active in the safety and security functions and then informally work through that individual to provide information on the self-assessment and follow-up activities. We are also very active with the New Jersey Presidents Council. We attend their meetings and provide status and progress reports. The presidents are very receptive and have taken an active role, especially when they understand the importance of compliance.
McLelland: Typically, the point of contact for a school is in law enforcement or some other area of public safety. I think they are the right individuals because they take an active role and ensure that other individuals who should be involved from their institutions do get involved.
CS: What are the greatest strengths of New Jersey’s institutions of higher education that these surveys have revealed? In other words, what are New Jersey colleges and universities doing right?
McElrath: I think the greatest strength is that it forces institutions to look closely at themselves and see how they measure up to the self-assessment tool. I would say that of the schools that have completed the self-assessment, they are in compliance with approximately 85-90% of the questions.
One of the source documents for the tool is the 2007 Governor’s Task Force Report on Campus Security, which was put together after the tragic events at Virginia Tech. All of the suggestions presented from this report were placed in the self-assessment tool … everything from, “Do you have an active shooter policy and an emergency notification system and policy?”, to “Do you have mechanisms and policies in place to identify and get treatment for those students who may be considered a mental health risk?”. The tool also asks about continuity of operations plans as well as emergency management plans.
Marshall: We are finding that there is a great deal of activity to meet standards as outlined in the self-assessment, so our collaborative effort in providing information and material to support completing the self-assessment are very well received. We have divided the state geographically and have working group members informally responsible for those regions, so we have an enhanced ability to influence institutions in the regions. This structure provides a powerful informal network that fosters awareness, education and a mutual respect for the efforts of those involved. The feedback has provided us with several areas where a focused effort was required to provide guidance in developing plans, assisting in exercise planning and execution and most recently in developing an advanced leadership program to train supervisory personnel.
McLelland: I would say communicating important information about emergencies and what to do in emergency situations. Public safety personnel in the state of New Jersey are taking proactive steps so that the institution’s community knows what to do (in an emergency) and how to do it in a timely fashion.
CS: What are the four most common vulnerabilities or areas of non-compliance that these surveys have revealed?
McElrath: As stated earlier, most schools are in compliance with the survey. One area of need that was discovered was that some institutions needed training on exercise development. With the assistance of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security, CUPSA and Rutgers University, we were able to train institutions how to plan and run a tabletop and live exercise.
Another problem uncovered was that many institutions did not know who their local (off campus) emergency responders were, and vice-versa. To address this, CUPSA, the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security, and the Campus Safety and Security Committee (CSSC) put together three initiatives throughout the state. These brought campus safety officials into a room with their local emergency management people for a meet and greet. They discussed emergency response, as well as the need to conduct joint training exercises. These sessions were well received by both institutions as well as the local emergency responders.
