Talking Stick - September/October 2008 - (Page 62)

60 CONTINUED Safe Harbor arrays, according to Aaron Vernon, manager of the IT help desk. These will be used in conjunction with the e-mail messaging system and text messaging alert system. Putting a System in Place Creating e-mail and text message alert systems requires input from personnel in many areas. At the University of Florida in Gainesville, these individuals include housing staff, student affairs staff (dean of students office), and the University of Florida Police Department, which stays in touch with the county sheriff’s office and the local city police department, according to Azfar Mian, associate director for administrative services. As for any other campus-wide plan, money is a factor. The cost for IT response systems can be high, but the benefits far outweigh the price. “Money is a factor in any communication tool you look at,” says Mian. “In the long run the cost really isn’t significant at all for the potential value it can bring to the institution.” Also, as Lucier points out, the funding doesn’t always need to come from the housing budget: “So far many of these solutions have found funding at the top levels of the university. There has not been a big push for campus housing funding of the safety initiatives. There is an understanding that this is a campuswide student issue, not just a residential student initiative.” Policy and Notification Act” – was introduced in Congress. According to Congress.org, this bill would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 and require all schools participating in Title IV student assistance programs to disclose their policies for emergency response procedures to students and staff as part of their annual security reports. This would specifically require notifying staff and students within 30 minutes of an emergency taking place. Concern was raised about the 30minute notification requirement being too arbitrary, since each emergency situation is different. The Consortium on Government Relations for Student Affairs (co-signed by ACUHO-I, ACPA, NASPA, and ASJA) sent an advocacy letter to the House and Senate, which presented this concern and provided additional feedback CONTINUES 64 Legislative Help The federal government has drafted legislation to mandate improvements in college and university emergency response plans. In April of this year the bill H.R. 5735 – titled the “Virginia Tech Victims Campus Emergency Response http://Congress.org http://mackeymitchell.com http://mackeymitchell.com

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Talking Stick - September/October 2008 Contents Online Now Vision Just In Your ACUHO-I Transitions Res Life Facilities Business Calendar Safe Harbor Think Globally, React Locally Conversations First Takes Reporting Out New Members Snapshot

Talking Stick - September/October 2008

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