NACAC - Spring 2020 - 42

ENSURING
STUDENT SAFETY
AND SECURITY
SAFETY AND SECURITY IS A PRIORITY WHEN CAMPUSES PLAN FLY-IN PROGRAMS.
Policies vary by institution. Some programs set curfews and may require an adult to
accompany a student on their visit. Other institutions select certain staff members to
supervise visiting students.
On campuses where current college students serve as hosts, training is usually involved.
At the University of Michigan, where the Ross School of Business hosts fly-in programs,
organizers adhere to strict guidelines and training requirements set by the university's Children
on Campus office, said C.J. Mathis, assistant director of undergraduate admissions at Ross.
"In order to host minors on campus, the programming staff must complete the trainings and
review the training every year," he explained.
In addition, for students to participate in the school's All-Access Weekend fly-in program,
they must bring along "at least one parent, guardian, or an adult that the parent has approved
as their guardian proxy (who) stays with the student," Mathias said.
The school is also careful about when it schedules its fly-in programs, avoiding dates that
correspond with football games, local festivals, or party-centric holidays like St. Patrick's Day.
At Swarthmore College (PA), similar policies are in place to keep fly-in participants safe.
Prior to arriving on campus, students fill out a permission form and share their emergency
contacts, allergies, and medication information with program organizers.
Two members of the staff stay overnight at an on-campus inn and respond to
participants' needs 24 hours a day. Students can easily access the contact information of
the dean on-call-it's printed on the back of each attendees' name tag. And information
about visiting students and their on-campus hosts is shared with program leaders as well
as Swarthmore's public safety team, residential life team, and the dean of students' office.
"We have a safety plan that we review with staff before the program, so each member of
the team knows what to do in an emergency situation, whether it be as simple as a bug bite or
has severe as a broken limb," explained Windsor L. Jordan Jr., Swarthmore's senior assistant
dean of admission and director of multicultural recruitment.
"The most important thing about safety during the overnight program is to provide families
and students with the information they need in order to contact us if they require help, and that
our team knows what to do if something should occur," he added.
Coordination before students arrive on campus allows for a quick response and assures
families that their student will be well cared for.
"Fly-in programs are an all-campus undertaking," Jordan said.
-Elena Loveland

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