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Your source for the latest tips, information, and current campus safety resources from the NCCPS.
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Download the report. |
New NCCPS Report on Challenges in Preventing and Responding to Sexual Violence at Community Colleges
Community college students represent nearly 45% of all undergraduate students in the U.S. As of fall 2014, there were 7.3 million credit-seeking students at the country's 1,108 community colleges, according to the American Association of Community Colleges
2016 Fact Sheet (PDF).
Sexual violence on college campuses is a significant issue for all institutions of higher education (IHEs), but community colleges are often overlooked in the growing national discussion. These institutions face unique challenges related to maintaining the safety of students and employees. They also struggle to adapt to and implement regulations that are typically designed for traditional four-year colleges and universities.
To identify the areas of critical need for community colleges regarding prevention and response to sexual violence, as well as to elicit recommendations to mitigate those challenges, the National Center for Campus Public Safety partnered with the American Association for Women in Community Colleges to facilitate an emerging issues forum in April 2016. The group included safety leaders from 14 community colleges across the nation.
Forum participants discussed four types of challenges community colleges face relating to the prevention of and response to sexual violence: nonstandard physical security; cumbersome compliance; cultural barriers; and lack of resources, education, training, and support services. Participants also discussed personnel management, training, and funding related to the prevention of and response to sexual violence at community colleges. The group then worked to develop a broad array of recommendations for addressing those challenges.
A series of core principles emerged:
- Community colleges are struggling to comply with sexual violence legislation, in part, because that legislation was originally tailored to traditional IHEs.
- Open-access campuses, prevalent among community colleges, often create conflicts related to the security of facilities, and usually require different security efforts compared to traditional IHEs.
- The demographics of community colleges often differ from those of traditional IHEs; therefore perceptions about sexual violence are often different, requiring community colleges to take alternative approaches to prevention.
- Community colleges are eager for additional funding, training, and outreach programs that can help bring more robust conversations about sexual violence to their campuses.
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| Register today! |
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You Still Have Time to Register for Our Free Webinar!
Join us on
Thursday, December 15, 2016 at 2:00PM ET
for a free webinar featuring
Christian Moore
, a renowned author, speaker, licensed clinical social worker, and founder of the
WhyTry Program
.
Webinar participants will learn about the vital skills of resilience and creating a resilient campus climate. This engaging presentation will empower you to teach these skills to students of any background and learning style, enabling them to thrive not only in school, but in life.
Learn more about the webinar on our
Campus Pubic Safety Online
webinar series
web page
and
register
by
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
to reserve your seat.
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Download the report. |
Oregon Work Group Releases Campus Safety Report
In November, the Oregon Campus Safety Work Group (OCSWG or Work Group) released their final report,
Campus Safety at Oregon Post-Secondary Education Institutions
(PDF), the culmination of a year's worth of work following the tragic incident at Umpqua Community College in October 2015. The Work Group was established by Governor Kate Brown and is comprised of more than 20 representatives from various post-secondary education institutions (PSEI) throughout the state and various departments within those institutions. The full group met eight times between March and October 2016 (four subgroups met a total of twelve times), and were given two clear charges by Governor Brown:
- Identify resource needs and potential state policies that enable a coordinated strategy across the higher education system for public and private institutions; and
- Analyze promising practices and protocols that can be shared across all post-secondary education institutions to maintain public safety and prevent, prepare for, and effectively manage future response and recovery efforts for campus wide crises or emergencies.
Based on the input provided by representatives from Oregon's PSEI regarding top challenges facing public safety departments, four major issue areas were identified for subgroups to address.
- Leadership and Policy: This subgroup focused on the implementation and adoption of the recommendations from the other three subgroups.
- Response, Continuity, and Recovery: This subgroup focused on assisting institutions in the wake of an incident or emergency, from the immediate aftermath to long-term recovery.
- Physical Security and Law Enforcement: This subgroup focused on institutions' access to law-enforcement officers and infrastructure such as cameras, alarms, notification systems, etc.
- Behavioral Threat Assessment and Prevention: This subgroup focused on actions and policies for institutions before an incident or emergency happens, in an effort to lower the risk of it happening or to reduce its impact.
The Work Group and subgroups reviewed and analyzed case studies of strategies, policies, and institutions from other states, as well as a literature review of previous reports and papers. In addition, information from individuals and groups associated with campuses and public safety, including a group of journalism students from the University of Oregon and a representative of the Oregon Office of the State Fire Marshal, was incorporated, as were the results from three surveys, details of which are included in the report.
The report is organized by challenges and opportunities with specific, issue-based recommendations to advance campus safety and resilience. The recommendations include:
- establishing a higher education safety and resilience council;
- appropriating $500,000 to support a three-year statewide training initiative to advance a number of the recommendations identified in the report; and
- establishing an online training/resource portal for Oregon PSEI to share promising practices and protocols in real time.
The report also contains next steps and a three-year Phase 1 implementation plan and budget estimates. A
printable poster, which summarizes the report, is also available. The report is not meant to be exhaustive, but a stepping stone on the path to creating more resilient, safer higher education campuses in Oregon.
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| View the special announcement. |
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Grant Opportunity Coming Soon
In December 2015, Congress passed the
Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act (PDF), 2016. Section 543 of the Act, and the accompanying Joint Explanatory Statement, provide $39 million for "an initiative to help states and local governments prepare for, prevent, and respond to complex, coordinated terrorist attacks with the potential for mass causalities and infrastructure damage." Congress further stated, "Eligible activities for the initiative related to complex coordinated terrorist attacks shall include, but not be limited to, planning, training, and exercises to support plans, and other activities the Secretary determines appropriate."
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (DHS/FEMA) will soon announce the
Fiscal Year 2016 Program to Prepare Communities for Complex Coordinated Terrorist Attacks grant
to assist stakeholders in improving their efforts to diminish terrorist attacks. Eligible applicants, including local, state, and federally recognized tribal governments, may submit only one application. Applicants may, and are encouraged to, partner with multiple jurisdictions.
Details about the grant opportunity and the opening of the application period will be made in the coming weeks. In the interim, to facilitate your application process - parts of which could take up to four weeks to complete - DHS/FEMA has provided information on steps you can take now:
- Obtain a Data Universal Number System number.
- Register in the System for Award Management (registration can take up to four weeks)
- Register with grants.gov as an Organization Applicant.
- Register for the FEMA Non-Disaster Grants System (ND). Final application submission and award management will be made in ND Grants. Create your Organization in ND Grants. Multiple individuals from the same organization may register in ND grants and select their roles. Once registered, one user should create the organization in the system. To learn more, review the ND Grants Training Manual or sign up for online training by emailing: [email protected]. For more information on the registration process, see Organization Applicant Registration and Tips for Registering.
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Access our online calendar of events. |
Professional Development Opportunities
Title:
Forensic Experiential Trauma Interview: A Trauma Informed Experience 2 Part Webinar Series
Organization:
End Violence Against Women International
Dates:
- Part 1 - December 19, 2016 at 2:00 PM ET
- Part 2 - December 21, 2016 at 2:00 PM ET
Title:
Criminal Intelligence Analysis Essentials (AWR-315)
Organization:
National Center for Biomedical Research and Training
Title:
College Conflagration - A College / University COOP Tabletop Exercise
Organization:
Disaster Resistant Communities Group
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Need Information?
Send us your requests for campus safety information and resources. We offer FREE assistance!
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Trauma-Informed Sexual Assault Investigation and Adjudication Institute
Join us for one of our scheduled Institutes!
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NCCPS Publications
Access free publications that identify challenges in the field and provide case studies, lessons learned, and promising practices.
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