NCCPS Launches New Virtual Professional Development Initiative

 

We are excited to announce our new Virtual Professional Development (VPD) initiative, which provides flexibility in advancing practitioner knowledge about specific topic areas. Programs offered through our VPD initiative are self-paced to allow individuals to make the best use of their time in order to meet their learning objectives. Practitioners can choose to complete an online program at a time that is convenient for their schedule.

 

VPD was developed in response to an identified need through discussions in the field with public safety officials and industry experts. Our stakeholders indicate that their training budgets are in decline, yet their departments are simultaneously required to work harder and be more creative to achieve the desired outcome of well-trained staff. Although some education programs are more effective with an in-person component, virtual training can be equally successful when developed properly.

 

 

The five modules include:

Learning objectives for each module can be found on our Physical Security Education Program webpage.

 

Participants will receive a certificate of completion following a successful post-test at the end of each course. Participants will have 30 days to complete a course once they have registered. More courses will be added to the list of opportunities as they become available.

 

For a limited time, registration for the Physical Security Education Program will remain free for participants. For questions or more information, please contact Program and Training Manager, Andrea Young.

September 25 is National Awareness Day

 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has designated September 25 as national "If You See Something, Say Something ^®" Awareness Day. "If You See Something, Say Something ^®" is a national campaign that raises public awareness of the indicators of terrorism and terrorism-related crime, as well as the importance of reporting suspicious activity to state and local law enforcement, including campus safety and police.

 

On September 25, your campus community can get involved by taking some or all of the following actions:

Your campus can also utilize the academic toolkit (.zip) that contains suggested content and images for use on social media, helpful links, an internal email template, a press release template, and more. To learn more about becoming an official campaign partner, visit the partner webpage.

National Hazing Prevention Week

 

New 2017 data from YouGov found that one in five Americans experienced hazing during high school and that 35% of Americans still think hazing has its place as a rite of passage. When asked if they had experienced hazing personally or witnessed someone else being hazed at a college/university, 11% of respondents aged 18-34, 7% of respondents aged 35-54, and 9% of respondents aged 55+ replied "yes." HazingPrevention.Org (HPO) defines hazing as any action taken or any situation created intentionally that causes embarrassment, harassment, or ridicule and risks emotional and/or physical harm to members of a group or team, whether new or not, regardless of the person's willingness to participate. With National Hazing Prevention Week (NHPW) approaching, campuses, schools, communities, organizations, and individuals can come together to talk about hazing in their communities, raise awareness about the problem of hazing, educate others about hazing, and promote the prevention of hazing. HPO is the sponsor and organizer of NHPW, which is held the last full week of September each year (September 24-28, 2018).

 

Each of us can play a role in changing the culture of our community. When hazing is happening, it's easy to feel uncertain about how we stop what's happening around us. HPO offers four steps for staying safe:

You can learn more about these steps, and access additional content to assist in planning and developing initiatives for NHPW, in HPO's free and downloadable 2018 Resource and Planning Guide, College Edition. A High School Edition is also available. In addition, HPO offers interactive online courses with real-life scenarios to prepare students and bystanders to make informed decisions about preventing hazing. Courses include Hazing Prevention: It's Everyone's ResponsibilityTM and Fraternity & Sorority Life as well as some developed for high school athletes and students. Data collected from 90,000 course completions of Hazing Prevention: It's Everyone's Responsibility™ indicates student education is working. Three-quarters of course-takers agreed that after taking the course they felt more committed to preventing hazing.

 

An  article released earlier this month on research conducted by University of Maine professor of higher education Elizabeth Allan and her colleagues describes a data-driven framework for campus hazing prevention with implications for practice. For three years, researchers gathered data from eight universities to track processes and promising practices for hazing prevention.

 

When asked about the big takeaways from the research, Allan said, "Most significantly there are some things that require structural and financial resources in order to make meaningful change. But there are also some little things that can go a long way and can make a big difference in hazing prevention, types of things that provide visible evidence that a college or university is truly committed to hazing prevention. For example, having senior leaders at the institution send an email out to students, speak out publicly, talk with parents and families about this issue. Those are the kinds of things that we see the campuses that are really leading the way in this area are really showing, that they are taking a stand on this issue." Allan and her colleagues also released a toolkit for campus professionals (PDF) to translate research findings into sustainable practices.

 

Visit the Clery Center for additional resources to prevent hazing during NHPW and throughout the year. Also check our website and the Weekly Snapshot for details and registration information on our October 23 free webinar on hazing prevention presented by Kim Novak!

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