Ask a School Insurance Underwriting Expert is a quarterly column addressing insurance and risk management related questions for ABACC members.
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Ask a School Insurance Underwriting Expert: Back to School: Building a Safe Education Environment for Higher Education
The beginning of a new academic year is an opportunity for colleges and universities to do more than prepare classrooms and welcome students. It is an important time to evaluate whether the institution is providing a safe, secure, and supportive educational environment for students, faculty, staff, visitors, and contractors.
Question: Where do we start?
Higher education presents unique safety challenges because campuses are often large, open environments with residence halls, laboratories, athletic facilities, parking areas, construction projects, research facilities, and events that bring large numbers of people onto campus. A comprehensive back-to-school safety program should therefore address both physical safety and the broader risks associated with campus life and academic activities.
Inspect Buildings and Facilities
Before students return, facilities should be inspected for hazards that may have developed during the summer.
Key areas include:
- Classrooms, lecture halls, and laboratories
- Stairways, handrails, elevators, and walkways
- Emergency exits and exit lighting
- Fire extinguishers, fire alarms, and sprinkler systems
- Electrical outlets, cords, and power strips
- Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems
- Roofs and areas with water intrusion
- Parking lots and sidewalks
- Athletic facilities and recreation areas
- Residence halls and common areas
- Construction or renovation areas
Any identified deficiencies should be documented, assigned to the department responsible, and corrected or otherwise controlled before the area is occupied.
Evaluate and Inspect Facilities for Slip, Trip, and Fall Hazards
Slips, trips and falls are among the leading cause of liability losses to institutions of higher education. Some of the most common campus injuries can result from seemingly ordinary conditions.
Facilities personnel should look for:
- Wet floors
- Uneven pavement
- Loose carpeting
- Poorly maintained stairs
- Cluttered hallways
- Inadequate lighting
- Extension cords across walking paths
- Damaged sidewalks
- Snow and ice hazards
- Improperly stored materials
- Branches from bushes or trees extending into walk areas like sidewalks
A good preventive-maintenance program can eliminate many hazards before someone is injured. All employees should be encouraged to be on the lookout for slip, trip and fall hazards and know the procedure for reporting them to be corrected.
Review Emergency Preparedness
Students and employees should know what to do during an emergency. Colleges should review their procedures for:
- Fire and evacuation
- Severe weather
- Active threats
- Hazardous-material releases
- Medical emergencies
- Utility failures
- Earthquakes or other natural disasters where applicable
- Wildfires
- Tornadoes
- Suspicious packages
- Missing or endangered people
- Campus evacuations and shelter-in-place situations
Emergency procedures should be communicated in language that students can easily understand. Drills and exercises should be conducted periodically rather than relying solely on written policies.
Strengthen Campus Security
Campus security should be reviewed before the academic year begins.
Areas to review before the start of the new academic year include:
- Exterior and interior lighting
- Security cameras
- Door and access-control systems
- Emergency phones and communication systems
- Residence-hall access
- Visitor management
- After-hours building access
- Key and electronic-access-card controls
- Parking security
- Security staffing and patrols
- Procedures for reporting suspicious activity
Attention should be given to individuals who have access to buildings when students and employees are not present and the controls necessary to manage this exposure.
Question: What should be reviewed to improve laboratory and specialized program risks?
Higher education often involves activities that are not normally found in K–12 schools. Laboratories, engineering programs, health sciences, research facilities, shops, agricultural programs, and other specialized areas may involve significant hazards.
- Before classes begin, institutions should verify that:
- Equipment is properly maintained.
- Required guards and safety devices are in place.
- Students receive appropriate training.
- Hazardous materials are properly labeled and stored.
- Safety Data Sheets are accessible.
- Personal protective equipment is available and appropriate.
- Emergency showers and eyewash stations are operational where required.
- Chemical and biological waste is properly managed.
- Only authorized individuals have access to restricted areas.
- Faculty and laboratory personnel understand emergency procedures.
Question: How can institutions improve and promote student health and wellness?
Safety is not limited to preventing physical injuries. Colleges should make students aware of available resources for physical and mental well-being.
Students should know how to access:
- Health services
- Counseling services
- Disability accommodations
- Sexual misconduct resources
- Substance-abuse assistance
- Crisis-response resources
- Campus safety personnel
- Emergency medical services
Faculty and staff should also understand how to respond when a student appears to be experiencing a serious problem or emergency.
Question: What transportation and pedestrian safety areas should be evaluated?
The first and last weeks of the semester can create significant traffic congestion.
Institutions should review:
- Pedestrian crossings
- Crosswalk visibility
- Campus speed limits
- Bicycle and electric scooter traffic
- Parking arrangements
- Shuttle-bus operations
- Loading and unloading areas
- Traffic-control procedures
- Accessible parking and routes
- Nighttime lighting
Drivers should be reminded that students may be unfamiliar with campus traffic patterns, particularly during the first few weeks of school.
Question: What actions should be taken to better control student activities?
Establishing clear rules for student activities. Student organizations, athletic programs, field trips, study-abroad programs, outdoor activities, and special events create unique exposures. By establishing clear rules, policy and procedure, these activities can be better monitored, evaluated and controlled, limiting liability exposures.
Before approving an activity, the institution should determine:
- Who is responsible?
- What could go wrong?
- What safeguards are in place?
- Who is supervising?
- What happens if there is an emergency?
Contracts with outside vendors should also be reviewed for appropriate insurance, indemnification, safety requirements, and responsibility for injuries or property damage.
Question: How can institutions educate students about personal safety?
Students should receive practical safety information during orientation and throughout the academic year on ways to stay safe and take necessary precautions.
Topics to be reviewed should include:
- Emergency notifications
- Personal security
- Safe transportation
- Residence-hall safety
- Fire prevention
- Laboratory safety
- Responsible use of technology and social media
- Protection of personal property
- Sexual misconduct prevention
- Reporting suspicious behavior
- Alcohol and drug safety
- Emergency preparedness
The goal should not be to frighten students but to give them the information and resources necessary to make safe decisions.
Question: How can institutions improve their insurance and risk management programs?
The beginning of the academic year is also an appropriate time to review the institution's insurance program and risk-management procedures. The institution’s insurance professional is an excellent resource to aid in this process.
Consider whether coverage and procedures adequately address:
- General liability
- Automobile liability
- Workers' compensation
- Property
- Cyber liability
- Professional liability
- Athletic activities
- International travel
- Special events
- Volunteers
- Student internships and clinical placements
- Outside contractors and vendors
Certificates of insurance should be obtained and reviewed when appropriate. However, institutions should remember that a certificate alone does not necessarily establish that the desired coverage or contractual protection actually exists. Use your insurance agent or broker for this review.
Back-to-School Safety Checklist
Before students arrive, higher-education administrators should ask:
- Have our buildings and grounds been inspected?
- Are emergency exits accessible and clearly marked?
- Have fire and emergency systems been tested?
- Are security and access-control systems functioning?
- Are employees and students familiar with emergency procedures?
- Have laboratories and specialized facilities been inspected?
- Are hazardous materials properly managed?
- Are athletic and recreational facilities safe?
- Are sidewalks, parking areas, and pedestrian routes safe?
- Have outside contractors and vendors been properly reviewed?
- Are student activities appropriately supervised?
- Are emergency contacts and notification systems current?
- Are students aware of available health, safety, and counseling resources?
- Have significant incidents from the previous academic year been reviewed?
- Have corrective actions from prior inspections been completed?
Conclusion
A safe educational environment does not happen by accident. It is the result of planning, inspection, training, communication, supervision, and continuous improvement. The start of a new academic year provides colleges and universities with an ideal opportunity to identify hazards, correct deficiencies, update emergency plans, educate the campus community, and reinforce the institution's commitment to safety.
The objective should be simple: create an environment where students can learn, faculty can teach, and employees can work with the reasonable expectation that the institution has taken appropriate steps to identify and manage foreseeable risks.
About the Author: Kevin Beer is president of Wright Specialty Insurance, an underwriting manager of specialty insurance and risk management solutions for public and private universities, colleges and K-12 schools. Visit their website or call (877) 976-2111.
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