| The purpose of this study was to assess the current state of crisis preparedness in higher education from a student affairs perspective. More specifically, the study sought to examine institutional preparedness in relation to four critical factors associated with organizational crisis preparedness: (a) the types of crisis prepared for, (b) the phases of crisis prepared for, (c) the systems in place to respond to crisis, and (d) the stakeholders involved and considered in crisis preparations.; Survey research methodology was used for collecting and reporting the data in this study. The population selected for this study were four-year colleges and universities that were institutional members of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) and had a full-time student enrollment of 8,000 students or greater in the Spring 2001 semester.; Following a review of the literature, a survey questionnaire was developed, reviewed by a panel of experts in crisis management, and pilot tested. The instrument was sent to the 218 voting delegates at the NASPA member institutions that were within the population. A total of 155 responses were received, for an overall response rate of 71.1%. Of these responses, 146 questionnaires were deemed useable, resulting in an adjusted response rate of 69.2%.; Results of this study suggest that institutions of higher education perceive themselves to be generally prepared to respond to campus crisis. The majority of institutions had prepared at least one contingency plan for each of the four different categories of crisis: natural, facility, criminal, and human. However, crisis management in higher education tends to be reactive, rather than proactive. Institutions have established appropriate systems to effectively manage campus crises and they consider a wide variety of stakeholders in the planning and response to campus crisis. |
