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"Some college administrators seem so distracted with fund raising, academic infighting, and community initiatives that they set up their emergency communications departments very poorly. Training is poor to nonexistent, secretaries are pressed into service with tremendous responsibilities for running 'notification systems' 24/7 and on weekends because no one else knows how to do it and the administration won’t pay for additional staff. Procedures are seat-of-the-pants and dependent on HIPPO (highest paid person’s opinion), except when something like Virginia Tech happens and there is some sort of scramble to do something different." --Donna
Most Colleges Avoid Risk Management, Report Says
Jill Biden Shines a Global Spotlight on American Community Colleges
Speaking at a Unesco conference in Paris, the vice president’s wife stressed the importance of two-year institutions to the nation’s educational goals.
Connecticut Public Colleges Lose 200 Professors to Early Retirement
Administrators are scrambling to plug holes in their course schedules for fall, with most expecting to do so by hiring more adjuncts or increasing class sizes.
U. of Georgia Paid 2 Fraternities $2.4-Million to Relocate, Contracts Show
The two were among five with houses on property where the university plans to build new academic facilities.
New Allegations in Admissions Controversy at U. of Illinois Suggest Ex-Provost Played a Role
Linda P.B. Katehi, the incoming chancellor of the University of California at Davis, has insisted she knew nothing of the admission of politically connected applicants at Illinois.
Sonoma State U. Foundation May Lose $350,000 on Loan to Former Board Member
The foundation will be forced to issue fewer scholarships in the 2010-11 academic year because of a diminished endowment, a university official said.
College Suspends Student for Working in Gay Pornography | 58
President Obama's Visit to Notre Dame Carries Barely a Hint of Controversy That Preceded It | 58
Drug Sting Nabs 21 Students at U. of Illinois | 57
Faculty Members and Union Protest Staff Layoffs at Temple U. as 'Cruel' | 57
North Dakota Board's Vote Puts 'Fighting Sioux' Mascot on Thinner Ice | 57
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September 6, 2007
Housing-Officers Group Seeks to Correct Perception of Raging Dorm Fires
Some college officials are concerned that a recent study by the National Fire Protection Association raised too much alarm about residence-hall fires.
The association’s report, released last month, said that dormitory fires had increased sharply in recent years, from 1,800 in 1988 to 3,300 in 2005.
But that increase is far outpaced by the growth in residence-hall occupancy, the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International said in a written statement. In 1980, 1.8 million students lived in dorms, the group said, and by 2000, the latest year for which it gave a number, there were 2.1 million. As a result, there are fewer fires per student today than there were in 1980, the group said.
Also, suite- and apartment-style housing, including kitchens, has increased on campuses over the past several years, and nearly three-fourths of fires from 2002 to 2005 were related to cooking. “Simply overcooking food in a suite or apartment’s oven,” the group said, “can trigger a smoke alarm.”
The group affirmed its commitment to fire safety but warned against inflated numbers. “The statistics quoted in the [association’s] study do not necessarily reflect what is happening in residence halls across the United States,” the statement said. —Sara Lipka
Posted on Thursday September 6, 2007 | Permalink |
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