Background: We evaluate the public health surveillance program, Screen, Test, and Protect (STP) designed to control and prevent COVID-19 at a large academic university in the United States. Methods: STP was established at the University of Florida in May 2020. This report details STP's full-time workforce, centralized database, and testing and…

This article considers post-pandemic implications for higher education institutions and explores the steps required to continue with online delivery, where desirable. Strategic considerations are outlined and priorities for development analysed to ensure higher education institutions can align, in a post-pandemic future, with quality assurance…

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 necessitated changes in the working practices of many organisations such that online meetings suddenly became the norm. Governing board meetings were no exception. However, little is known about the impact of online meetings on the work of boards. Here we draw on empirical evidence from observations of…

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about an unexpected transformation in teaching and learning across health professions education, necessitating an unprecedented operational shift. When exploring the factors at play in this shift, it is useful to analyse the pandemic response in terms of the field of disaster scholarship. This paper employs a…

This paper reports on a longitudinal study in the North of England with 13 educators in schools, colleges and universities during two lockdowns. The project was designed to 'unlock' education by providing spaces to co-create new ways of thinking about education in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Focus groups were conducted with school and college…

As colleges and universities respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, many in the media call it "unprecedented." This is not the first time that institutions of higher education have had to respond to an epidemic, however. A historical review of college and university reactions to illnesses such as yellow fever and the 1918 influenza pandemic…

This case study challenges readers to consider a contemporary issue for campus threat assessment and emergency preparedness: gang presence on college campuses. A body of research examining the presence of gangs and gang activity on college campuses has developed, revealing that gangs pose a viable threat for institutions of higher education. The…

Disasters happen worldwide, and it is necessary to engage emergency management agencies, health and social services, and community-based organizations in collaborative management activities to enhance community resilience. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) has been widely accepted in public health research as an approach to develop…

Preparing for crisis is certainly no promise of prevention, and from the vantage of hindsight the diligent course may seem obvious. Nonetheless, it is worth remembering that while awareness is the most basic tool of crisis prevention, its importance is often overlooked. An increased awareness of the types of behaviors that can be precursors to…

While the latest update to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) redefines mass notification as "emergency communications systems" (ECS), the end user community is formulating expectations related to the future functionality of today's alerting solutions. Numerous best practices have surfaced since alerting technology began its rapid,…

It is important that first responders remain aware of the possible hazards resulting from chemical accidents or the intentional use of chemicals in destructive devices. Chemical components can be utilized in the manufacturing of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), can enhance the effect of a more conventional device, or can pose hazards based on…

A complaint received by the Department of Education alleged that Virginia Tech violated the "timely warning" requirements of the Clery Act on April 16, 2007, by not issuing specific campus-wide alerts once senior officials knew of the immediate threat to health and safety. The complaint also alleged that the University's timely warning policy, as…

The problem of campus stalking requires uniting several departments to develop a response plan reflective of the comprehensive nature of campus stalking. This article highlights how research on stalking, stalking theories, and related environmental theories support the formation of a cross-functional team to develop a multifaceted response to this…

The study researched the websites of the 50 state flagship higher education institutions to investigate whether and how online or distance learning were included in the institutions' emergency plans as solutions to emergencies such as H1N1. All 50 institutions had identical directions to students and staff on how to handle the H1N1 flu, but…

In a study conducted among more than 980 American four-year and two-year colleges and universities, including institutions such as the University of Michigan, MIT, UCLA and Columbia, security staff and other administrators identified the five leading goals for their security systems: (1) Preventing unauthorized people from entering their…