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Understanding Millennials: A State of Preparedness

By Julianne Scibetta, Albany College of Pharmacy

Bird flu is coming, and in many parts of the world it has already arrived. For those of us living in North America, the question of bird flu is not if it will cross into our territory but when. Like anyone with an eye towards skepticism, I'm not yet willing to let myself hit a panic button. But from rumblings in higher education in my neck of the woods, many colleges and universities aren't taking their chances.

Learning centers are like health care facilities in many ways. If a regular classroom is enough of a magnet for disease spreading, learning centers are even more so. As a hub of campus life, there is constant, steady traffic, with workers coming into contact with a variety of people in rapid succession of time. People interact in small, sometimes enclosed or semi-enclosed spaces and within small radii, often touching and sharing the same materials - pens, pencils, markers, textbooks. How can you not get sick this time of year? And if this is just what's possible in a learning center, imagine a popular faculty's office, the cafeteria, public bathrooms, and the residence halls! Can you tell me that if one coed in a triple comes down with the flu that the other two won't get it?
Can you tell parents the same?

While I don't mean to scare any of you or create unnecessary hype or panic about this threat of pandemic, I do want to draw to your attention the speed with which we'll have to deal with the consequences. By we, I specifically mean learning center professionals.

At this point I'd like to open the discussion by asking you to ask yourself, at what point will your institution shut down its operations completely when the flu (or another kind of emergency) arrives? How many cases will it take? How close does the virus have to be geographically before action takes place?

For a year now The Chronicle has included occasional reports on what schools can do to prepare. I'm sure there has been some discussion at some level in preparation for any kind of emergency. I can speak for my own institution in that, being across the street from the city's main hospital, we might not necessarily have a choice in shutting down. Many schools, public and private alike, fall under these same headings of being cordoned off and quarantined to be used as public , sometimes varying by state or local law. Now would be a good time to find out if yours is one of these.

Something which shocked me once I started reading more into preparedness was the minimum length of time for which a school might be closed: 8 to 12 weeks. That's right, folks. Almost an entire semester.

This is a situation that is difficult to imagine since it seems not only unlikely but also extreme.

The closing of an entire campus might be a radical approach for crisis management and prevention. But what does that mean for your services? If the flu cropped up tomorrow, could you provide tutoring online? Do students have adequate access to the Internet at home so they can continue classes? Will students be asked to have their classes online so that little time will be lost toward completion, which may be critical for at-risk or returning students or even students with loans? How will your center respond?

If you will have online coursework, will you be expected to provide online or email support? Is your staff prepared for virtual tutoring? The easiest kind of tutoring to implement might be via instant messenger or email. This is where your center's website becomes critical in information sharing in the event that you must become a distance learning center.

Now is the time to start thinking about how many accommodations you can be reasonably expected to have. Now is the time to start communicating with your staff about creating these accommodations and permissions. What high-risk or high-demand courses would need the accommodations first? What is the faculty's response or ability to assist in providing support, if any?

It's important to be thinking about these things now because, like in many crises, no one ever really sees it coming. While you can't anticipate every single detail you can at least have a plan to guide you. Check first with your college security or administration to find out if there is a plan, and then check with your local government or state to find out what kind of regional plan there might be. Find out if your school is one that would be used as a staging area in the event of an emergency. Then start to formulate your own worst-case scenario operating plan for your center, and the kinds of campus resources you might need (such as IT support, cooperation with financial aid, etc.). If you don't already, get an emergency contact list of your staff members; if you already have one, make sure it's up-to-date. For a helpful list of other preparedness guidelines, check www.pandemicbirdflu.gov (yes, I can't believe there's a website for it either). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are also great sources of information and guidelines. And at the very least, encourage your staff to wash their hands and keep several tissue boxes ready.

Questions or comments? Contact the author at j.scibet@usip.edu.

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