Campus Resilience

DHS is committed to engaging colleges and universities in an effort to foster resilience best practices and to bolster campus emergency preparedness efforts. Information on campus resilience tools and programs, such as the National Seminar and Tabletop Exercise Series, can be found below. DHS is currently in the developmental stages of the Campus Resilience Program. This initiative builds upon best practices, lessons learned and resources already developed to make U.S. colleges and universities more resilient. More details on the Campus Resilience Program will be provided soon.

The National Seminar and Tabletop Exercise Series

The National Seminar and Tabletop Exercise for Institutions of Higher Education (NTTX) is a series of campus-based events to test and promote campus resilience. The series brings together senior higher education leaders, as well as federal, state and local representatives from departments and agencies that support campus resilience to participate in workshops and work through a designed emergency scenario.

To learn more about this series, please visit the NTTX page here.

Academic Resource Catalog

OAE curates the Academic Resource Catalog, a robust list of funding opportunities, programs and resources offered through DHS and other government partners. Pages 6 through 8 of the catalog outline opportunities related to campus resilience and emergency preparedness.

Public Awareness Campaigns

If You See Something, Say Something™

The responsibility to protect the homeland is one shared by all Americans. In 2010, DHS launched the national “If You See Something, Say Something™” campaign in an effort to empower citizens to help prevent terrorism or terrorism-related crimes. The campaign’s message has been showcased at major league sporting events, concerts, festivals and gatherings. In 2016, the campaign partnered with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Campaign has also begun partnering with individual colleges and universities to help engage students with the message of vigilance. For more information on the “If You See Something, Say Something™” campaign, click here.

PrepareAthon!

America's PrepareAthon! is a grassroots campaign for action to increase community preparedness and resilience. For more information on this community-based approach to emergency preparedness, visit the campaign website.

Additional Resources

• The Office for State and Local Law Enforcement maintains a comprehensive list of law enforcement conferences, gatherings, and meetings across the country. These events provide campus law enforcement professionals training opportunities and the ability to share best practices with other members of the law enforcement community.
• United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) provides publications, alerts and tips and resources about cybersecurity and cyber threats.
• Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance Center supports schools and school districts in crisis management, including how to develop and implement comprehensive emergency and crisis response plans. Resources include guidance documents, Web-based training sessions, updated information on the Department of Education's REMS discretionary grant program and newsletters addressing key issues.
• Building a Disaster-Resistant University is FEMA's guide to making colleges more resistant to disasters.
• DHS offers a comprehensive Active Shooter Preparedness web portal, which contains courses, materials and workshops for a variety of stakeholders, including the academic community. The portal features a webinar specifically for security officers at K-12 schools, which offers guidance on conducting security assessments of school facilities.
• Preparing Your School for a Crisis, published by the U.S. Department of Education, is designed to assist schools and communities with either creating a new or updating an existing crisis plan.
• Threat Assessment in Schools: A Guide to Managing Threatening Situations and to Creating Safe School Climates (PDF, 99 pages - 755 KB), includes suggestions for developing a threat assessment team within a school or school district, planning steps to take when a threat or other information of concern comes to light, considering when to involve law enforcement personnel, resolving issues of information sharing and sharing ideas for creating safe school climates.