The next ProtectED Reflections event is running on Thursday, October 1 from 2pm. Interviewed will be Trevor Jones, head of security at the University of Salford, talking about ‘Safeguarding the Student Experience’. As students return to campus, some for the first time away from home, what does safeguarding the student experience really mean for universities and higher education (HE) professionals? And, importantly, how to show it to worried parents?
Hence the ProtectED Code of Practice that addresses policies, processes and practices relating to university safety and security, and welfare in its widest sense – mental, physical and financial. This includes:
– Partnership working
– Threat and risk management
– Crisis management (including business continuity, whether the threat is man-made or extreme weather)
– Operational security
– People (including employment of staff engaged in security).
Student safety and well-being are, as ProtectED organisers point out, factors in student retention (important to a uni financially, besides to the student’s life course) and in recruitment. Students (and their parents) are increasingly considering campus safety and security when choosing their prospective university; especially international students, a big source of income for commercially-minded universities.
And HE matters to the UK economy; as 100,000 students are due to arrive in the Manchester region, Vice-Chancellors and Students’ Union (SU) officers from the Universities of Bolton, Manchester, Salford, Manchester Metropolitan University and the Royal Northern College of Music have issued a joint ‘call to action‘ to students, reminding them to minimise Covid-19 risks, at a time ‘like no other’.
Covid-safety measures, for social distancing across universities – by campus security and estate managers and those running student accommodation blocks alike – were the subject of an earlier ProtectED webinar, featured in the July print edition of Professional Security magazine.
About Trevor Jones
Trevor is the chair of the UK-based Association of University Chief Security Officers (AUCSO) and co-founder of ProtectED. After the interview by Prof Caroline Davey, one of the founders and Directors of ProtectED, he will answer questions. The webinar is free to attend; sign up beforehand. Visit https://www.protect-ed.org/.
About ProtectED
It’s a membership body of accredited universities. The next window for sending intentions to apply for ProtectED accreditation opens January 1, 2021 and closes March 1. Visit https://www.protect-ed.org/.
