Posted By: Tom Krieglstein, Swift Kick

The web is filled with articles related to Student Life. The hardest part is finding the content. Here is an article I stumbled on from a company called United Educators,which provides liability insurance and risk   management services to universities. While normally too much lawyer talks scares me, this one is interesting because they are using the internet to make risk management more…well…manageable.

Cornell University, in partnership with United Educators, has developed a new, high-tech   solution to the dilemma of how to make campus events safer.   The Ithaca, NY institution has harnessed the speed and   convenience of the World Wide Web to connect campus groups   that organize events with the administrators who must   approve each activity.

Cornell’s “On-line Event Planning and Risk Management   System,” created using FileMaker Pro 4.0 for Macintosh OS,   the leading database software and Home Page 3.0, a web   authoring tool both from FileMaker, Inc. enables university   officials to identify all the factors that can create   event-planning risk, says Allen Bova, the university’s   director of risk management. He says the system helps alert   administrators to a host of problems – everything from   potentially overcrowded dance halls, gridlocked parking   lots, and noise violations, to the threat of food-borne   illness, the possibility of underage drinking, and the need   for emergency medical technicians at club rugby matches.

The system, made possible in part by funding from United   Educators’ General Liability Grant Program, has made   Cornell’s campus a safer place. “Since we put the system   online, we’ve seen about a 20 percent increase in event   planners and campus groups giving advance notice of their   events” says Bova. “The result has been faster, more   complete, and more comprehensive decision making on campus   event-planning issues,” he says. “We have found that we can   better assess the impact and the risks of special   events.”

The on-line system also makes campus events more   successful by prompting student groups to think carefully   about how they plan and run their events.

The Old Way, the Slow Way

Event planning can be especially difficult at a large   institution such as Cornell. With a student body numbering   over 19,000, the university hosted more than 1,000 events   during the 1997-98 academic year. The On-Line Event Planning   and Risk Management System has been bringing order to that   potential chaos since September, 1998.

The system computerizes what used to be a paper- and   time-intensive process. The new system – essentially a   series of interactive Web pages – works because everyone on   Cornell’s campus has access to e-mail and the World Wide   Web. The entire process “lives” on a computer in the Student   Activities Office, but anyone can access the system via the   Web.

I would add here that using just the world wide web and e-mail is a bit outdated at this point. Communication channels are evolving all the time and this system would be wise to keep up.

It’s a far cry from the old days. Since the early 1990s,   Cornell has required officially registered student   organizations to fill out a lengthy form for each campus   event they sponsor. But the number of student organizations   has grown dramatically in recent years, increasing from 450   to more than 580 between 1996 and 1998 alone. Those groups   now sponsor dozens of activities each week, including   meetings of student clubs and support groups, academic   gatherings, cultural events such as dance recitals and   concerts, and athletic events.

“Along with the increase in student organizations came an   increase in the number of events taking place on campus,”   says Joseph Scaffido, the assistant director of student   activities who was instrumental in developing the program.   “As more and more events were registered using campus   facilities, the ability to keep track of events became much   more difficult.”

Creating a Campus-Wide Resource

Before the on-line system existed, the event planning and   approval process required plenty of time, endless patience,   and sometimes, comfortable shoes.

In my days as a student leader, the registration process to host an event was extremly intimidatating. There were pages of instructions on what fors to fill out and who needed to sign off on it

Event planners had to complete an official form and then   gather as many as 10 approval signatures from administrators   throughout the university. “After completing the form, they   would meet with a representative from the Student Activities   Office, who would indicate various university officials who   the event planner would have to notify,” Scaffido says.   Trekking from office to office, “the event planner would   then meet with and get signatures from the approvers. This   was a tedious and sometimes frustrating process and could   take weeks to complete.”

The On-Line Event Planning and Risk Management System   changed all that. Now that it is up and running:

• Event planners can register the details of their    proposed event without having to submit paperwork.
• Student Activities Office staff use e-mail to notify    all administrators who need to review the event    information.
• University officials can grant approval or submit    comments and questions on-line, without having to sign    papers or return phone calls.
• Administrators have the ability to conveniently    search for and review all scheduled events that need    their approval.
• In most cases, event planners can have their    activities approved in less than one working day.

Streamlining the Process

The on-line system has made event planning faster, more   convenient, and more efficient. At one time, a member of the   Student Activities Office staff was dedicated full-time to   collecting event forms, inputting the information into a   database, and serving as the primary campus contact for   event planning matters.

In contrast, the new system requires only a few hours a   week for routine record keeping. Events are still approved   by a team of campus administrators, but they now handle most   event planning issues by routine e-mail, not   hard-to-schedule meetings or rounds of telephone tag.

Most event approvals happen entirely electronically.   Event planners go to a special Student Activities Web page   and choose between two on-line forms: one for events where   alcoholic beverages will be served and another for “dry”   events. They fill in the blanks, providing all logistical   information, and then click on a “submit” button. That   automatically sends the information to Student Activities,   where a staff member reviews the form and then sends it   electronically to the various departments that need to give   their approval.

At the same time, the system sends an e-mail message to   the event planner stating that the approval process has   begun and providing a password that enables access to a Web   page reporting on the status of their event.

These departments typically need to approve events:

• Student Activities has overall responsibility    for coordinating on-campus events.
• Athletic Facilities approves events taking    place on athletic fields, in gyms, or at other buildings    and areas that the athletic department is responsible    for.
• Community Relations/Sales makes sure the    Cornell name and logo are used properly and oversees    events where merchandise of any kind is sold or given    away.
• Cornell Police track where and when events are    taking place for campus security, traffic control, and    occasional crowd control purposes.
• Risk Management and Insurance evaluates the    liability factors an event may present.
• Transportation Services considers events’    traffic, transit, and parking implications.
• Environmental Health and Safety must approve    events that involve an array of vital campus services,    enforcing building occupancy limits and providing    emergency medical response and fire prevention    services.

Administrators in each appropriate office receive an   e-mail with a link to a unique Web address where they can   find the event’s approval form. They can then look at the   information that applies to their departments and either   approve it or not.

The system lets them ask questions or add comments, which   are sent automatically by e-mail to the event planner. A   club rugby tournament this fall illustrates the importance   of this feature. Although all necessary administrators   approved the event, several took the opportunity to advise   the organizer of key considerations. Risk Management and   Insurance noted that players needed to sign and file waivers   before participating. Environmental Health and Safety   reminded the organizer to make sure the campus emergency   medical services staff knew about the event. Once all   administrators have signed off and all comments or questions   have been addressed, an email message is automatically sent   to the planner stating that the event has received final   approval, and can go forward. Only if issues remain   unresolved will the event planner be invited to meet with   administrators to iron out details.

Bova says the Risk Management and Insurance Department   has ultimate authority to approve or disapprove an event. “I   consider our department the final check,” he says. “If one   of the event planning team members isn’t happy, then I’m not   happy.”

Effects on Campus Operations

Once approved, the event information becomes a tool for   campus departments to use to plan their work and minimize   risk.

“The Cornell Police post all events that come through the   system so officers know all the details of the events that   are supposed to be taking place on their shift,” Bova notes.   “If they come upon an event that wasn’t listed, they can and   do shut it down.” Campus police use event information to   help coordinate security when student groups invite   dignitaries to speak.

Environmental Health and Safety staff refer to the   approval information to issue burning permits for bonfires.   Food service staff check to make sure that caterers comply   with health and safety regulations.

The on-line system is not foolproof, Bova cautions.   Students, for example, can sometimes fail to tell the whole   truth about their events, just as they could before. A   student play produced last fall illustrates the problem.   “They had flash pots on stage to create explosion effects,”   Bova explains. “Well, they never told anyone about that   little detail or included it on the form. And of course,   some stage props caught fire during the performance.   Fortunately, they did have fire extinguishers, and no one   was injured, but the fact that they never told anyone about   this risk is cause for concern.”

In the wake of that incident, Cornell officials have   begun conducting on-site inspections of student theater   sets. The university is also drawing up safety guidelines   that student troupes will have to follow.

Bova remains enthusiastic about the on-line system’s   value as a planning tool. “It keeps all the members of our   event planning team on the same page, and helps us   anticipate and prevent problems and increase safety,” he   says. That doesn’t mean Cornell administrators are content   to rest on their laurels. For example, they made several   software upgrades within a month of rolling out the system   last fall.

Bova also believes there is room for improvement in who   must use the on-line system. Right now, only registered   student organizations are required to use it. Academic   departments and individual schools within the university can   and do opt out, sometimes with worrisome results.

“A number of Cornell units aren’t using the system now,   and we want to encourage them to do so,” Bova says. “One   school was the site of a wedding recently, but they did not   enter the event into the system. One of the caterer’s   employees had a slip-and-fall accident, which raised   potential liability issues that my office, of course, was   concerned about.” They have since agreed to begin using the   on-line event planning system. “I called the chief business   officer, who talked to the dean of the school. Between them,   they decided to get on the team,” he says.

As more segments of the campus community begin to use the   on-line system, Bova envisions it becoming an even more   valuable resource.

Advice for Other Schools

Other institutions can learn from Cornell’s experience.   Bova offers three tips, whether a school seeks to   computerize an existing event planning and risk management   system or start one from scratch:

1. Get everyone involved. “Approach event planning as a    team effort,” Bova counsels. “Risk management cannot do    it alone.” He credits the success of Cornell’s on-line    event planning system to the participation of    administrative departments from throughout the    institution.
2. Anticipate resistance. “Be prepared for people to    complain that the process is too time-consuming or too    bureaucratic,” Bova says. Managing risks through    systematic event planning is difficult, but it is easier    to plan ahead than deal with the adverse consequences of    a mishap that could have been prevented. “You have to be    able to communicate the benefits of systematizing the    event-planning process to get other departments to join    in the effort,” he says.
3. Be positive. Bova says it is easy but wrong to    approach event planning in a negative way. “Go into it    with the idea that you want to approve every event,” he    says. “You are there to help the university community    safely host events that support its educational mission.”    The On-Line Event Planning and Risk Management System has    “helped us be a resource to event planners, not a    hindrance,” Bova says. “We’ve approached this conversion    very positively and proactively. That’s the whole idea    behind our effort.”

For More Information

For more information about Cornell’s On-Line Event   Planning and Risk Management System, contact Joe Scaffido,   Assistant Director of Student Activities at jss44@cornell.edu,   or Allen Bova, Director of Risk Management and Insurance at   ajb4@cornell.edu. To   view the web site, go to http://www.activities.cornell.edu/EventReg