ON CAMPUS
campusreview.com.au
Duty of care in a crisis
Emergencies put communication
strategies into sharp focus for
education establishments.
By David Nicol
T
he recent bushfire season – the
most severe and prolonged in
Australia’s history – has not only
devastated communities around the
country, it has raised questions about the
preparedness of schools and universities
to provide effective duty of care and
communications for staff, students and
communities.
Now the coronavirus outbreak is
generating further debate, forcing
schools, colleges and universities to
re-examine how well placed they are to
get accurate information out to staff and
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students in such events, regardless of the
circumstances. This includes the delicate
management of misinformation.
The safety and wellbeing of staff and
students are critical factors for all school
and tertiary organisations, so duty of care
measures are taken very seriously.
As these institutions become more
complex and connected – some with
sprawling campuses the size of small cities
– the technology, policies and practices
used to maintain those safety standards
must also evolve.
INCREASED COMPLEXITY
DEMANDS NEW SOLUTIONS
The education sector is Australia’s third
largest export, worth $32.4 billion to the
economy. We have an extremely large
contingent of Chinese students within our
education system – 189,000 in the tertiary
education sector alone.
On 24 February, the Australian
government announced it would support
recommendations from the Australian
Health Protection Principal Committee
(AHPPC) to maintain travel restrictions on
anyone travelling from mainland China to
Australia, to be reviewed regularly.
This has thrown our university sector
into chaos, with around 100,000 students
unable to commence or resume their
studies in Australia.
In some cases, this is impacting the
whole student population, not just those
at-risk students who are prevented from
returning to Australia.
Monash University in Melbourne, for
example, decided to implement a “flexible
Semester 1 model with the first half of the
semester delivered remotely for some
units”. In other cases, media reports
said that some students were finding a
workaround to start their studies, like
travelling to Australia via other countries,
such as Thailand.
Educational institutions must deal
with increasing complexity and assess
an evolving set of risks. The broad