The Goshen campus held a prayer service for the Bluffton community after the tragic accident suffered by the Bluffton College baseball team in March 2007.

Valuing Student Safety

'For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'  Romans 8:38-39

By Student Life

At the end of another academic year at Goshen College, we pause to reflect on the events of the year. We are thankful for experiences of safety and health. The recent tragedies experienced by other institutions of higher education make us particularly mindful of the fragility of our human experience—even in the college setting.  

Certainly, tragedies are devastating primarily because we do not know if or when they might occur. While it is impossible to anticipate every scenario, key preparation and planning assist us in the event a crisis does occur. To that end, Goshen College has a Crisis Management Plan. This document allows us to consider possible emergencies and how to effectively respond.  

The Goshen College Crisis Management Plan has 5 primary goals: 

1. To enable GC leadership to respond with systematic decision-making; thus increasing the chances of a successful response.
2. To lower the stress associated with crisis situations; thus easing the pressure on decision-makers in critical moments following a crisis.
3. To identify back up operational procedures and work load shifts; thus easing the institution’s ability to operate during and after a crisis situation.
4. To facilitate communication and to create message consistency during a time of crisis.
5. To respond in a manner that assures the psychological and physical safety for all involved
        (Crisis Management Plan, p.6).

In the time of a crisis, a crisis management team is assembled to review the known information and to develop an appropriate response. This team is comprised of the president, provost, vice presidents, director of public relations and director of facilities. Alternates for each of these positions have also been identified. Depending on the location and nature of the crisis, other team members may be added. 

To this end, the President’s Council sets time aside each semester to conduct a ‘crisis simulation’ to practice decision-making and communication to achieve the above goals. These simulations approximate real-life scenarios, often working from limited information until the next piece of information is available. 

Contacts and relationships with the local authorities are also critical to local disasters. GC has exchanged information to establish protocols for collaboration among city, county and school offiicials. Regional crises require good communication and shared resources.

As parents, you share our vested interest in the student safety at Goshen College. We continue to seek procedures that allow us to respond quickly and efficiently in the event a crisis occurs in the future because the safety and emotional well being of students is of utmost importance to us.