Description
Though community colleges credential approximately 80% of the nation's first responders, many 2-year colleges struggle with executing disaster/emergency preparedness and response plans. An American Association of Community Colleges 2004 survey of administrators showed that their level of emergency preparedness plans ranged from very thorough to not prepared at all. A 2010 survey of 232 of the nation's top college and university administrators revealed that 70% had a moderate to low concern about their campus experiencing natural disasters or chemical spills and 31.7% did not conduct emergency trainings. This study focused on California community colleges and their unique challenges and student populations. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the role of California community college administrators in disaster and emergency preparedness planning, the prioritization thereof, and to explore strategic approaches to emergency planning. Ten administrators from three California community colleges participated in semi-structured interviews. The findings revealed that emergency preparedness was an integral part of the planning processes at some colleges and in its infancy at others. The level of awareness of emergency preparedness planning varied among administrative ranks. Findings indicated that support from senior leadership, financial, and human resources influence the level of priority of emergency preparedness planning. Implications and recommendations for policy and practice are discussed. As one of the first studies to examine the role of California community college administrators in emergency preparedness planning, this research serves as a foundation for future research.
