EVALUATING AN ACTIVE SHOOTER CURRICULUM FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING

The increased incidents of school shootings at Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs) in the United States have become a great concern for school administrators and law enforcement officials. This literature review presents a) lessons learned from preparing IHLs for an active shooter event, b) alternative measures to support IHLs in managing an active shooter event, c) alternative active shooter training for IHLs. An examination of the literature review provides the definition of what is considered an “active shooter incident” and provides evidence for the increased occurrences of active shooter events at IHLs. Lessons learned from active shooter incidents are discussed, and various security alternatives to mitigating and responding to an active shooter crisis are investigated. \ud The evidence presented in this research makes it clear that IHLs can no longer depend solely on outside agencies to protect them from active shooter incidents. In fact, IHL employees will respond before law enforcement arrives. Though a great deal has been written about the experiences of first responders and IHL employees in active shooter incidents, much remains to concern us. First, agencies and IHLs differ considerably, and their differences contribute to confusion at the scene. Secondly, individuals at IHLs and responders are not clear about their roles and interactions. In fact, being together at a scene does not guarantee teamwork leading to an effective response. Thirdly, educators and responders who do not train together cannot partner effectively in a crisis. \ud Without a shared training program to prepare properly for an active shooter attack, IHLs remain at serious risk. The increase in attacks alone should alert IHLs to the necessity of preparing and training staff personnel for an active shooter encounter. However, there is still no standardized joint training for responders and IHL faculty and staff in the United States. \ud Institutions of Higher Learning need to support the law enforcement community in providing a standardized curriculum to protect the campus environment and its interest. This review, by examining active shooter events and training in detail, could inform such training. For this reason, this study explores various methods that IHLs can use to prepare, mitigate, and respond to an armed intruder on a college campus. \ud \ud \ud \u