By Katie Alsup, Staff Writer
Changes are being made to OCU procedure that will give students the option to work with a system they might encounter in the workforce.
The National Incident Management System, or NIMS, is nothing new to campus faculty and police but with new changes, students will be able to get involved.
NIMS is an emergency response system that puts everyone in the United States on the same level in terms, equipment and reaction techniques by setting standards for responding to incidents, Glede Holman, risk manager said.
Students will have the option to receive training and work with the system on campus hopefully starting in Fall 2011, Holman said.
“Students will be given the opportunity to see the system and to participate in the system,” he said.
It’s important to become familiar with NIMS now because it’s wide-spread in America and keeps spreading, Holman said.
The that term “incident” is often seen as a bad word, but that it’s usage is not only negative. NIMS takes all the meanings in to account and teaches individual how to react to situations of any nature, Holman said.
NIMS came into being to combat the ineffective response systems due to a lack of commonality in terms and equipment in the United States, Holman said.
NIMS received a lot of attention following the 9/11 disaster when others responded with a lot of different, uncoordinated approaches, Holman said.
“NIMS was there to hold all the efforts together,” he said.
Another example of when NIMS was active in the community was the ice storm that touched Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and other states, Holman said.
“OCU has been working with the Regents for Higher Education to ensure compliance,” Holman said. “The campus adopted NIMS to train campus staff and to incorporate it into routine functions.”
The federal government requires it for a number of its agencies and it has already starting spreading into the private businesses in America, Holman said.
Kate Ray, early childhood education sophomore, said she thinks a system like this is important to maintain and even develop training for students.
“It’s important so students are aware of what’s going on,” she said. “It’s really important to implement changes like these to ensure that students know about them and to keep us safe.”
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