Regents want review of campus security plans

? The Kansas Board of Regents wants a second opinion about campus security plans that the state’s universities have developed.

After reviewing a checklist for what those plans should include – prepared by board staff and the universities’ attorneys – the regents broached the idea of hiring a consultant to examine both the checklist and the campus safety plans that will stem from it.

“Maybe it’s my insurance background, but I’d rather have someone from the outside come in and tell us what they think of what we’ve done,” Regent Donna Shank said.

University leaders will be asked to compare their plans against the checklist and then submit them to the regents for evaluation. The process began a few days after last April’s shootings at Virginia Tech.

Regents general counsel Julene Miller said the proposals were designed to be broad enough that they encompass all types of campus emergencies, “from severe weather to an active shooter like they experienced at Virginia Tech.”

In introducing the motion to approve hiring an outside consultant, Regent Gary Sherrer said the need to have adequate plans was imperative.

“This is so important, you can’t put any price on it,” he said.