| Source: Tanis V. Mihalynuk and Sarena D. Seifer, Community Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH), February 2003 | ||
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 | Disclaimer | |
| This fact sheet is not intended to be a legal document nor to take the place of legal advice and consultation. Use this document as a basic guide to navigate you in the area of common liability and risk management issues in higher education service-learning experiences. Be sure to contact a legal advisor at your academic institution for other pertinent information. | ||
| Risk Management and Liability -Overview | |
| Risk management is 'the formal process by which an organization establishes its risk management goals and objectives, identifies and analyzes its risks, and selects and implements measures to address its risks in an organized fashion' (Young and Tomski, 2002). Today's risk management process encompasses more than just insurance, work safety and health and legal liability management. It also includes an ongoing and complex process of evaluating and minimizing inherent, enduring organizational risks - in this case, those of the academic institution, students, community agencies, community members and others involved in the service-learning experience. To avoid health and legal liability, risk management procedures need to be considered before starting any service-learning experience. This fact sheet provides background information and a describes a systematic approach to establishing a safe, minimal risk environment for all involved participants-students, faculty, supervisors, transporters, community agency representatives and others. You may wish to consult the companion NSLC fact sheet, Risk Management and Liability, for additional information. Also available on the NSLC website are related documents and forms. | ||
| Risk management is an ongoing process that requires responsiveness to evolving governmental and workplace laws and regulations. You may be concerned about how the risk management process affects community partners and students in terms of perceptions of personal risk. You may also be wondering how to manage risks without stereotyping the communities and unnecessarily frightening students or perpetuating negative or false images of these communities. If all participants are adequately informed and oriented, the risk management process will only serve to strengthen community-campus partnerships by furthering mutual trust and understanding. | ||
| Getting Started - Become Informed, Learn from Others | |
| Start by inquiring about the policies and procedures that may already be in place on your campus: does your campus have a risk management policy for community-based educational experiences, for community service, or for clinical placements? To avoid duplication of effort, be sure to consult with administrators and faculty in other schools and departments on your campus that have an existing service-learning or community-based learning program in place. If your campus has an Office of Service-Learning or related office, consult with them as well. Learn from their stories of both successes and challenges involved in managing risks and avoiding liability. When available, request pertinent documents - such as student and agency orientation materials, consent forms, university-agency agreement forms, liability policies - to review as templates for your program. | ||
| In general, the more the service-learning environment is sanctioned by the academic institution, the greater the potential for liability to the academic institution. Conversely, the less the service-learning environment is sanctioned by the academic institution, the greater the potential for liability to the participating students and agency. For example, if the student does community service on his or her own-outside the scope of a credit-bearing course or official campus program - the student is probably not covered by the institution's liability insurance. In either scenario, it is important to create signed agreements that clarify the liability insurance coverage provided by the community partner and the academic institution involved in service-learning. Be sure to check your state's requirements-for example, worker's compensation insurance may be required by state law. Worker's compensation for students is often the responsibility of the academic institution if the service-learning experience is a requirement. | ||
| Although it is critical to have some form of liability insurance coverage at both the community agency and the academic institution, financial losses will only be an issue if an adverse event occurs-the ultimate goal is to prevent any adverse occurrences. It is not just financial losses that are at stake-one must also consider prevention of other losses, including loss of trust and mutual understanding in community-campus relations, which is the foundation of a successful partnership. | ||
| Liability prevention involves the systematic identification, analysis, measurement and reduction of risks. It encompasses several aspects of the service-learning experience, including the community agency (i.e. slipping on a wet stairway), product or service delivery (i.e. quality of care provided), transportation (i.e. motor vehicle accident), and worker's compensation, among others. An example of risk prevention includes training students in safe needle disposal before working in health clinics. An example of risk reduction includes assuring that gloves are available for student use in health care environments, or a review of emergency response procedures, such as fire exits. | ||
| If an adverse event occurs that involves legal intervention, consider the following: | ||
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| Risk management is an ongoing process that requires continuous revision in response to changing governmental and workplace policies. To assure sustainability of your community-campus partnership, adequate planning, orientation and continual evaluation is essential. Furthermore, involving all stakeholders from the community and the campus in the risk management process will assure a safe, trusting and enjoyable service learning experience. | ||
| Getting Started - Conduct a Risk and Liability Assessment | |
| Minimizing potential risks to all service-learning participants requires adequate time for planning and orientation. Conduct a thorough review of potential risks before embarking upon the service-learning experience. Discuss your questions and concerns with your community agency partners and campus colleagues. This assessment might include such questions as: | ||
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| The Components of a Risk Management Program | |
| Under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Voluntary Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines (1989) an effective occupational safety and health program includes four essential elements: 1) management commitment and employee involvement; 2) work-site examinations to identify existing hazards as well as conditions and operations in which changes might occur to create hazards; 3) hazard prevention control and 4) safety and health training. OSHA's experience in the Voluntary Protection Program has illustrated that effective management of safety and health protection improves employee morale and productivity, as well as significantly reduces workers' compensation costs and other less obvious costs of work-related injuries and illnesses. Visit OSHA for more information. | ||
| With these points in mind, consider having the following policies, procedures and processes in place for your service learning program: | ||
| Site Visits: Visit with your community partner and talk through the questions posed above. Visit the community settings and organizations that your students are likely to be in during their service-learning experience. Visit these settings and organizations when your students are there, to gain first-hand knowledge of the situations in which they are serving and learning. Meet with your community partners after the service-learning experience has ended, to "debrief" about the experience from the risk management and liability standpoints - what would you do differently next time? | ||
| Supervision: Having adequate supervision on-site and in the community - whether an agency staff member, volunteer, campus faculty or campus staff - will help to create a safe environment for service-learning. Be sure that direct supervisors are oriented to risk management and liability issues, in part to assure that the policies of your academic institution and the community partner are being adhered to. | ||
| Orientation: Risk management and liability issues should be covered in your program's orientation for participating students, faculty and community partners. Students should made aware of risks associated with service-learning, but they should be presented in context so as not to unduly frighten or intimidate students from participating. It can be helpful to involve students who have previously completed the service-learning experience as speakers during the orientation. Students often feel more comfortable about the situation if they hear about the positive experiences of other students. It is especially important to spend time orienting and training students in safety procedures, potential dangers, and the risk management policies of your school and community partners. Time spent here can help avoid future problems by bringing potential problems to the attention of participants. When orienting students and community partners, provide a summary handout or handbook with check-lists, appropriate forms, and emergency contact information. | ||
| Communication: Open, frequent and clear lines of communication are key to reducing risks in service-learning. For example, your community partners and your students should know whom to contact at the campus should any questions or emergencies arise in the course of the service-learning experience. Frequent communication with your community partners should help to identify any issues or concerns and to address them early in the process. | ||
| Transportation: Campuses will often state that they are not liable for students getting to and from community sites in an informed consent form. When the vehicle is either university-owned or operated, or community agency-owned or operated, these practices can minimize risks to both student and driver: screen all drivers, follow safety precautions, develop and implement training for all drivers, ensure all vehicles are safe (with appropriate maintenance schedules), provide policies for passenger behavior. When using public transportation, determine the risks of bus, train, subway, walking, etc. and take actions to minimize these risks (i.e., by organizing car pools, pairing students who travel by bus together to the site). | ||
| Risk Management Policy and Procedures Manual. We recommend developing a risk management policies and procedures manual that contains these documents: | ||
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| Loss Reporting File: Often overlooked, this file should
include records of accidents, safety violations, training and
orientation sessions and participant sign-up sheets. It also should
include any relevant maintenance schedules (i.e., for campus vans
used to transport service-learning students); reports of
recommended corrective actions; claims reports, and so forth.
Having this
resource available can serve to diminish future violations and/or injury. | ||
| Special considerations for international service-learning experiences: Although many of the above-mentioned issues also apply in international settings, there are some additional issues to consider. For example, students must adhere to health and safety requirements related to the country they will be visiting; there may be vaccines or prophylactic medications required before entry. The pre-travel orientation should include such information as local customs and laws, contact information for the U.S. embassy in the country, medical services available and plans for communicating regularly with the school while on-site. | ||
| Resources for More Information | |
| Many campuses and national organizations have developed online policies and statements specifically concerning risk management and service-learning. Examples include: | ||
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| The resources listed below provide more in-depth information about risk management and liability in higher education service-learning: | ||
| Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention's Travelers Health Resource
Page This site contains a wealth of information about health in other countries, information about specific diseases that can affect travelers, vaccination recommendations and resource publications such as "Health Information for International Travel." | ||
| Cooper, M. (1997).
Big Dummy's Guide to Service Learning: 27 Simple
Answers to Good Questions on : Faculty, Programmatic, Student,
Administrative, and Nonprofit Issues.
Cooper presents 27 simple answers to questions on faculty, programming, student, administrative, and non-profit issues that relate to service learning. Topics include service learning and liability. | ||
| Goldstein, M.B. (1990). Legal Issues in Combining Service and Learning. In J.C. Kendall (Ed.) Combining service and learning: a resource book for community and public service, volume II. Raleigh, NC: National Society for Internships and Experiential Education. | ||
| Goldstein, M. (2002). Legal Issues of Internships and
Experiential Learning.
National Society of Experiential Education. 31st Annual Conference Proceedings, October 1-4,2002, Las Vegas, Nevada. Visit www.nsee.org. | ||
| This workshop examined the broad range of legal issues that
arise in administering experiential learning programs, with
particular emphasis on the reciprocal rights and responsibilities
of the school, work site, and student.
Key issues such as student, school and work-site liability, risk management (including waivers, assumption of risk and insurance), protecting and accommodating student rights (including discrimination and ADA compliance), tax and compensation consideration, contractual obligations, and issues arising out of the use of public funds, were examined. | ||
| Joyce, S.A. ad and Ikeda, E.K. (2002). Serving Safely: A
Risk Management Resource for College Service Programs.
Published by California Campus Compact. To order, visit
http://www.campuscompact.org/publications/detail/serving_safely.
This resource guide includes sections on: defining terms to clarify such differences as that between a student and a student involved in a service program; ideas for designing a safe service program including information about different kinds of insurance; sample forms and guiding questions to use in assessing and managing risk; a comprehensive list and description of internet resources. | ||
| Managing the Risks of Work-Based Learning: A Resource
Guide (1998). National School-to-Work Opportunities Office,
Washington, DC.
This guide examines a process for managing the risks to students, schools, and employers when students go into the workplace. The guide was created for the following purposes: to aid schools and employers to be better informed about the necessity and the means of protecting students from harm; to encourage more employers to provide work-based learning opportunities; and to help school districts devise risk management plans that address work-based learning and service learning. The guide is organized in three sections: (1) "Identifying and Managing Risks to Students"; (2) "Identifying and Managing Risks to School Districts"; and (3) "Identifying and Managing Risks to Employers." The third section includes state profiles of work-based learning risk management strategies. | ||
| Negotiating the Legal Maze to Volunteer Service (2002).
Visit http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/resourcekit/Negotiating/index.html.
This is part of a 'Community Service Briefs' series written on legal liability, insurance and risk management for community-serving organizations. The series is designed to provide guidance on resolution of legal issues; suggests strategies that program managers can implement to prevent legal problems from hampering their operations; and offer suggestions for modifying laws that may inhibit national and community service. The series was written for grantees of the Corporation for National Service, but the many principles and strategies apply to other community-serving organizations. Other related topics include: Criminal History and Record Checks; managing Volunteers within the Law; and Insurance Basics for Community Serving Programs. | ||
| Reams, P. (2001). Service Learning and the Law-Parts I and II. Learn & Serve Midwest: The Newsletter for Health Professionals Learning and Serving Across the Midwest, Center for Healthy Communities, Dayton, OH. | ||
| There has been an explosion of service learning programs and related literature this past decade. Even though students are generally not paid for these experiences, laws have been adapted from existing laws for students involved in paid internships or other salaried / stipend kinds of experiences. It is important for faculty to be aware of any jurisdictional law or policy that may have an impact on educational experiences outside the classroom or university sanctioned facilities and learn to practice risk management techniques. A review of legal issues in service learning experiences, with particular reference to health professions students, is provided. | ||
| Risk Management Resource Center. Visit www.eriskcenter.org. | ||
| The goal of the Risk Management Resource Center (RMRC) is to provide information that helps local governments, nonprofit organizations, and small businesses manage risks effectively. By making risk management knowledge and practical information available online, they hope to help you protect your organization. The RMRC provides useful 'briefs' on a variety of topics that can easily be accessed at this website. | ||
| Rue, P. (1996). Administering successful service-learning programs. In B.A. Jacoby (Ed.) Service-Learning in Higher Education: Concepts and Practices. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. | ||
| Seidman, A., & Tremper, C. (1994). Legal issues for service-learning programs: A community service brief. Washington: Non-Profit Risk Management Center. Call 202/785-3891, email info@nonprofitrisk.org or visit www.nonprofitrisk.org. | ||
| This booklet provides guidance in each of the following four areas: 1) rules for imposing liability for harm your program may cause, 2) laws that require or prohibit certain practices, 3) risk management procedures to reduce the likelihood of a negative incident, and 4) insurance arrangements to provide adequate coverage when things go wrong. Included in this packet are six articles that deal with legal issues in different areas. These articles include "Legal Issues in Combining Service and Learning", "Legal Rights and Obligations of Students, Employers, and Institutions", "Drug Testing and Internships", "Code of Federal Regulations", "The Americans with Disabilities Act: How Does it Affect Experiential Educators", and "When Students Get Paid: Legal Implications of Compensated Experiential Learning". | ||
| Simonelli, J. (2000). Service Learning Abroad: Liability and Logistics. Metropolitan Universities: An International Forum. 11;1: 35-44. | ||
| This review addresses the issues of college liability and logistics in off-campus experiential programs, especially programs abroad with service learning components. The author warns that liability problems, e.g. safety issues, legal concerns and ethical responsibility to the local community can threaten program viability and overshadow learning objectives and concludes by urging specialized preparation for all involved. | ||
| Tremper, C, Kostin, G. (1997). No Surprises: Controlling Risk in Volunteer Programs. Non-Profit Risk Management Center, Washington, DC. Call 202/785-3891, email info@nonprofitrisk.org or visit www.nonprofitrisk.org. | ||
| The goal of risk management is to improve performance by acknowledging and controlling risks, something every organization needs to take the time to consider. Risk management can increase an organizations ability to avoid unpleasant surprises that can occur in a volunteer program and help that organization take control of the risks that can not be avoided. Part I of this book presents key concepts and develops a strategy for integrating risk management into every aspect of a volunteer program. Part II offers practical suggestions for controlling risks in a dozen areas of volunteer program management from policy and procedure to transportation. Temper and Kostin systematically consider many of the pitfalls and problems that can be encountered using a volunteer program, and give articulate and well thought out advice on how they can be avoided. This resource thoughtfully presents 'worst case scenarios' and provides suggestions regarding how to deal with them. | ||
| Wright, J. (1997). Administrator's Guide to Service Learning. National Dropout Prevention Center. Clemson University, 205 Martin St., Box 345111, Clemson, SC 29634-5111. Call 864/656-2599 or visit http://www.dropoutprevention.org/. | ||
| This book is part of the series 'Linking Learning with Life' and concretely explains how service learning is an educational methodology. Wright explains how administrators may deal with scheduling, transportation, funding, and liability administrative issues; professional development, curricular integrity, student assessment, and program evaluation educational issues; and building an infrastructure, public relations, and community support and involvement as support issues. | ||
| Young, P.C. & Tomski, M. (2002). An Introduction to Risk Management. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America. 13(2): 225-246. | ||
| Risk management is formally defined as the process by which an organization assesses and addresses its risks. Historically, the role of risk management has been associated with insurance-buying, occupational safety and health, and legal liability management. In recent years managers and physicians alike have begun to recognize that organizational risks are pervasive, that these risks are extraordinarily diverse and complex, and that these risks are not just confined to "insurable" or accident-related situations. They may include risks arising from actions of regulatory bodies, third party payers, hospitals, partners, and employees, in addition to the physiatrists personal or business investment, management and clinical practice. Furthermore, changing customer and patient preferences and/or expectations make the assessment of risk an even more dynamic and continuous process. This article describes the formal risk management process and suggests ways that physiatrists can apply risk management to their business and clinical practice. In developing this description, physiatrists and their office managers will learn about the overall goals and objectives of risk management, the challenge of identifying and analyzing risks, the tools and treatment options available, and the means by which risk management efforts are effectively implemented. | ||
