Mission & Philosophy of Risk
Westmont's Office of Institutional Resilience works to shield the college's resources from preventable loss by:
- anticipating the bad things that could happen,
- averting them whenever possible, and
- helping the college respond well when they do occur.
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Assessment |
Review programs and policies to catalog foreseeable risks; evaluate possible responses; make recommendations regarding priorities; and instigate fitting and prudent actions |
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Education |
Enhance awareness among administrators, faculty, staff and students regarding how to prevent, and effectively respond to, disruptive events |
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Coordination |
Collaborate proactively with others to develop common sense guidelines and structures designed to preserve personal safety, and to improve the college’s operational practices and contracts in ways that limit its liability exposures |
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Attentiveness |
Remain current on higher education risk/emergency/compliance management professional best-practices, leveraging those which suit our circumstances wherever feasible |
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Insurance |
Work with qualified brokers to match insurable risks with available markets at fair prices; help the college community to implement loss control measures that will minimize our premiums |
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Stewardship |
Advocate and synchronize funding of preventative programs and measures; coordinate major loss response and management |
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Integrity |
Strive to exhibit Christlike character in all interactions |
The Office of Institutional Resilience is dedicated, through the services it provides, to advancing the mission and community life standards of Westmont College.
Risk is inherent in all worthy endeavors; it is indispensable to the educational process. Without facing risk, one will not encounter and transcend perceived limitations and stretch into new capacities.
Counterbalancing the value of risk is the need to preserve assets. When institutional capacity is depleted by preventable loss, our educational mission is compromised.
Our Approach is Strategic1
We address these opposing elements by managing our risks strategically.
- We insure risk when affordable.
- We transfer risk when appropriate.
- We mitigate risk when feasible.
- We accept or avoid risk when prudent.
- We tolerate risk only when necessary.
Our Standards are Ambitious2
Westmont College aims to meet or exceed the best practices of the higher education community and the insurance industry in all relevant areas by energetically pursuing the following conditions
- Our policies are clear, succinct and sensible.
- Our procedures are neither intrusive nor obtrusive.
- Our practices are internally consistent.
- Our approach prefers education and influence over control.
- Our response to challenges is thoughtful, measured, and compassionate.
We are Careful yet Courageous
In establishing priorities we exercise considered judgment about foreseeable losses in terms of their severity, frequency, mitigation effort, and mitigation cost (in declining weight). While we cannot disregard the threats to our assets posed by a litigious society or a dangerous world, neither will we be governed by fear in achieving our educational vision and our spiritual calling.
When initiatives involving visible risks are presented for our review we will look for and—with rare exceptions where the exposures cannot reasonably be mitigated—find ways to endorse the activity. To summarize our ethos: whenever possible we say Yes.
In all respects, we affirm the sovereignty of God in the affairs of the College, and we entrust to God both our human judgment and its outcomes.
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[1] Examples - Insure: Westmont carries all the standard insurance coverages (liability, property, auto, and so on). Transfer: When a contractor performs work on campus, we clarify by contract that s/he assumes the risks associated with their work. Mitigate: We pre-screen the motor vehicle records of employees with driving duty. Accept: We encourage participation in certain athletic activities even though some risk of incompensable harm is present. Avoid: We do not sponsor obvious-risk clubs such as hang-gliding or motorcycling. Tolerate: Earthquake insurance is prohibitively expensive, so while we don't consider this exposure acceptable, there exists no realistic alternative.
[2] Comments - Policies: We actively resist wordy or nonsensical written expectations. Procedures: We seek the most simple and efficient means of compliance with laws and policies. Practices: College departments operate in a manner that, where applicable, conforms to common standards. Approach: Individual and academic freedom are respected whenever a demonstrable need for preservation of assets is not at stake. Response: For instance, our Situation Readiness & Response Team is well exercised, and is deliberate in attending to the human dimensions of a crisis.