This summer, all students living on Ohio University's campus are being asked to sit through a new online program — the OU Student Safety Orientation.
The program is designed to ensure that students are “aware of the risks that exist on a college campus and how to avoid these risks or deal with an emergency should one occur,” said Joe Adams, associate vice president for risk management and safety, in a university-wide email sent Monday.
Adams sent the email to more than 7,000 students planning to live on campus during the 2012–13 school year. Most are freshmen and sophomores, who are required to live on campus, but the number also includes resident assistants and upperclassmen choosing to live on campus.
The course, which takes about 30 minutes, was designed by the Environmental Health and Safety Department in partnership with S2 Learning at no cost to the university.
It comprises five lessons — fire safety, electrical safety, food safety, pet and pest safety and emergency services — and concludes with a 10-question exam. Students must receive 90 percent or higher on the exam to pass the course.
“We narrowed in on those five (topics) for sort of two reasons,” Adams said. “The first reason is that … we thought those were the most important to hit initially ... the second big item is we wanted it to be short enough for students to actually take the orientation.”
Students are requested to complete the orientation by Aug. 3. However, it is not mandatory.
“Next year we may make it mandatory, but since this is our first year, we wanted to see how it was accepted by students,” Adams said, adding that university officials are seeking input and feedback from students.
bv111010@ohiou.edu
