Colleges and Universities

Introduction
Adventure Safety International, LLC offers a comprehensive array of risk management services for outdoor education, outdoor recreation and travel programs. These affordable services allow any college or university to proactively address risk management concerns.

Your school may have a student run outing club, a professionally run outdoor recreation program, an outdoor education component in your courses, a “study abroad” type program, or a combination of several of these. We have the expertise to address risk management challenges in any of these programs and the necessary experience to work diplomatically with student or staff leaders.

In the growing field of outdoor education there has been an increased focus on and expertise in preventing accidents. Practices that were acceptable ten or even five years ago no longer are today, and participants, parents, and the media expect an increased level of safety. Many schools have found external risk management consultation critical to monitoring and improving the safety of their programs and our unparalleled global experience makes us the leader in this field. Please contact us to discuss which services best meet your needs.

Basic Risk Management Audit
Like the audit systems employed by many different industries, the ASI Basic Audit provides a comparison of practices in your program with industry norms. America Outdoors, a 600 member outdoor adventure trade association, has adopted this process for their member companies. Based on an established accreditation model from the United Kingdom, the ASI risk management process begins with a detailed self-assessment survey. The survey benchmarks current risk management practices and identifies areas that may need upgrading. Completion of the survey is followed by a one day visit from an ASI staff member. The results of this confidential process allow a program to make changes proactively with ongoing advice from ASI experts.

The ASI Basic Audit process will help reduce the risk of an accident taking place. If an accident does occur, your college’s proactive attempt to address these issues can protect the school’s reputation and serve, if necessary, as part of a legal defense. Participating in this voluntary process will give your school’s management and board confidence that they have taken prudent steps to manage hazards that they may not be expert in.

Based on industry standards, ASI recommends that school outdoor programs undergo an audit once every three years. The Basic Risk Management Audit includes:

ASI self-assessment workbook
One day on-site review and consultation
Advice and support via phone and e-mail
ASI’s risk management resource CD

Comprehensive Review
The Comprehensive Review is an ideal step for any school that desires an in-depth look at risk management issues of its’ outdoor program. The Basic Risk Management audit is supplemented by field visits to see how the risk management systems work in practice. Based on the system used by Outward Bound schools this goes beyond the Basic Audit and is the gold standard of the outdoor education industry.

The Comprehensive Review yields a detailed, confidential report covering program strengths as well as areas for potential improvement. The report is a collaborative effort with your staff that involves field observations, interviews, and a review of documentation. ASI believes this provides invaluable information for management and we encourage programs to conduct at least one Comprehensive Review.

Annual Retainer System
Once colleges undergo an initial audit, we invite them to join our annual retainer system. A flat annual fee covers on-going support from ASI including the recommended risk management audit every third year. This system provides your school’s outdoor program with the support it needs to maintain top caliber risk management standards, and spreads the periodic audit fee out into an annual payment. Benefits of the annual retainer include:

On-going advice and support from ASI staff
Consistent affordable annual payments
Twenty-four hour a day access to advice and support in the event of a crisis
ASI’s Adventure Safety Newsletter with valuable advice and information
Regular e-mail updates with helpful tips and relevant news
ASI’s risk management resource CD with periodic updates
On-call accident investigators (additional fees apply)
Priority access to expert witnesses (additional fees apply)
Referral to legal and media relations experts

Other Services In addition to these services ASI offers emergency plan preparation, program design consultation, accident investigation, and risk management and leadership training programs. Please contact us to discuss how we can best serve your school.