The S.E.W.S. Framework
The Safety, Education, Well-Being, and Speech (S.E.W.S) Framework is a free resource guide for colleges and universities to help them develop policies and procedures should crises occur on campus and how to protect the safety and dignity of students and their campus communities. This resource was created using empirical and data-driven theories and guided by best practices. Note: The S.E.W.S is meant to be a guide; it is not an exhaustive list. Your institution may need to adapt the Framework as it needs to fit your campus's culture and community needs.
Universities and colleges across the United States should begin to think proactively about ensuring safety and dignity, providing needed resources, and creating opportunities for constructive dialog for campus community members and guests surrounding community, social, and global threats or events that could be traumatic and polarizing such as elections, high profile deaths, extremist behaviors, controversial invited speakers, international and national conflicts, and human rights violations.
We provide a resource here to guide how universities or colleges can best support campus community members and their safety, education, and mental health. Policy suggestions should be adopted to fit with a college or university’s existing mission, policies, and resources. Using this resource as a guide for policies, practices, and training can minimize the risk of threat, harm, and misinformation on college campuses. This resource can aid in educating, creating dialogue, and strengthening your campus community.
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Safety
Safety is the #1 priority of any college campus. Universities should address the safety of their campus communities effectively, clearly, timely, and regularly. Universities and colleges should develop and clearly articulate safety policies and procedures with their campus community. This includes disseminating safety information to the campus community, clarifying and stating the role of campus safety personnel, and providing opportunities for safety training to campus community members.
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Education
Colleges and universities are places to establish opportunities for education and learning. Creating spaces where the campus community can educate, have constructive dialogue and debate, and discuss controversial and sensitive issues is vital to a campus community. This includes policies and procedures regarding guest speakers, addressing academic freedom, and viewpoint diversity.
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Well-Being
Following any event, students may be psychologically, physically, or emotionally impacted, and needs to be a priority. Colleges and universities should have policies, procedures, and guidance on how to aid and assist students' (and the campus community's) well-being. This includes where students can receive assistance, the key people involved in student well-being, and opportunities to support and grow a culture of belonging on campus.
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Speech
Students and the campus community have a right to free speech. However, colleges and universities need to be very clear on what constitutes free speech, what is academic freedom, and the limits of free speech. This includes developing clear policies and procedures on the university's free speech and academic freedom values, policy violations, due process, and trainings.
Download the S.E.W.S. Framework!
Click here to download the full S.E.W.S. Framework. We hope that you're able to incorporate the Framework into your campus community.
NOTE: By downloading this document, you are agreeing to two conditions:
(1) This is a living document. Policy guidelines may change and are suggestions. These are NOT hard policy guidelines and should be adapted to your respective institution.
(2) These guidelines were developed by the authors and do not reflect the policies or suggestions of DePaul University.
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