Facilitator Model of Risk Management
The Division of Student Affairs at Texas A&M University values the relationship with students engaged in co-curricular activities and as such has adopted a philosophical approach to partnering with individual students and student organizations as facilitators of the involvement experience. To this end the resources, guidelines, and concepts presented in this manual are based upon the facilitator university approach. As facilitators, student organization members, leaders, and advisors work with administrators, faculty and staff to make intelligent, fair and reasonable choices within the boundaries established by state, federal, and local laws, university rules, and the educational mission of the institution. A facilitator college balances rights and responsibilities- it is neither extremely authoritarian nor overly solicitous of student freedom. Importantly, a facilitator college seeks shared responsibility rather than allocating it unilaterally or not at all. Facilitation implies an appropriate and reasonable degree of risk.The goal of the university is to advise student organizations of the potential and perceived risks involved in their activities. Universities should also strive to facilitate the coordination of organization events and help student leaders take corrective actions and proactive steps to minimize accidental injury and/or loss. A facilitator institution seeks to balance the rights and responsibilities of students and the university.
--adopted from The Rights and Responsibilities of the Modern University: Who Assumes the Risks of College Life? Robert D. Bickel & Peter F. Lake '99
