NJIT Earns Recertification in Active Threat, Emergency Response Preparedness

The ALICE Training Institute has recertified NJIT in active threat and emergency response efforts, with 82% of its full-time staff and faculty completing online training that’s designed to safeguard the campus community in the event of an active threat.

To achieve recertification, NJIT’s Department of Public Safety also conducted a drill simulating an active threat and updated the NJIT Emergency and Continuity of Operations Plan that met the institute’s standards, Deputy Chief Kevin Kesselman said. 

Public Safety went further, however, training groups of students in classroom sessions. In fact, such training is now mandatory for first-year students and also available for sophomores, juniors and seniors. Under COVID-19, however, the sessions have shifted online. 

NJIT is among just 900 colleges and universities in the U.S. that are certified by ALICE, an acronym that stands for alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate. Eight of Public Safety’s police officers took a weeklong course to become certified ALICE instructors — a certification that must be reestablished every two years, according to Kesselman. The university certification lasts one year.

Collectively, the efforts show that “we’re being proactive” and embracing the latest methods to safeguard the community, Kesselman said.

Online training remains available for faculty and staff via NJIT’s Canvas learning platform and is accessible here.