Although homeland security has captured the publics attention in recent years, higher education institutions have had to contend with emergency situations and security issues long before 9/11 occurred. Well known incidents such as the Unabomber attacks and decades of sporadic school shootings brought violence to college campuses long before the Department of Homeland Security was established. Despite these past security issues and the passage of the PATRIOT Act, very little research has been performed on homeland security issues and higher education institutions. This volume of New Directions for Institutional Research examines how federal regulations impact institutional research and higher education institutions. This volume also addresses key issues such as right-to-privacy regulations, criminal background checks, the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), information technology security, the use of geographic information systems as a research tool, hazardous materials (HAZMAT) management, and the impact of natural disasters and manmade threats on applications and enrollment.This is the 146th volume of New Directions for Institutional Research. Always timely and comprehensive, New Directions for Institutional Research provides planners and administrators in all types of academic institutions with guidelines in such areas as resource coordination, information analysis, program evaluation, and institutional management.
