The Utah Board of Higher Education has recommended 25 changes to improve safety on Utah’s college campuses.

At their meeting Oct. 2, board members adopted the recommendations of a Campus Safety Task Force for safety before, during and after emergencies. They include behavioral intervention and threat assessment, standardized protocols for emergency responses and communication, and event planning.

The board also approved a $5 million funding request for the 2027 General Legislative Session for implementation.

“This is an opportunity for all of us to work together, share information in real time and implement best practices across our campuses to improve safety and security at Utah’s colleges and universities,” said Keith Squires, chief safety officer and the co-chair of the task force.

Listen to the presentation and review the recommendations:

Utah System of Higher Education Commissioner Geoff Landward said the changes will create a unified, system-wide approach, where all of Utah’s campuses use the same processes, trainings and language to prepare for and respond to emergencies. The plans include standard safety personnel ratios for events, formal mutual aid agreements, where police agencies assist each other in managing large events, shared cybersecurity infrastructure, and regular joint physical training and tabletop exercises.

“It is a report with recommendations, but it also is a report with actions,” said Geoff Landward, commissioner of higher education. “This is the kind of plan that can make a tremendous difference long-term.”

To see the full report visit ushe.edu/initiatives/campus-safety/.

The task force, established after Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s murder on the campus of Utah Valley University, met over the past year to review policies, practices and resource allocation at Utah’s eight public colleges and universities.

The task force relied heavily on national best practices and evidence-based approaches—including the “I Love U Guys” Foundation’s Standard Response Protocol (SRP) and the “Avoid, Deny, Defend” model for active threats from Texas State University—already implemented at the University of Utah.

Using those national best practices as a guide, task force members worked with USHE to develop implementation templates and resources that will align campus safety efforts statewide.

“We cannot guarantee absolute safety, but we can tell you we are doing everything possible, using national best practices, to make sure our campuses are safe,” Landward added.

Going forward, campus safety liaison officers will meet monthly to discuss collaborative threat assessment, including sharing information about SWAT-ing incidents impacting more than one institution. At the same time, Utah students will be required to complete a shared safety training.

“We all rely on each other for support, shared information and enhanced expertise,” Squires said. “This year of reviewing our policies and procedures and the recommendations that have resulted from that work will formalize and enhance those relationships.”

Presidents of the state’s colleges and universities are required to report back to the board on their institutions’ progress by June 2027.