Outing Clubs: Risk Management and Leadership on Student Trips

In the wake of Penn State’s controversial decision to prohibit its student-led outing club from organizing outdoor trips, NOLS Risk Services Manager Katie Baum Mettenbrink weighs in on risk management on student excursions. She suggests that while student leaders are capable of successfully managing risk in the wilderness, they should complete leadership, risk management, and wilderness first aid training before heading out.

“While renowned for its wilderness travel courses, the National Outdoor Leadership School is also a risk consultant for schools and nonprofits. ‘We try to help other programs manage the risks of operating in remote places, on both the proactive and response end of things,’ says Katie Baum Mettenbrink, NOLS Risk Services manager…‘We have not seen anything to suggest that student leaders are incapable outdoor risk managers,’ Mettenbrink says, but she recommends leadership training” before students head into the field.

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