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The tabletop exercise is a meeting to discuss a simulated emergency situation. Members of the campus emergency management team review and discuss the actions they would take in a particular emergency, testing their emergency operations plan in an informal, low-stress environment. Tabletop exercises are used to clarify roles and responsibilities and to identify additional campus mitigation and preparedness needs. They should result in actions plans for continued improvement of the campus emergency operations plan.

The scenarios below are provided to assist you in developing tabletop exercises for your campus. They provide basic data on specific emergencies and discussion questions regarding the developing emergency. The PowerPoint slides are set up so that you can customize them with local information and appropriate dates.

If you are new to development and implementation of tabletop exercises and would like additional help, please contact Dr. Robyn Ferguson at the Texas School Safety Center, Higher Education Safety & Security Initiative. Dr. Ferguson can help you plan and customize your exercise scenario. She is also available to facilitate your tabletop exercise. This service is provided free of charge to Texas colleges and universities. Dr. Ferguson is also available for presentations on preparedness issues in colleges and universities.

These scenarios have been compiled from a variety of sources. Special thanks go to Tim Green, Grayson County College DPS Director and Ron Willis, former chief of St. Edwards University PD, for their contributions.

• Exercise #1 - Tornados
• Exercise #2 - Shooter - Athletic Event
• Exercise #3 - Weather - Athletic Road Trip
• Exercise #4 - Bomb Threat - Explosion
• Table Top Resources & Links

Tabletop Exercise #1

Tornados

Tornado Exercise PowerPoint

Tabletop Exercise #2

Shooter - Athletic Event

Shooter - Athletic Event Exercise PowerPoint

Tabletop Exercise #3

Weather - Athletic Road Trip

Weather - Athletic Road Trip Exercise PowerPoint

Tabletop Exercise #4

Bomb Threat - Explosion

Bomb Threat - Explosion Exercise PowerPoint

Best Practices for Tabletop Exercises
http://www.recoverychronicles.com/MediaPR/eNewsletter/July2005/442/Article.asp?
ID=42&FromNews=true&ArticleID=442

Make Tabletop Exercises Realistic
http://www.officer.com/web/online/Leadership/Make-Tabletop-Exercises-Realistic/16$36405

Designing and conducting tabletop exercises.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/7/92

TTX Instructions for Planned Events and Unplanned Incidents/Emergencies
http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/tabletopexercpe/index.htm

Overview of Exercise Types
http://emd.wa.gov/about/documents/Business_Exercises_and_Drills.doc

Definitions
http://www1.cj.msu.edu/~outreach/safe_schools/home_grant/element3_def_exer_act.html

Tabletop Exercises: Cost Effective, Verifiable, Practical
http://scan.ujcfedweb.org/local_includes/downloads/23783.pdf

Terrific Tabletop Tips
http://www.cpaccarolinas.org/Terrific%20Table%20Top%20Tips.doc

TTX Facilitator's Guide
http://www.rcm.upr.edu/publichealth/Materiales%20CPSP/Facilitators_Guide_UPR.pdf

Best Practices For Tabletop Exercises
http://www.strohlsystems.com/Software/_files/IncidentManager/Tabletop.pdf

Three Sample Scenarios
http://www.csoonline.com/article/221132/Tabletop_Exercises_Three_Sample_Scenarios

Public Health Emergency
http://phpartners.org/pdf/osaki.pdf

Using Tabletop Exercises
http://www.nwcphp.org/docs/ht2005/20050426/osaki.ppt#269,14

Pandemic Scenario
http://provost.uiowa.edu/docs/misc/pan_tabletop.pdf