More on the Topic: Colleges and universities across the Gulf Coast region are reeling from Hurricane Katrina. In New Orleans the magnitude of the task ahead is unprecedented. For Tulane University, the third-largest employer in Louisiana, evacuating New Orleans was only the beginning. Then the university -- as it continued to try to locate faculty and staff members and students -- had to establish a communication system and begin to sort out numerous issues, among them how to handle tuition and credits, find temporary housing and office space, maintain health insurance and meet payroll, organize hundreds of offers of help, restore the campus to working order, and document losses to insurers.

Tulane's president, Scott S. Cowen, is working with a staff of a few dozen in Houston. What kind of crisis plan did Tulane have in place? Was it at all helpful in the face of such a catastrophe? What were the first steps -- and missteps -- the university took? What can other colleges and universities learn from Tulane's experience so far? And how can they help?

For more context read The Chronicle's behind-the-scenes reporting on Tulane's deliberation in the aftermath of Hurrican Katrina. http://chronicle.com/free/v52/i04/04a01801.htm