Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)
University-wide risk management is an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) process designed to identify potential events and manage risks across the campus of West Texas A&M University. Enterprise Risk Management moves the traditional risk management process from a fragmented and ad hoc approach to an integrated, continuous, and broadly focused approach. Managing risks requires identifying the risks and exercising prudent judgment to eliminate, limit, shift, or accept them.
Risk can be defined as any issue or event that adversely impacts West Texas A&M University’s ability to meet its objectives. Risks can affect the entire university and include: strategic (affecting the achievement of goals, competitive and market risks, etc.); financial (loss of resources or other assets); operational (management processes, administrative procedures, controls, etc.); compliance (laws and regulations, safety and environmental issues, litigation, conflicts of interest, etc.); reputational (varied constituencies, political issues, media relations, etc.); and technology (computing infrastructure, applications, security, etc.).
Enterprise Risk Management is just good planning. Implementing ERM creates a consistent and systematic approach to managing risks, while critically reviewing activities, assessing new ideas, and seizing opportunities. ERM improves communication and allows for the effective management and coordination of the mitigating activities used to manage risks.
Once identified, risks are ranked while considering both the impact and consequence of the risk and the likelihood or probability that the risk could occur using a 3-tiered high, medium, and low ranking method. The final step is to identify mitigating activities, monitoring activities, and the process to report. Each department retains ownership for managing their specific risks.
West Texas A&M University’s Enterprise Risk Management Plan
Identified risk items are presented to the campus Vice Presidents for addition to the WTAMU Risk Matrix. The Vice Presidents review and approve risk items and monitoring activities to be included or removed from the risk matrix. The Risk Management Office can then forward a final report to the University President for approval.
The main objective is to raise awareness of the risks that can affect West Texas A&M University's mission and to address those risks in day-to-day operations.
Long-term risk assessment planning will include training and the development of tools for the University community to perform risk assessments and updates.
Training
The following course is available on Train-Traq:
#2111602 : Enterprise Risk Management - WTAMU
This Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) course is designed to introduce the concepts of enterprise risk management and to review the ERM process at West Texas A&M University.