How Colleges & Universities Can Reduce Vendor Security Risks | UpGuard

**Executive Summary:** This document is a comprehensive guide for colleges and universities on vendor risk management (VRM), describing vendor-related security risks, recommended best practices (vendor risk assessments, HECVAT, cybersecurity frameworks like NIST/ISO, vendor mapping, contractual security clauses, continuous monitoring, incident response, and maturity models), and technology solutions—particularly UpGuard’s VRM product suite—to automate assessments, scoring, monitoring, compliance, and vendor lifecycle management.