Crisis Planning for Online Students: Lessons Learned from a Major Disruption
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v24i2.2135Keywords:
Crisis management, academic continuity, online students, qualitative research, case studyAbstract
While institutions have crisis management plans, they are often focused on face-to-face students and the physical campus. In this case study, researchers investigated the crisis response for online students at one institution after Hurricane Harvey hit the Houston, Texas, area in the fall of 2017. While face-to-face students were not severely impacted, more than a thousand online students were in the impact zone and in danger of dropping out. With financial resources and student retention at risk, campus leaders approved a strategy to delay online courses for several weeks. This study examines the experiences of the front-line staff who implemented the plan. Findings suggest that institutions need a proactive crisis plan for online students that includes understanding where this population resides, how different campus units can provide support in a crisis, who should lead the crisis response, and what kind of care can be offered to the front-line responders during the crisis period.References
Allen, E., & Seaman, J. (2017). Distance education enrollment report 2017. Digital Learning Compass. Retrieved from Online Learning Consortium https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/read/digital-learning-compass-distance-education-enrollment-report-2017
Bates, R. (2013). Institutional continuity and distance learning: A symbiotic relationship. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 16(4), 1-7.
Camille, J., Dennis, R., Jackson, M., & Kenney, C. (2008). Academic and student affairs issues post Hurricane Katrina. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 32(3), 235-250. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668920701875933
Catullo, L. A., Walker, D. A., & Floyd, D. L. (2009). The status of crisis management at NASPA member institutions. NASPA Journal, 46(2), 301-324.
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Day, T. (2015). Academic continuity: Staying true to teaching values and objectives in the face of course interruptions. Teaching and Learning Inquiry: The ISSOTL Journal, 3(1), 75-89.
Harper, K. S. Paterson, B., & Zdziarski, E. II (2006). Crisis management: Responding from the heart. Washington, DC: NASPA.
Harrington, R., Ramsey, L., & Varinsky, D. (2017, August 13). Texas, Louisiana begin long recovery from catastrophic flooding as the remnants of Hurricane Harvey move northeast. Business Insider. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/tropical-storm-harvey-hurricane-updates-map-texas-where-landfall-damage-2017-8
L'Orange, H. P. (2010). Impact of incidents on enrollments at higher education institutions. New Directions for Institutional Research, 2010(146). https://doi.org/10.1002/ir.346
Meyer, K. A., & Wilson, J. L. (2011). The role of online learning in the emergency plans of flag-ship institutions. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 4(1). Retrieved from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring141/meyer_wilson141.html
Miller, T. (2018). Crisis as a driver for innovation: The “7B” semester as a response to Hurricane Harvey. Retrieved from SHSU Online http://shsu-orsp.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=b24c0f6960b24b3ab112c8881151a2d9
Mitroff, I. I., & Anagnos, G. (2001). Managing crisis before they happen. AMACOM American Management Association. New York, NY: AMACOM Books.
Regehr, C., Nelson, S., & Hildyard, A. (2016). Academic continuity planning in higher education. Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning, 11(1), 73-84.
Rollo, J. M., & Zdziarski, E. L. (2007). The impact of Crisis. In E. L. Zdziarski, N. W. Dunkel, & J. M. Rollo (Eds.), Campus crisis management: Comprehensive guide to planning, prevention, response, and recovery. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
Saldaña, J. (2016). The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers (3rd Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Sam Houston State University. (2017). Harvey after action review. Retrieved from https://www.shsu.edu/katsafe/documents/Harvey%20After%20Action%20Review%20(FINAL).pdf
SchWeber, C. (2008). Determined to learn: Accessing education despite life-threatening disasters. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 12(1), 37-43. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v12i1.44
Shaw, M. D. (2017). Pathways to institutional equilibrium after a campus disaster. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 25(2), 103-113. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5973.12128
SHSU Institutional Effectiveness. (2018). Common data set 2017. Retrieved from https://www.shsu.edu/dept/institutional-effectiveness/publications.html
SHSU Online. (2018). Fall 2017 national overview. Retrieved from
https://www.shsu.edu/dl_www/maps/maps/2017fall/
The Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac. (2018, August 19). Colleges’ revenue and expenditures, by sector, FY 2016. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from https://www.chronicle.com
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. (2018). After action review report. Retrieved from https://www.tceq.texas.gov/assets/public/response/hurricanes/hurricane-harvey-after-action-review-report.pdf.
Treadwell, K. (2017). Learning from tragedy: Student affairs leadership following college campus disasters. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 54(1), 42-54. https://doi.org/10.1080/19496591.2016.1206019
Wang, J., & Hutchins, H. M. (2010). Crisis management in higher education: What have we learned from Virginia Tech? Advances in Developing Human Resources, 12(5), 552-572. https://doi.org/10.1177/1523422310394433
Zdziarski, E.L. (2006). Crisis in the context of higher education. In K.S. Harper, B. G. Paterson, & E. L. Zdziarski (Eds.), Crisis management: Responding from the heart (pp. 3-24).Washington, DC: NASPA.
Zdziarski, E. L., Dunkel, N. W., & Rollo, J. M. (2007). Campus crisis management: A comprehensive guide to planning, prevention, response, and recovery. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
As a condition of publication, the author agrees to apply the Creative Commons – Attribution International 4.0 (CC-BY) License to OLJ articles. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
This licence allows anyone to reproduce OLJ articles at no cost and without further permission as long as they attribute the author and the journal. This permission includes printing, sharing and other forms of distribution.
Author(s) hold copyright in their work, and retain publishing rights without restrictions
