Business Continuity

In the wake of recent natural disasters, threats of terrorism, and pandemic scares, the Office of Risk Management is re-evaluating current business continuity and disaster preparedness efforts.

The purpose of continuity planning is to ensure that if a significant event should occur, the University will be prepared to continue the academic mission with minimal disruption.

In January 2006, Risk Management distributed a Business Continuity Questionnaire to deans and vice presidents of schools and departments.  It was designed to help identify the impact to the University in the event of a facilities disaster or an extended network outage.

We are pleased to report that we have collected over 98% of our questionnaires. We believe that this will serve as a useful representation upon which to base our business continuity efforts for the University.

Next Steps

Risk Management is currently analyzing this information in order to develop an infrastructure plan that will address various areas of the University including student activities, academic and research continuity, business services, etc.

The continuity plan will focus on developing several contingency strategies including updating our disaster recovery plan for enterprise systems, designating alternative facilities both on and off campus, negotiating mutual aid agreements with other institutions, revising academic calendars, and selecting distance learning systems.

We will continue to update you regarding our business continuity efforts.

Thank you to those who responded to our questionnaire.