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Business continuity plan in the higher education industry: university students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of academic continuity plans during covid-19 pandemic.

1. Introduction

2. literature review, 2.1. learning experience, 2.2. academic abilities, 2.3. technology, 3. methodology, 4. results and discussion, 4.1. construct i–academic continuity.

“ It’s going really well, much satisfied that Taylor’s was so smart, thoughtful, modern and cooperative that our course didn’t pause or stop for a while otherwise international students would be in a big trouble; Learning the tools will be really helpful for us in our workplace in coming future too; We got to be more connected to our lecturers with this; Response rate among students & lecturers was too high; Mock exams was really good experience; didn’t find any difficulty so far; In crisis like this, such measures need to be taken to keep the course and process going else our academics will remain shut for sometime and we might lose touch and interest from academics; Also with today’s digitalization, everyone working in today’s world need to be updated and be tech-savvy, this will not just help in self-improvement but also in running out businesses in new, creative and innovative approaches. ” (Student 1, 2020).

“ Generally excellent for keeping the learning momentum going leading to the final exams. ” (Student 2, 2020).

“ My learning was not stopped. The online tools are very useful. However, the basic things like the connectivity issue plays a major drawback at times. ” (Student 3, 2020).

“ The online learning allows us to continue our course during MCO without much hurdle. This is a good business continuity plan and kudos for being well prepared. This resulted a very minimal negative impact to all the students. However, my personal preference is still on-campus learning as more interaction and intellectual exchange can happen when people see each other physically. ” (Student 4, 2020).

4.2. Construct II–Learning Experiences

“ Learning experience was pretty good considering the circumstances and Miss XXX really took the time and effort to ensure all of us understand the topics. One of the best modules among the others taken this online semester as other module lecturers may not have spent this much effort on teaching. ” (Student 5, 2020).

“ It is a new experience for me learning thru online, and i gain alot of new knowledge thru online study. ” (Student 6, 2020).

“ Online learning is difficult but Dr XXX does everything she can to provide the best learning experience. Never have I been excited for a 6 pm class. She makes everything understandable and her efforts is undeniable. She gives research tips and personally, motivates me a lot. The best lecturer I’ve had in TU, as she makes economics actually interesting and makes us understand the humanity in economics. (If that doesnt make sense, you need to ATTEND her class, to ‘feel’ it). I still hate corona haha. ” (Student 7, 2020).

“ Online learning really required high self-control, with Microsoft teams, it was more organised than zoom in term of scheduling me up. However, MCO still demotivated me a lot. ” (Student 8, 2020).

“ The various online learning tools ensured classes still went on, and I personally was enlightened on how the different platforms can be used. However, I found it a bit difficult and unfair on my end- timewise, as I travelled back to my home country during the outbreak, and I am 6 h behind. So when conversations would occur on any of the online learning tools in the morning hours, say 9 am—I couldnt partake much as I would be sleeping, or I would have to wake up really early. Which I found a hassle. So basically, the time difference is what affected me the most. However, everything else like the course content was delivered effectively. ” (Student 9, 2020).

“ I still prefer face to face learning, online learning make feel tired easily, and not as efficient as learning through lecture. It is also advantage which there are no inteference from noisy friends. ” (Student 10).

“ Its more flexible for me as i can adjust my own timing. However, it is less effective when it comes to group discussions especially during our tutorials. Overall, its an interesting module with a good lecturer/tutor, i actually enjoy this class! Hehe. ”. (Student 11, 2020)

4.3. Construct III–Academic’s Abilities

“ Dr. XXX is literally the epitome of perfect. One of the best teachers ive had in my entire life. just that the assessment submissions are late in the semester so she doesnt have enough time to mark provide feedback for us to monitor progress. ” (Student 12, 2020).

“ As for this module, so far everything is very good and Dr XXX is very helpful in many aspects. 11/10 teaching style and method compared to other modules lecturer. ” (Student 13, 2020).

“ Motivational. The level of efforts are amazing- whiteboards at home, personally email students to give feedback (each one), repeat a lot of times if students dont understand, always gives real ideas and inspiring. Truly one of its kind- the best <3. ” (Student 14, 2020).

4.4. Construct IV–Attainment of Soft Skills or Graduate Capabilities

“ It enables collaboration between peer for assignment and presentation. Lectures are also being delivered smoothly despite some minor glitches due to internet connection and high traffic volume of users. ” (Student 15, 2020).

“ The knowledge we have learned is not only taught on the module, the teacher also continues to expand our thinking. ” (Student 16, 2020).

“ It is a good chance to adapt to new world problems. ” (Student 17, 2020).

“ During MCO, self discipline is most important because lecturer can’t really push your progress in online, so I really need to find ways to motivate myself and keep on track with every module I taken. Although online learning is far different than face to face class, but everyone have to deal with it and keep learning or else you will be left out. ” (Student 18, 2020).

“ Online learning really required high self-control, with Microsoft teams, it was more organised than zoom in term of scheduling me up. However, MCO still demotivated me a lot. ” (Student 19, 2020).

“ Online learning let me know the importance of self-discipline, it is very convenient but also many disadvantages. If I don’t study independently, I will miss a lot of knowledge. But the good thing is that we have more time to do our own things and also to do our studies. I think the pros and cons are about the same. ” (Student 20, 2020).

4.5. Construct V–Perceived Benefits of Technology

“ It is very convenient to study even just woke up from bed hahahaha. ” (Student 21, 2020).

“ Its more flexible for me as I can adjust my own timing. However, it is less effective when it comes to group discussions especially during our tutorials. Overall, its an interesting module with a good lecturer/tutor, I actually enjoy this class! Hehe. ” (Student 22, 2020).

“ It is easy and convenient, also it helps to learn from the recording video. ” (Student 23, 2020).

4.6. Construct VI–Drawbacks of Technology

“ The biggest problem on my e-learning using those APP was Wifi connecting problem. Once the connection is poor, I will lost some important points of those chapter. ” (Student 24, 2020).

“ It cause me to do a lot of self learning due to poor network. I often lost connection and it makes me harder to catch up the class. ” (Student 25, 2020).

5. Conclusions

Author contributions, conflicts of interest.

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Rasiah, R.; Kaur, H.; Guptan, V. Business Continuity Plan in the Higher Education Industry: University Students’ Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Academic Continuity Plans during Covid-19 Pandemic. Appl. Syst. Innov. 2020 , 3 , 51. https://doi.org/10.3390/asi3040051

Rasiah R, Kaur H, Guptan V. Business Continuity Plan in the Higher Education Industry: University Students’ Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Academic Continuity Plans during Covid-19 Pandemic. Applied System Innovation . 2020; 3(4):51. https://doi.org/10.3390/asi3040051

Rasiah, Ratneswary, Harpaljit Kaur, and Vinitha Guptan. 2020. "Business Continuity Plan in the Higher Education Industry: University Students’ Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Academic Continuity Plans during Covid-19 Pandemic" Applied System Innovation 3, no. 4: 51. https://doi.org/10.3390/asi3040051

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Evaluation of Business Continuity Management - A case study of disaster recovery during the Covid-19 pandemic

• Fredrik Tegström
• Filip Nilsson

Summary, in English

Department/s

• Engineering Logistics
• Department of Industrial Management and Logistics

Publishing year

• Available as PDF - 9 MB
• Download statistics

Document type

Student publication for Master's degree (two years)

• Business and Economics
• Business continuity
• Disaster recovery
• Continuity planning
• Andreas Norrman

Scientific presentation

• Popular Summary - Evaluation of Business Continuity Management

• Search Search Please fill out this field.
• Business Continuity Plan Basics
• Understanding BCPs
• Benefits of BCPs
• How to Create a BCP
• BCP & Impact Analysis
• BCP vs. Disaster Recovery Plan

Frequently Asked Questions

• Business Continuity Plan FAQs

The Bottom Line

What is a business continuity plan (bcp), and how does it work.

Investopedia / Ryan Oakley

What Is a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)? 

A business continuity plan (BCP) is a system of prevention and recovery from potential threats to a company. The plan ensures that personnel and assets are protected and are able to function quickly in the event of a disaster.

Key Takeaways

• Business continuity plans (BCPs) are prevention and recovery systems for potential threats, such as natural disasters or cyber-attacks.
• BCP is designed to protect personnel and assets and make sure they can function quickly when disaster strikes.
• BCPs should be tested to ensure there are no weaknesses, which can be identified and corrected.

Understanding Business Continuity Plans (BCPs)

BCP involves defining any and all risks that can affect the company's operations, making it an important part of the organization's risk management strategy. Risks may include natural disasters—fire, flood, or weather-related events, pandemics, acts of terrorism, or  cyber-attacks . Once the risks are identified, the plan should also include:

• Determining how those risks will affect operations
• Implementing safeguards and procedures to mitigate the risks
• Testing procedures to ensure they work
• Reviewing the process to make sure that it is up to date

BCPs are an important part of any business. Threats, disruptions, or halts to the business activity for any period of time, mean not only losses and higher costs but also difficulty to start back again, which leads to a drop in profitability, financial loss, and protential bankruptcy and liquidations. And businesses can't rely on insurance alone because it doesn't cover all the costs or the customers who move to the competition. It is generally conceived in advance and involves input from key stakeholders and personnel.

Business impact analysis, recovery, organization, and training are all steps corporations need to follow when creating a Business Continuity Plan.

Benefits of a Business Continuity Plan

Businesses are prone to a host of disasters that vary in degree from minor to catastrophic. Business continuity planning is typically meant to help a company continue operating in the event of major disasters such as fires. BCPs are different from a disaster recovery plan, which focuses on the recovery of a company's information technology system after a crisis.

Consider a finance company based in a major city. It may put a BCP in place by taking steps including backing up its computer and client files offsite. If something were to happen to the company's corporate office, its satellite offices would still have access to important information.

An important point to note is that BCP may not be as effective if a large portion of the population is affected, as in the case of a disease outbreak. Nonetheless, BCPs can improve risk management—preventing disruptions from spreading. They can also help mitigate downtime of networks or technology, saving the company money.

How To Create a Business Continuity Plan

There are several steps many companies must follow to develop a solid BCP. They include:

• Business Impact Analysis : Here, the business will identify functions and related resources that are time-sensitive. (More on this below.)
• Recovery : In this portion, the business must identify and implement steps to recover critical business functions.
• Organization : A continuity team must be created. This team will devise a plan to manage the disruption.
• Training : The continuity team must be trained and tested. Members of the team should also complete exercises that go over the plan and strategies.

Companies may also find it useful to come up with a checklist that includes key details such as emergency contact information, a list of resources the continuity team may need, where backup data and other required information are housed or stored, and other important personnel.

Along with testing the continuity team, the company should also test the BCP itself. It should be tested several times to ensure it can be applied to many different risk scenarios . This will help identify any weaknesses in the plan which can then be corrected.

In order for a business continuity plan to be successful, all employees—even those who aren't on the continuity team—must be aware of the plan.

Business Continuity Impact Analysis

An important part of developing a BCP is a business continuity impact analysis. It identifies the effects of disruption of business functions and processes. It also uses the information to make decisions about recovery priorities and strategies.

FEMA provides an operational and financial impact worksheet to help run a business continuity analysis. The worksheet should be completed by business function and process managers who are well acquainted with the business. These worksheets will summarize the following:

• The impacts—both financial and operational—that stem from the loss of individual business functions and process
• Identifying when the loss of a function or process would result in the identified business impacts

Completing the analysis can help companies identify and prioritize the processes that have the most impact on the business's financial and operational functions. The point at which they must be recovered is generally known as the “recovery time objective.”

Business Continuity Plan vs. Disaster Recovery Plan

BCPs and disaster recovery plans are similar in nature, the latter focuses on technology and information technology (IT) infrastructure. BCPs are more encompassing—focusing on the entire organization, such as customer service and supply chain. 

BCPs focus on reducing overall costs or losses, while disaster recovery plans look only at technology downtimes and related costs. Disaster recovery plans tend to involve only IT personnel—which create and manage the policy. However, BCPs tend to have more personnel trained on the potential processes. 

Why Is Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Important?

Businesses are prone to a host of disasters that vary in degree from minor to catastrophic and business continuity plans (BCPs) are an important part of any business. BCP is typically meant to help a company continue operating in the event of threats and disruptions. This could result in a loss of revenue and higher costs, which leads to a drop in profitability. And businesses can't rely on insurance alone because it doesn't cover all the costs and the customers who move to the competition.

What Should a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Include?

Business continuity plans involve identifying any and all risks that can affect the company's operations. The plan should also determine how those risks will affect operations and implement safeguards and procedures to mitigate the risks. There should also be testing procedures to ensure these safeguards and procedures work. Finally, there should be a review process to make sure that the plan is up to date.

Continuity and exit

Planning for succession is key to the success of an SME. Ensure your company's continuity and discover how the European Commission supports business transfers.

Transfer of businesses The European Commission supports transfers of business as they are as important as start-ups to the EU economy.

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