Academic continuity plans and strategic fit within Tennessee public universities

Focus of study: The focus of this study was the public universities within Tennessee, specifically the most senior academic officer of each public university, the two university systems, and the statewide regulator. These academic officers represented universities delivering primarily face-to-face instruction with some online course offerings. The scope of the work included consulting relevant literature, developing a model of disaster response for universities, interviewing senior academic officials, documenting these interviews, and analyzing the interview transcripts within a model of strategic fit between an identified potential strategy of academic continuity and the other factors within the control of a university.ACADEMIC CONTINUITY PLANS AND STRATEGIC FIT WITHIN TENNESSEE PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES By Michael B. Becraft Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland University College, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Management 2011 Advisory Committee: Dr. Claudine SchWeber, Chair Dr. Leslie Dinauer Dr. Irmak Renda-Tanali © Copyright by Michael B. Becraft 2011 i Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to those who would adapt during any disaster to protect the interests of others. ii Acknowledgments I would like to thank those who have assisted or encouraged me in the completion of this goal. Using the fewest possible words, I would like to recognize all involved in my formal as well as informal education, my significant other, extended family, close friends, professional colleagues, and the librarians willing to locate any resources I sought. Due to a fear of omitting points of inspiration or support, I will remind each of my gratitude as we meet again. iii Table of Contents Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... ix List of Acronyms ............................................................................................................................ x Chapter One: Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 Background of Tennessee Public Universities and Disasters ..................................................... 2 Management Problem and Purpose Statement ........................................................................... 3 Management problem. ............................................................................................................ 5 Purpose statement. .................................................................................................................. 5 Relevance to the Study of Management ..................................................................................... 5 Context of the Research .............................................................................................................. 6 Definition of terms. ................................................................................................................. 6 Body of literature. ................................................................................................................... 8 Focus and Scope of Work ........................................................................................................... 9 Chapter Two: Literature Review .................................................................................................. 10 Background of the Literature Review ....................................................................................... 10 Sequential Evolution of Academic Continuity ......................................................................... 11 Academic continuity before Hurricane Katrina. ................................................................... 11 Hurricane Katrina in 2005. ................................................................................................... 12 Academic continuity in 2006. ............................................................................................... 12 iv Academic continuity in 2007. ............................................................................................... 13 Academic continuity in 2008. ............................................................................................... 17 Academic continuity in 2009. ............................................................................................... 20 Academic continuity in 2010. ............................................................................................... 20 Academic continuity in 2011. ............................................................................................... 21 Past Example of Academic Discontinuity ................................................................................ 22 Human impact of disasters in higher education. ................................................................... 22 Financial impact of disasters in higher education. ................................................................ 24 Enrollment management and academic support issues. ........................................................ 27 Existing Areas of Research Supporting Academic Continuity ................................................. 28 Emergency Management .......................................................................................................... 30 Definition of emergency management. ................................................................................. 31 Focusing events of U.S. emergency management. ............................................................... 31 Policies and guidelines shaping U.S. emergency management. ........................................... 34 Professionalization and advancement of U.S. emergency management. .............................. 35 Universities and U.S. emergency management. ................................................................... 36 Crisis Management ................................................................................................................... 38 Definition of crisis management. .......................................................................................... 38 History of crisis management research. ................................................................................ 40 Theory of enactments and relevance to crisis management. ................................................. 43 Universities, research, and crisis management. .................................................................... 44 Business Continuity .................................................................................................................. 47 Definition of business continuity. ......................................................................................... 48 v History of business continuity. ............................................................................................. 48 Sequential developments in business continuity................................................................... 49 Business continuity among colleges and universities. .......................................................... 52 Connection of the Literature to Model of Strategic Fit ............................................................. 53 Revision of 7-S model of strategic fit. .................................................................................. 55 Previous use of the 7-S model of strategic fit. ...................................................................... 58 Selection of the 7-S model of strategic fit. ........................................................................... 58 Relationship between the literature and model of strategic fit. ............................................ 61 Chapter Three: Research Method ................................................................................................. 63 Research Question .................................................................................................................... 63 Research Method ...................................................................................................................... 63 Connection between Research Question and Method .............................................................. 64 Population ................................................................................................................................ 65 Description of population. .................................................................................................... 65 Recruitment of participants. .................................................................................................. 66 Interview Process ...................................................................................................................... 67 Development of interview skills. .......................................................................................... 67 Development of interview questions. ................................................................................... 68 Data Collection Procedures ....................................................................................................... 70 Pre-interview preparation process......................................................................................... 70 Interview process. ................................................................................................................. 71 Issues during interviews. ....................................................................................................... 73 Transcription of Interviews ....................................................................................................... 73 vi Data Analysis Procedures ......................................................................................................... 74 Content analysis. ................................................................................................................... 75 Raw data and coding. ............................................................................................................ 76 Coding the 7-S constructs. .................................................................................................... 77 Exclusions from 7-S constructs. ........................................................................................... 78 Analysis under 7-S framework. ............................................................................................ 79 Verification and Reporting ....................................................................................................... 80 Reporting of results. .............................................................................................................. 80 Identifying relevant passages within transcripts. .................................................................. 81 Chapter Four: Data Analysis, Findings, and Discussion .............................................................. 82 Results and Data Interpretation within 7-S Model of Strategic Fit .......................................... 82 Results for strategy construct. ............................................................................................... 85 Results for structure construct. ............................................................................................. 89 Results for systems and processes construct. ........................................................................ 91 Results for style construct. .................................................................................................... 93 Results for staff construct. .................................................................................................... 96 Results for resources construct. ............................................................................................ 98 Results for shared values construct. .................................................................................... 102 Findings in Relation to Strategic Fit ....................................................................................... 104 Strategy construct as the basis of strategic fit. .................................................................... 104 Structure construct and finding. .......................................................................................... 104 Systems and processes construct and finding. .................................................................... 105 Style construct and finding ................................................................................................. 105 vii Staff construct and finding .................................................................................................. 106 Resources construct and finding ......................................................................................... 106 Shared values construct and finding ................................................................................... 107 Summary of findings........................................................................................................... 107 Summary of Findings in Relation to Literature ...................................................................... 108 Chapter Five: Summary, Discussion, and Conclusions .............................................................. 112 Overview of the Study ............................................................................................................ 112 Summary and Discussion of Results....................................................................................... 114 Existing gap in the literature. .............................................................................................. 114 Discussion and interpretation within model of strategic fit. ............................................... 115 Conclusion and Research Question ........................................................................................ 118 Implications for Management Practice ................................................................................... 119 Limitations of the Study.......................................................................................................... 121 Recommendations for Future Study ....................................................................................... 123 References .................................................................................................................................. 126 Appendix A: Sample Hazards Relevant to Tennessee Universities ........................................... 140 Appendix B: Stakeholder Feedback............................................................................................ 141 Appendix C: Research Population .............................................................................................. 145 Appendix D: List of Basic Interview Questions ......................................................................... 146 Appendix E: Each of the 7-S Constructs and Associated Terms in the Lexicon ........................ 151 viii List of Tables Table 1: Percentage of Terms and Raw Counts related to 7-S Constructs by Respondent... 84 Table 2: Frequency Count of 7-S Constructs and Sub-constructs…………………..............86 ix List of Figures Figure 1: Model of disaster recovery for public universities, where effective emergency management, business continuity, and academic continuity allow for operations…...54 Figure 2: Rendering of strategic fit model of Higgins (2005) without connections……….....59 Figure 3: Percentage of terms related to construct of Strategy and Purposes by respondent...87 Figure 4: Percentage of terms related to construct of Structure by respondent……………....89 Figure 5: Percentage of terms related to construct of Systems and Processes by respondent..92 Figure 6: Percentage of terms related to construct of Style by respondent…………………..94 Figure 7: Percentage of terms related to construct of Staff by respondent………………… ..97 Figure 8: Percentage of terms related to construct of Resources by respondent…………......100 Figure 9: Percentage of terms related to construct of Shared Values by respondent………...103 Figure 10: Rendering of strategic fit model of Higgins (2005), demonstrating impediments to the development of academic continuity plans…………………………………………...108 x List of Acronyms COOP – Continuity of Operations DHS – United States Department of Homeland Security EMI – Emergency Management Institute EOP – Emergency Operations Plan FEMA – Federal Emergency Management Agency FERPA – Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 HSPD – Homeland Security Presidential Directive ICS – Incident Command System NFPA – National Fire Protection Association NIMS – National Incident Management System NOAA – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration RODP – Regents Online Degree Program SACS-COC – Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools TBR – Tennessee Board of Regents THEC – Tennessee Higher Education Commission UT – University of Tennessee System USGS – United States Geological Survey 1 Chapter One: Introduction Disasters have impacted, and may continue to impact, the ability of universities to deliver instruction. Without effective plans in place before a disaster overwhelms the response capability of local emergency management, the viability of a university could be threatened due to inaccessible, damaged, or destroyed resources that impact the ability to continue instruction. The ability of a university to continue offering instruction despite crises is termed academic continuity and defined as “the process of maintaining continuity of learning in a crisis situation caused by a natural disaster, human-induced (‘man-made’) disaster, or other precipitating factor” (Sloan Consortium, 2008). The threat posed by disasters is not merely theoretical because many universities are affected by disasters each year. In the State of Tennessee alone, four tornadoes have struck three different colleges and universities since 1999 (Carlson, 2008; “Chronicle of Higher Education,” 1999; McCarthy & Schaefer, 2007). In early 2007, the Wolf Creek Dam was categorized by the Army Corps of Engineers at high risk of technology failure (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2007), where Geographic Information System (GIS) models predicted extensive flooding of Nashville in the event of dam failure, engulfing many prominent landmarks, much of the industrial base, and major civic centers. If that dam failure occurred, Clarksville also would face widespread flooding further downriver from Nashville. In September 2007, the Center Hill Dam along the same river was deemed at high risk of failure with the potential for 500 lives lost (Paine, 2007). A record flood event occurred along this river after a 1,000+ year rainfall in May 2010 (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA], 2010), damaging communities but less extensive than a potential dam failure. 2 Background of Tennessee Public Universities and Disasters The public universities in Tennessee—the focus of this research—face hazards with the potential to cause disasters. Tennessee has two public systems of higher education, the Tennessee Board of Regents System (TBR) and the University of Tennessee System (UT), both reporting to the statewide regulator Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC). The Tennessee Board of Regents system was a 46 institution system with six universities, 13 community colleges, and 27 technology training centers. The University of Tennessee System had three universities, three institutes, and one health sciences center. The nine public universities (six from TBR and three from UT), the two system offices (TBR and UT), and the public regulator for the state (THEC) were the focus of the research. Disasters within Tennessee have affected colleges and universities as the result of many potential hazards. These hazards include those easily identified (e.g., earthquakes, fires, floods, tornadoes, technology failures, and chemical spills) and well as emerging (e.g., pandemic influenza and intentional human actions). Some of these hazards are quantifiable and have probabilities assigned to occurrence. For instance, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimated the probability at greater than 90% of a magnitude 6 to 7 or higher earthquake occurring along the New Madrid Fault in the next 50 years (2007). Potential technology failures such as those at the Center Hill and Wolf Creek Dams are also quantified as a risk over time by the Army Corps of Engineers. Three Tennessee colleges and universities (two public, one private) have been directly struck by four tornadoes since the beginning of 1999, a hazard that cannot be easily quantified in terms of probability of occurrence. Finally, there are unexpected hazards for which a probability cannot be assigned, including the inadvertent or intentional release of toxic chemicals making