Survival lessons: Academic continuity, business continuity, and technology

Abstract

Business organizations have had to deal with disasters that challenge their ability to maintain or restore business due to disruption or threats to normal operations. Ensuring that “essential functions” and “mission-critical services” continue is critical to organizational survival. Academia has also been affected by similar disruptions, particularly in the past decade; however, there appears to be much less attention to continuity issues although educational closures can last from days to months impacting students, instructors, staff, and the community. Technological developments–such as text alerts, e-learning, and Skype–now offer opportunities for educators to apply lessons from business for academic continuity. Examples in higher education and the literature on organizational continuity provide the basis for the argument that education today necessitates attention to maintaining continual access to teaching and learning–academic continuity–and that much like business continuity processes, technological developments are integral to survival.