Business Continuity Plans Keep Distance Education Up and Running

Madison, Wis.—June 3, 2008 — Business continuity plans are becoming more common in higher education, and they are especially critical for distance education units, which are vulnerable to technological as well as physical emergencies.

A survey of participants during a recent online seminar about the subject drove this point home. Seventy-five percent said that if staff members found their distance education offices closed as a result of a crisis, the staff members would not know where to go. And 80 percent also said they do not have a process should something happen to important people.

To meet this need, the online seminar Business Continuity Planning for Distance Education walked participants through the steps of creating a plan.

“Business continuity plans (BCPs) are different from emergency response plans,” said seminar leader John Orlando, Instructional Resource Manager at the Norwich University School of Graduate Studies. “Emergency plans are there to prevent loss of life and limb," he said. "BCPs, on the other hand, are to help a unit get back to operations as soon as possible after a crisis. These crises can include not only natural disasters but power loss, Internet connectivity loss, and data systems failure.”

This online seminar also reviewed risk mitigation strategies, including information security and staff communication policies.

If you missed the live event, you can order the program in CD or print transcript format, both of which include the presenter's handouts.

Magna Publications is a leading publisher of newsletters and other information products in the higher education segment. Magna also manages onsite and online conferences on topics of interest to higher education.

For more information please contact David Burns, Publisher, Magna Publications, Inc., at 608-227-8109, or dburns@magnapubs.com.