Business continuity management in UK higher education: a case study of crisis communication in the era of social media

Abstract

This study explores crisis communications in UK Higher Education Institutions (HEI's) between the institution and its students. Using a case study of British universities, data is presented from interviews with university business continuity managers and student focus groups. The paper provides insights into current Business Continuity Management (BCM) practice in the higher education sector, business continuity managers' attitudes to social media as a communication tool during the incident response phase, and students' declared communication preferences.Keywords: business continuity management, communications, stakeholders, social media, higher education, university 4The marketization of British higher education is driving universities to become increasingly akin to the private sector in their outlook and activities (Brown, 2011, Shattock, 2010. In effect, whilst HEIs are public institutions, they are subject to both private and public sector imperatives and influences reflecting government moves towards a free market in higher education (Higher Education Funding Council for England, 2005). The landscape of British higher education is also subject to further change, not least due to the introduction of higher undergraduate student fees effective from the 2012 academic year (Department for Business, 2011, Browne, 2010 British higher education, is institutional brand and reputation a critical weapon in attracting students (Maringe and Gibbs, 2008, Chapelo, 2011, Chapleo, 5 2010. Furthermore, a consequence of this process are elevated expectations on the part of universities' primary consumers (students) and, increasingly, their 'co-consumers' (parents) (Williams, 2011). Although the reputation and brand of UK higher education continues to draw students from across the world, as a result of these multifarious influences, maintaining and enhancing the quality of the student university experience gains ever greater significance. Threats to this, in the form of disruptions to the student learning experience or devaluing of the institutional brand that the student has 'bought into' must be minimized for the success and longer-term sustainability of any British HEI. Ensuring the robustness of the institution to potential threats and disruption is therefore vital, and business continuity provides a strategy for ensuring organizational resilience. However, many argue that despite evidence to show that universities can be subject to threats and disruptions just as in any other sector, they remain ill-prepared (Mitroff, 2011, Kiernan, 2005, Beggan, 2011. In recent times, many British universities have found themselves having to deal with widespread disruption due to snow. Others have faced a range of incidents which have threatened their standing internationally (for example, the fatal off campus shooting of one of the University of Lancaster's international students in an apparently racially motivated attack) and one university was obliged to restructure as result of a student visa scam (University of Wales)...

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