Communicating COVID-19: Analyzing Higher Education Institutional Responses in Canada, China, and the USA

Abstract

The study aims to examine how higher education institutions (HEIs) in three countries responded to the challenges of COVID-19 over a six-month period at the outbreak of the global pandemic. Employing document analysis, we examined 732 publicly available communications from 27 HEIs in Canada, China, and the USA. Through theoretical frameworks of crisis management and Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT), we explore how HEIs respond to the pandemic and protect campus stakeholders. The study revealed common patterns in communication strategies during different stages of the pandemic that include accepting responsibility, emotional reassurance, and compensating victims. It also revealed key differences across social contexts and environments and distinct leadership styles. Findings offer insight into how HEIs communicated at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic and inform the application of SCCT and crisis management theory to institutional behavior in the context of prolonged and intersecting disasters.

“We stand in solidarity with …”: An analysis of university public responses to anti-Asian hate.

“…Although there is a connection between the pandemic and the rise in anti-Asian hate (Yellow Horse & Chen, 2022), I aimed to analyze responses to anti-Asian hate regardless of how statements may or may not have connected to the pandemic. Because COVID-19 itself was not a catalyst for leaders to address anti-Asian hate (O’Shea et al, 2022), I did not include “COVID-19” as a part of my search terms. For each search, I examined the results for relevant statements issued by the university which were hosted by official university websites, stopping at saturation by extraneous results.…”

“…With competing critical incidents, university leadership had to balance responding to pandemic-related needs, the rise of anti-Asian hate, and ongoing anti-Black racism and police violence (Anand & Hsu, 2021; Coloma et al, 2021). Although there were nationally publicized incidents of violent attacks on Asian people in the United States, few universities responded publicly during the first year of the pandemic (O’Shea et al, 2022). Students, staff, and faculty at colleges and universities expressed their frustration, anger, and sadness at the lack of acknowledgment and support from university leaders (Pai, 2021).…”

“…Few studies have examined university responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding anti-Asian hate incidents. O’Shea et al (2022) examined higher education institutions’ communications at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic across three countries. While the analysis indicated a few U.S.-based institutions communicated “the occasional condemnation of incipient racism and xenophobia” (O’Shea et al, 2022, p. 641), institutions of higher education were primarily concerned with addressing the direct impacts of the pandemic (e.g., public health guidelines and financial support).…”

“…O’Shea et al (2022) examined higher education institutions’ communications at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic across three countries. While the analysis indicated a few U.S.-based institutions communicated “the occasional condemnation of incipient racism and xenophobia” (O’Shea et al, 2022, p. 641), institutions of higher education were primarily concerned with addressing the direct impacts of the pandemic (e.g., public health guidelines and financial support). In another study, Castro Samayoa et al (2023) used situational crisis communication theory to analyze communications from public universities in California to illuminate strategies utilized when addressing the pandemic and related racial inequity in higher education.…”

“…From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a well-documented rise in anti-Asian hate incidents (Yellow Horse et al, 2022). While many universities did not address the rise in hate incidents at the beginning of the pandemic (O’Shea et al, 2022), scholars have documented the experiences of Asian students, staff, and faculty during the pandemic (e.g., Akiba, 2020; Chia et al, 2023; Coloma et al, 2021; Hahm et al, 2021; Lee, 2021). The most high-profile incident of violence was the tragic mass shooting in March 2021 in Atlanta that killed eight people, six of whom were Asian women.…”