Continuity of Operations Plans
BLINN COLLEGE ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS MANUAL
SUBJECT: Continuity of Operations Plans
EFFECTIVE DATE: November 4, 2014
BOARD POLICY REFERENCE: CGC
PURPOSE
An emergency or significant disruption of services can adversely affect the normal operations of the College District in many different ways. The Blinn College Continuity of Operations Plan (BCCOOP) will ensure vital functions of the College District continue in case of emergency or disruption of service (or the threat thereof). The design of the BCCOOP is such that each area, as defined below, will create and implement its plan independent of other areas. How classes will continue, how housing and food services will operate, how invoices are paid, how information will be disseminated, etc., will be handled by area Continuity of Operations Plans (COOPs). All area COOPs will be part of the BCCOOP.
Continuity of Operations Plans (COOPs) are intended to supplement, not replace, existing safety/emergency management practices and protocols of the College District. The plans are a first line resource tool for key departmental personnel and the Blinn Incident Management Team (IMT) and will be a part of the overall Blinn College Emergency Response Plan (ERP). If an emergency arises and the IMT has been activated, the COOPs will fall under the control of the IMT. Once the emergency is declared completed, and the College District is in recovery mode, the COOPs will take the leadership role until business operations have returned to normal.
This procedure outlines the steps required to operate the Blinn College District in the event of an unanticipated interruption of normal operations, as well as, should be used as a guideline when creating area Continuity of Operations Plans. The COOPs will only be used in situations when it is determined that the college district’s normal business practices have been interrupted to the point that alternate business practices will be required.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Each area of the Blinn College District will be responsible for the creation, maintenance and implementation of a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP). Areas are defined as individual locations, offices, divisions, departments, etc., who’s normal daily operations are separate from other areas. Areas could include, but are not limited to, various locations, offices, divisions and/or departments of: academic affairs, student services, administrative services, marketing & communications and information technology.
SCOPE OF AUTHORITY
The following have the authority to implement an area COOP:
- Chancellor
- Campus Director
- Executive Council Members
- Emergency Management/Safety Manager
- Incident Commander - Incident Management Team
- Deans, Department Heads, Supervisors, Area Leaders
PROCEDURE
Invoking the Plan:
An area COOP becomes effective when any significant disruption of college district operations occurs and remains in effect until operations are resumed at the original location or a replacement location and control is returned to the appropriate functional management.
Declaration:
In an emergency, the decision to implement an area COOP will usually be the responsibility of that area leader. Those listed above in Scope of Authority also have the authority to implement a COOP. Depending on the nature of the emergency, the IMT may be activated.
Notification:
If an area COOP has been invoked, the college district will be notified by appropriate measures. This can include mass email, departmental meeting, other internal communications or Blinn Alert. Depending on the location and nature of the emergency, this notification can be for individual campuses, locations, group of employees, departments, classes, students or any necessary combination thereof.
All notifications should be approved by the Blinn College Marketing & Communications Department before a notification is issued. All Vice Chancellors, Deans, Department Heads, Supervisors and Area Leaders will be responsible for contacting all employees, staff and students within their span of control as needed.
External Communications:
The Blinn College Marketing & Communications Department will be the designated primary contact with all external media (radio, television and print), all regulatory and governmental agencies and any other external organizations following a formal disaster declaration.
Maintenance of area COOPs
Ensuring that an area COOP reflects ongoing changes to resources is critical. These tasks include updating the area COOPs to reflect revisions, testing area COOPs and training personnel. Likewise, each area shall be responsible for annual review and update of their COOP.
Testing
Each area should have an annual drill or tabletop exercise to test their COOP for accuracy and implementation. Additionally, IMT drills may call for the implementation of an area’s COOP.
Chain of Command
Each area will determine their chain of command. Within each area’s COOP, each person and their contact number(s) should be listed. For planned absences such as vacation or prolonged days off, the next in command should be notified, as well as, those who will report to them.
Delegation of Authority
Each area will determine if there will be those who may have authority in their place. This action may be independent of chain of command and some actions may occur on a routine or non-emergency basis. Examples include, but are not limited to: authorization of purchases, posting of notices or admittance/removal from classes or housing.
NOTE: Chain of Command and Delegation of Authority are not the same thing. The next in line of chain of command only has the authority delegated to them at the time unless detailed otherwise. Delegated authority may occur on a daily basis even if all are present.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of an area COOP will be to outline the recommend plan of action for three phases of interruption:
- Emergent – Those incidents that may interrupt the area’s operation for one to fifteen (1-15) days
- Critical – Those incidents that may interrupt the area’s operations for fifteen to thirty (15-30) days
- Crisis – Those incidents that may interrupt the area’s operations for greater than thirty (30+) days
The intent of an area COOP is to provide a scalable plan of action that can easily be used to address incidents that occur with or without warning. There will be four basic divisions (with sub-divisions) that will require a plan:
- Instructional – those areas which are directly involved in providing classroom instruction
- Student services – those areas which provide services such as registration, housing, food services, etc.
- Administrative – those areas which provide business and administrative support such as purchasing, computer, human resources and other non-academic services
- Facilities – those areas which provide physical services such as maintenance, HVAC, construction, etc.
Each area that operates separate from another area within the divisions should have a COOP.
PROCEDURE CONTENTS
Each area will have different goals and functions. Therefore, there will be differences in the area COOPs. The amount of information and detail in each COOP will vary. However, each COOP should contain the following:
- Area/Division/Department/Location Name
- Objective Statement
- Record of Change
- Chain of Command
- Delegation of Authority
- Applicable Personnel Contact Information
- General Action(s)
A basic template for Academic and Non-Academic areas are provided below. Each area may edit the template as needed to meet their needs.
Plan Accessibility
Each area shall have a hard copy of their COOP accessible. Additionally, an electronic version of the area COOP shall be placed with other area or departmental documents and made available to all employees. As plans are updated or revised, all employees affected within the area will be made aware and the changes will be noted on the record of change for that COOP. The electronic copy of the COOP should be the most current and the official record. Upon revision and redistribution, all previous paper copies should be destroyed.
DEFINITIONS
Business Interruption: An unwanted incident that threatens personnel, buildings, operational procedures or the reputation of Blinn College which requires special measures to be taken to restore normal business operations back to normal.
Business Operations: Functions that enable the college district to provide service to its customers including, but not limited to: instructional, computing, resident and financial activities.
Chemical Event: Hazardous materials, leaks, spills, related explosions, etc.
Delegation of Authority: Those individuals within an area that have the authority to perform specified duties (in whole or part) in place of the usual authority.
Disaster: Any prolonged loss of utility services (power or water), connectivity (system sites) or catastrophic event (weather, natural disaster, vandalism, criminal activity, etc.) that causes an interruption in the service provided by the college district.
Emergencies: Emergencies can be broadly categorized into different types, each involving its own protocol and procedures in response. However, all involve major disruption to daily services and activities.
Epidemic/Pandemic: Situations involving mass illness such as, but not limited to: Influenza.
Human: Disruptive behavior, criminal acts and diseases.
Natural Event: Wind, hurricanes, tornados, fire, floods and other similar events.
Chain of Command: Those individuals within an area that have the authority to direct activities when the usual authority is not available.
Services: Power, phone, utility and computing services. Additionally, the Brenham campus would include housing and food services.
Structural: Building failures, leaks, damage, etc.
Templates
Templates for Academic and Non-Academic Continuity of Operations Plans are below
ACADEMIC CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS PLAN
Overview
The Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) is part of the Blinn College District’s overall emergency response plan. The COOP is not intended to replace the emergency response plan. Rather the COOP is designed to give guidance in the event of significant disruption to operations. Each area (location, office, division, department, etc.) can expect to have some type of disruption to their operations. These can be in the form of storms, fire, utility disruption, technical interruption, etc. Our goal is to keep our sections up and providing service to our customers (students and others). This plan is more about how we will deal with disruption to services, rather than hazard(s) that caused the disruption.
Below you will find a template that can be used for your academic area. It is important that your academic area completes the plan for your area, as well as, review and revision as needed. The template will have instructions and examples to help guide you in this effort. If you need help or have questions, contact the Emergency Management/Safety Manager.
Note: In case of campus wide or significant cases of hazards or disruption, the Incident Management Team (IMT) may be activated. In these cases, area plans will fall under the direction of the Incident Commander (IC) and the IMT.
General Instructions:
In some cases, items or sections of the plan may not be applicable to your area. Rather than deleting these areas, please indicate “Not Applicable”. The wording or phrasing of the plan may be changed to meet each area’s particular circumstance. In some cases, you may already have related information in another document. It is permissible to enter “see attached”, for those sections or information.
The plan is a living document. Therefore, as changes are made in personnel, information, etc., these must be kept up to date and records of change (see below) made.
The plan should be tested on a yearly basis and revisions made as necessary.
[enter area (location, office, division, department, etc.) name]
Campus: Date:
Objective:
The [enter your area name] is responsible for providing [enter your objectives(s)]. The normal hours of operation are (check all that apply): Day Evening Weekend.
☐ ☐ ☐
Purpose:
The purpose of this plan is to document how this area will operate in the event of abnormal interruption of services. This may include weather events, human related activities (such as fire, illness, etc.), or technical interruptions (such as information technology). The plan will cover three time periods: 1-15 days, 15-30 days, and 30 days or longer.
Implementation:
The plan shall be implemented whenever there is a change to normal operations that may or will have impact on daily operations. In the event of a college wide event where the Incident Management Team (IMT) has been activated, no action will be taken without the approval and direction of the Incident Commander (IC) or IMT representative.
Record of Change
| Change Number | Section or Page | Description | Date | By |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Courses:
The following courses are considered to be high priority or curriculum core courses which if interrupted could threaten the curriculum and student’s progress.
| Course Number | Course Name |
|---|---|
The following core courses can be taught at alternate locations on or off campus and at different times.
| Course Number | Course Name |
|---|---|
Dependencies:
The following internal (within Blinn College) departmental dependencies are critical for course delivery.
| Department Name | Department Contact | Contact Number | Email Address |
|---|---|---|---|
The following external (outside Blinn College) contacts or businesses are critical for course delivery.
| Company Name | Company Contact | Contact Number | Email Address |
|---|---|---|---|
Records Management:
Course Management:
All materials related to instruction are kept [Enter physical location. This can be an instructor’s office or central storage location]. All common electronic data is found at [Enter drive and any other key information]. Faculty may have physical materials located in their office and not at a central location. Likewise, they may have electronic material on dedicated computers or drives. Any backup of faculty controlled materials will be located at [Enter location].
Student Records
Records relating to student’s attendance, grades, performance or other course related information will be located at [Enter location].
Staff
The chart below outlines the chain of command and delegation of authority for the [Enter area].
Chain of Command
| Function | Name | Office and phone | Alternate phone 1 | Alternate Phone 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vice Chancellor | ||||
| Dean | ||||
| Assistant Dean | ||||
| Alternate 1 | ||||
| Alternate 2 |
Authority
| Function | Functions |
|---|---|
| Vice Chancellor | |
| Dean | |
| Assistant Dean | |
| Alternate 1 | |
| Alternate 2 |
Staff
| Name | Office and phone | Alternate phone 1 | Alternate Phone 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
Response
1-15 Days - [List any particular actions that will be taken]
15 - 30 Days - [List any particular actions that will be taken]
Greater than 30 days - [List any particular actions that will be taken]
NON-ACADEMIC CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS PLAN
Overview
The Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) is part of the Blinn College District’s overall emergency response plan. The COOP is not intended to replace the emergency response plan. Rather the COOP is designed to give guidance in the event of significant disruption to operations. Each area (location, office, division, department, etc.) can expect to have some type of disruption to their operations. These can be in the form of storms, fire, utility disruption, technical interruption, etc. Our goal is to keep our sections up and providing service to our customers (students and others). This plan is more about how we will deal with disruption to services, rather than hazard(s) that caused the disruption.
Below you will find a template that can be used for your non-academic area. It is important that your non-academic area completes the plan for your area, as well as, review and revision as needed. The template will have instructions and examples to help guide you in this effort. If you need help or have questions, contact the Emergency Management/Safety Manager.
Note: In case of campus wide or significant cases of hazards or disruption, the Incident Management Team (IMT) may be activated. In these cases, area plans will fall under the direction of the Incident Commander (IC) and the IMT.
General Instructions:
In some cases, items or sections of the plan may not be applicable to your area. Rather than deleting these areas, please indicate “Not Applicable”. The wording or phrasing of the plan may be changed to meet each area’s particular circumstance. In some cases, you may already have related information in another document. It is permissible to enter “see attached”, for those sections or information.
The plan is a living document. Therefore, as changes are made in personnel, information, etc., these must be kept up to date and records of change (see below) made.
The plan should be tested on a yearly basis and revisions made as necessary.
[enter area (location, office, division, department, etc.) name]
Campus: Date:
Objective:
The [enter your area name] is responsible for providing [enter your objectives(s)]. The normal hours of operation are (check all that apply): ☐ Day ☐ Evening ☐ Weekend.
Purpose:
The purpose of this plan is to document how this area will operate in the event of abnormal interruption of services. This may include weather events, human related activities (such as fire, illness, etc.), or technical interruptions (such as information technology). The plan will cover three time periods: 1-15 days, 15-30 days, and 30 days or longer.
Implementation:
The plan shall be implemented whenever there is a change to normal operations that may or will have impact on daily operations. In the event of a college wide event where the Incident Management Team (IMT) has been activated, no action will be taken without the approval and direction of the Incident Commander (IC) or IMT representative.
Record of Change
| Change Number | Section or Page | Description | Date | By |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Operations:
The following functions are considered to be high priority which if interrupted could threaten the function/goals of the area and potentially disrupt the Blinn College mission.
| Function | Action(s) |
|---|---|
The following core functions can be achieved at alternate locations on or off campus and at different times.
| Function | Action(s) | |
|---|---|---|
Dependencies:
The following internal (within Blinn College) departmental dependencies are critical for area mission delivery.
| Department Name | Department Contact | Contact Number | Email Address |
|---|---|---|---|
The following external (outside Blinn College) contacts or businesses are critical for area mission delivery.
| Company Name | Company Contact | Contact Number | Email Address |
|---|---|---|---|
Records Management:
Operations Management:
All materials related to the area are kept [Enter physical location]. This can be an office or central storage location]. All common electronic data is found at [Enter drive and any other key information]. Staff may have some physical materials located in their office and not at a central location. Likewise, they may have electronic material on dedicated computers or drives. Any backup of staff controlled materials will be located at [Enter location].
Operations Records
Records relating to staff duties, projects or other related information will be located at [Enter location]. All common electronic data is found at [Enter drive and any other key information]. Staff may have some physical materials located in their office and not at a central location. Likewise, they may have electronic material on dedicated computers or drives. Any backup of staff controlled materials will be located at [Enter location].
Staff
The chart below outlines the chain of command and delegation of authority for the [Enter area].
Chain of Command
| Function | Name | Office and phone | Alternate phone 1 | Alternate Phone 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vice Chancellor | ||||
| Director | ||||
| Supervisor | ||||
| Alternate 1 | ||||
| Alternate 2 |
Authority
| Function | Functions |
|---|---|
| Vice Chancellor | |
| Director | |
| Supervisor | |
| Alternate 1 | |
| Alternate 2 |
Staff
| Name | Office and phone | Alternate phone 1 | Alternate Phone 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
Response
1-15 Days - [List any particular actions that will be taken]
15 - 30 Days - [List any particular actions that will be taken]
Greater than 30 days - [List any particular actions that will be taken]