Documents Contributed by ECAR, Business Continuity Planning, and Incident Handling and Response

This ECAR research bulletin suggests a framework to provide resiliency in higher education by placing such considerations up front in the evaluation, selection, and design of information technology (IT) services and building them into the business practices of the institution. Resiliency is the product of technology, people, and processes that minimize the impact of an event and make transparent that which would otherwise adversely disrupt the normal operation of services for students, faculty, or staff.

In August 2006, EDUCAUSE brought together a group of thought leaders from higher education and the private sector to explore and share effective strategies and behaviors on the important topic of business continuity in higher education. One of these leaders is Catherine Lewis, the information technology administrator who led New Orleans–based Xavier University through the August 2005 disaster of Hurricane Katrina and helped restore academic continuity for the institution. Lewis shares her perspective and insights in the form of this research bulletin.

This study looks at IT unit readiness to foster and support the functioning of colleges and universities that are challenged by disruption. Responding to a well-documented increase of interest in business continuity and disaster recovery issues among higher education CIOs, ECAR designed the study to inform executives about how institutions approach continuity issues and to identify practices that are associated with good BC outcomes. The study methodology included a literature review; consultation with a select group of CIOs and BC experts for the purpose of identifying and validating research questions; a quantitative survey of IT administrators (mostly CIOs) at 340 higher education institutions; post-survey interviews with 15 executives and IT staff members involved in BC; a quantitative survey of institutional business officers (mostly CBOs/CFOs) at 247 member institutions of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO); and four case studies looking at BC planning and operations Florida State University, New York University, Pace University, UC–Davis, and UCLA.

This document presents the key findings of the 2007 ECAR study, Shelter from the Storm: IT and Business Continuity in Higher Education. The study looks at IT unit readiness to foster and support the functioning of colleges and universities that are challenged by disruption. Responding to a well-documented increase of interest in business continuity and disaster recovery issues among higher education chief information officers (CIOs), ECAR designed the study to inform executives about how institutions approach continuity issues and to identify practices that are associated with good business continuity outcomes.

This roadmap synthesizes the important issues and recommended actions drawn from the 2007 ECAR study, Shelter from the Storm: IT and Business Continuity in Higher Education. The study looks at IT unit readiness to foster and support the functioning of colleges and universities that are challenged by disruption. Responding to a well-documented increase of interest in business continuity and disaster recovery issues among higher education chief information officers (CIOs), ECAR designed the study to inform executives about how institutions approach continuity issues and to identify practices that are associated with good business continuity outcomes.

This case study examines ways in which the Virginia Alliance for Secure Computing and Networking (VA SCAN) provides a blueprint for higher education institutions interested in collaboratively providing openly accessible IT security resources. VA SCAN is a partnership among five Virginia state higher education institutions and three IT security research programs that provide a repository of IT security tools, training, and consultative services to Virginia higher education institutions. All of the resources are available for free or on a cost-recovery basis. The case study was undertaken as part of ECAR's 2006 study of information technology security practices in higher education, which included a literature review, quantitative and qualitative date from 492 higher education institutions in the U.S. and Canada, input from IT security leaders and specialists, and three case studies.

This September-October 2006 survey, administered to chief business officers and chief financial officers affiliated with the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), seeks to understand higher education's plans, infrastructure, experience, and capability in the area of business continuity. The results of the survey will be reported as part of the EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research 2007 study of information technology readiness for business continuity in higher education.

This May 2006 survey seeks to understand higher education's plans, infrastructure, experience, and capability in the area of information technology support for business continuity.