Educational contingency planning is the process of developing in advance what will be done if there is an event that impacts the school or training organization. Contingency planning for distance education is a subset of general contingency planning.
A recent issue of our sibling publication, the Quarterly Review of Distance Education (Volume 21, Issue 3, 2021) contained a dozen essays from domestic and international authors that examined how their organizations handled the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Editor, Distance Learning, Professor, Instructional Technology and Distance Education, Fischler College of Education, Nova Southeastern University, 3301 College Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314. Telephone: (954) 262-8563.
Editor, Distance Learning, Professor, Instructional Technology and Distance Education, Fischler College of Education, Nova Southeastern University, 3301 College Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314. Telephone: (954) 262-8563.
One revealing observation was reported by most essayists—organizations were NOT ready for the impact that the pandemic was to have, and none of those reported that a contingency plan had been in place prior to the onset of the pandemic. Certainly, schools, colleges, and training organizations developed plans, but there were no plans in place, IN ADVANCE.
Distance education contingency plans occur at three levels:
organizational level;
programmatic level; and
individual level.
Organizations such as school districts, colleges, universities, and training organizations are responsible for plans and policies that have impact on most, if not all, within the organization. Universities decide whether to close, move to remote teaching, or to return to the classroom.
Programs involved in distance education teach, learn, support, and manage distance learning activities. Teaching support offices, instructional design teams, and information technology call centers have the mission to assist those directly involved in distance education activities.
Last, individuals involved in teaching distant learners should have personal contingency plans. For example, distance educators will want plan for alternative ways to stay in contact with students. Individuals need back-up materials, duplicate sets of resources, and ways to revert to older technologies.
There are many resources for how to develop contingency plans and most include these steps:
Identify the need for a contingency plan, and create a team to develop, maintain, and modify the plan.
Analyze the possibility of events that might have a major impact on the organization, program, or individual and determine the likelihood of these events.
Develop plans that deal with each significant event. Plans can be as detailed as step-by-step procedures manuals, or as general as emergency communications systems to bring together decisionmakers for emergency planning.
Examples of possible scenarios that may require contingency planning include these “what its”:
What if:
the organization must close immediately;
critical systems cease working or become unreliable;
key individuals become unavailable for extended periods;
there is a sudden surge in students needing to learn at a distance;
a widely used tool becomes immediately unavailable and must be replaced;
a new remote program must be managed; and
an instructor becomes unavailable for a long period of time.
Scenario identification is a brain-storming activity that is an important way to develop contingency plans.
And finally, as Walt Whitman said about the impact of contingencies, “O to be selfbalanced for contingencies, to confront night, storms, hunger, ridicule, accidents, rebuffs, as the trees and animals do.”
