Business continuity planning (BCP) is the capacity to maintain functional operations during or shortly following disruptive events, or the capability to quickly resume educational processes, business functions and research activities after such an event.

The purpose of Business Continuity Planning at the University of Hartford is to minimize the impacts of a crisis event.   Business Continuity Planning emphasizes:

• Protection of life, health, and safety of all University community members and visitors

• Restoration of general campus operations

• Continued performance of essential departmental functions under all circumstances

• Survivability of critical equipment, records and other assets

Department heads are responsible for ensuring that their units have Business Continuity Plans in place, and that all persons—including faculty, staff, and students—are familiar with the plan. Departmental BCPs supplement the University of Hartford Emergency Operations Plan.

The University of Hartford Business Continuity Planning Committee has developed worksheets to be utilized by departments when developing their BCPs.  Furthermore, these worksheets shall be completed, reviewed, updated and forwarded to the Business Continuity Planning Committee no later than July 1st annually. 

B. Leadership Order of Succession

Orders of Succession provide for the orderly and predefined assumption of leadership in the event that a person in a leadership role is unavailable or unable to fulfill essential duties. 

List the people who can make operational decisions if the head of your department or unit is absent. 

C. Personnel Contact Information

List all personnel assigned to your department.   Provide home, office and cellular phone numbers for each. 

Identify any special skills, training and/or certifications, (whether or not such is job related) held by your personnel.   Include any skills/training/certification that may be employed during emergency situations, e.g. Firefighter, EMT, RN, Licensed Trades, multilingual, CDL…

 

D. Essential Functions and Recovery

Essential Functions (EFs) are those functions that must be performed or completed by your department, even during emergencies. 

Recovery Times  (RTs) are those time frames within which functions, activities and/or services must be restored after a disaster (or disruption) in order to avoid unacceptable consequences.

Essential Functions are classified based on the functions level of importance and recovery time:

• High:  Highly critical functions that must be continued at normal or increased service. Functions cannot be paused due to life, health, safety or security concerns.
  • Recovered in the first eight hours
• Medium: While not highly critical, are nonetheless very important to the organization and somewhat flexible.
  • Recovered in eight to twenty-four hour
• Low: Those functions/activities/services that can usually be deferred without compromising the integrity of the organization as a result
  • Recovered in 30 days or less.  

 

Identify your department’s essential functions, level of importance with recovery time and the person(s) responsible for them and alternate person(s)

 

E. Vital Records

“Vital records” refers to information systems and applications, electronic and hard copy documents, references, and records, to include classified or sensitive data, needed to support MEFs during a continuity event.

It is important to identify and protect those files, records, and databases that are imperative for departmental operations. Some records are needed to make and receive payments, protect legal and financial rights, and maintain confidential information.

Full and incremental backups preserve informational assets and should be performed on a regular basis for files that are irreplaceable, have a high replacement cost, or are considered critical. Backup media should be stored in a secure, geographically separate location from the original and isolated from environmental hazards.

 

 

 

F. Dependencies

Identify the products and services upon which your department depends on and the internal (within the University of Hartford community) and external departments/organizations that provide them. When determining the internal and external dependencies of your department, consider the following access requirements and check the mechanisms appropriate for your departmental continuity of operations:

IE; Equipment & Supplies , Phones, Two-Way Radios, Mobile Phones,  Pagers, Fax Lines, Data Lines, E-mail,  Internet Access,  Other (describe)

G. Primary Work Space/Facility

Describe your department’s primary operating facility.  Provide building, floor, room number.

Identify your department’s Information Technology Requirements needed to perform EFs.  Include any of the following items, as applicable:

 

PC Desktop, PC Laptop, Mac, MacBook, Printer, Copier, Scanner, Fax, Telephone, Cellphone, Radio, ETC..

Identify any special security requirements for your department. For example, does your department possess items of intrinsic value, monetary value, or cash?  Also identify the measures have been taken to ensure the security of these items, e.g. safe, alarm system, vault…

Identify items possessed by your department that may pose a safety risk if not properly handled, e.g. chemicals, weapons, firearms… Also identify the measures have been taken to ensure the security of these items, e.g. safe, alarm system, vault, etc.

H. Continuity Facility

In the event of an emergency, your department may not be able to access or utilize its primary facility.  All departments should identify an alternate location from which they can carry out departmental functions, services and activities. 

Alternate facilities should provide sufficient space and infrastructure to support your department’s EFs. 

In some cases a virtual office may be employed, allowing employees to work from home or other location.

Identify your department’s alternate location.  Include specific address, building, floor, room number.

I. Single Points of Failure

 

A single point of failure (SPOF) is a critical person or part of a system that if no longer exists will stop an entire operation. Departments can reduce this risk by ensuring personnel are cross trained, files are backed up, and contingency plans are in place.

  Examples

• An essential function that is conducted daily by an employee with specialized training
• Loss of data center or other information technology (IT) environment
• Specialty equipment

Departments can reduce SPOFs by ensuring personnel are cross trained, files are backed up, and contingency plans are in place.

Identify your department’s SPOFs, the Mission Essential Function(s) that would be affected in the event of a failure, and the person(s) responsible for the action/item identified as SPOF. 

J. BCP Training, Testing and Exercising

The testing, training, and exercising of continuity capabilities is essential to demonstrating, assessing, and improving the [Organization Name]’s ability to execute the continuity program, plans, and procedures.

• Training familiarizes continuity personnel with their roles and responsibilities in support of the performance of an organization’s essential functions during a continuity event.

• Tests and exercises serve to assess, validate, or identify for subsequent correction, all components of continuity plans, policies, procedures, systems, and facilities used in response to a continuity event. Periodic testing also ensures that equipment and procedures are kept in a constant state of readiness.

Departments should regularly assess all aspects of their BCP to ensure it is viable and that all personnel are familiar with the plan.  At a minimum, departments should ass the following BCP components at the specified intervals:

Thank you for completing this form, please read back over your responses and when satisfied click the submit button below.