Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP)
Jacksonville State University is committed to the safety and protection of its employees, students, operations, and facilities. In support of this commitment, the University has critical operations that must be performed, or rapidly and efficiently resumed in an emergency. The changing threat environment and recent events has raised awareness to the need for continuity of operations (COOP) capabilities that will enable us to continue the performance of essential functions across a broad spectrum of emergencies. By planning for operations under such conditions, we hope to mitigate the impact of the incident on our people, our facilities and our mission. The objectives of a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) are to minimize loss to the University, continue to serve faculty, staff, students, and visitors, and maintain administrative operations. The process encompasses maintaining and recovering the business, not just the recovery of technology. Continuity of Operations Planning is the process whereby a University ensures the maintenance of critical operations when confronted with adverse events such as:
- Natural disasters
- Technology failures
- Human errors
- Terrorism
Jacksonville State University has an obligation to protect and provide for students, faculty, staff, and visitors in the event of a major interruption of our mission or operation. These obligations extend to a responsibility for each Department to be able to meet its individual obligations. This includes the ability to provide the services expected of them and to carry out functions critical to the mission of the University should an event occur that interrupts the normal course of operations. Failure to have an adequate continuity plan could lead to financial disaster, interruptions of academic classes, failure of research projects, and delays in completing other mission critical activities.
The COOP is executed after health, life, and safety issues are addressed. The Emergency Operations Plan addresses health, life and safety issues. As a minimum, the COOP assumes the following have been restored:
- Police, Fire, and Ambulance services
- Electricity, water, reasonable climate control, and adequate lighting
- Access to and egress from campus, classrooms, and administrative facilities
- Safe handling and proper disposal of toxic substances, biologically hazardous materials, and radioactive materials
Building Mangers please click on the following link to complete a COOP template for every department in your building. The PDF document can be filled out and then saved by clicking on "File, Save As..." from within Adobe Acrobat . Please forward completed COOP plans to Elizabeth Morrow at emorrow@jsu.edu.
COOP Template PDF