Risk Management Strategies During COVID-19 in Higher Education: A Case Study

Authors

  • Areesha Siddiq School of Management Sciences Quaid-I-Azam University Islamabad, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.99.13103

Keywords:

COVID-19; Risk Management Strategies, Higher Education Institutions, Institutional Measures.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted Pakistan’s educational sector and has induced higher education institutions (HEIs) to adopt risk management strategies to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This study analyzes the risk management strategies employed by Pakistani higher education during COVID-19. The study employed semi-structured interviews, and the qualitative data was collected with objective findings and subjective interviews from 20 respondents working in different academic and administrative positions. This study identifies the challenges the HEIs face to maintain quality education while implementing control measures to maintain health and safety, cope with the shift to online learning, and continuously monitor mitigating measures on campus. In addition, the study provides recommendations based on the challenges perceived by the higher education institutions to implement better risk management strategies, including research-based education, staff training and sensitization, and strict control measures. Lastly, the study provides future directions that suggest analyzing the risk management processes followed by different HEIs around the globe.

References

Aiyegbusi, O. L., Hughes, S. E., Turner, G., Rivera, S. C., McMullan, C., Chandan, J. S., Haroon, S., Price, G., Davies, E. H., Nirantharakumar, K., Sapey, E., & Calvert, M. J. (2021). Symptoms, complications and management of long COVID: a review. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 114(9). https://doi.org/10.1177/01410768211032850

Almaghaslah, D., & Alsayari, A. (2020).

The Effects of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak on Academic Staff Members: A Case Study of a Pharmacy School in Saudi Arabia

. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, Volume 13. https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S260918

Araújo, F. J. de O., de Lima, L. S. A., Cidade, P. I. M., Nobre, C. B., & Neto, M. L. R. (2020a). Impact Of Sars-Cov-2 And Its Reverberation In Global Higher Education And Mental Health. Psychiatry Research, 288, 112977.

Araújo, F. J. de O., de Lima, L. S. A., Cidade, P. I. M., Nobre, C. B., & Neto, M. L. R. (2020b). Impact Of Sars-Cov-2 And Its Reverberation In Global Higher Education And Mental Health. Psychiatry Research, 288, 112977.

Aristovnik, A., Keržič, D., Ravšelj, D., Tomaževič, N., & Umek, L. (2020). Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Life of Higher Education Students: A Global Perspective. Sustainability, 12(20), 8438. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208438

Auger, K. A., Shah, S. S., Richardson, T., Hartley, D., Hall, M., Warniment, A., Timmons, K., Bosse, D., Ferris, S. A., Brady, P. W., Schondelmeyer, A. C., & Thomson, J. E. (2020). Association Between Statewide School Closure and COVID-19 Incidence and Mortality in the US. JAMA, 324(9), 859. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.14348

Bao, W. (2020). COVID -19 and online teaching in higher education: A case study of Peking University. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2(2), 113–115. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbe2.191

Beery, T. (2020). What We Can Learn from Environmental and Outdoor Education during COVID-19: A Lesson in Participatory Risk Management. Sustainability, 12(21), 9096. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12219096

Burki, T. K. (2021). Lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in the UK and the Delta variant. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 9(8). https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(21)00328-3

Cao, W., Fang, Z., Hou, G., Han, M., Xu, X., Dong, J., & Zheng, J. (2020). The psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on college students in China. Psychiatry Research, 287, 112934.

Colvin, J. W., & Ashman, M. (2010). Roles, Risks, and Benefits of Peer Mentoring Relationships in Higher Education. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 18(2), 121–134. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611261003678879

Davis, B. M., Markel, H., Navarro, A., Wells, E., Monto, A. S., & Aiello, A. E. (2015). The Effect of Reactive School Closure on Community Influenza-Like Illness Counts in the State of Michigan During the 2009 H1N1 Pandemic. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 60(12), e90–e97. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/civ182

Eells, G. T., & Rockland-Miller, H. S. (2010). Assessing and Responding to Disturbed and Disturbing Students: Understanding the Role of Administrative Teams in Institutions of Higher Education. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 25(1), 8–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/87568225.2011.532470

Ert, E., Melkonyan, T., & Trautmann, S. T. (2022). Editorial: Contagious Risks: Perception, Behavior, and Management - Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.835088

Eugene L. Zdziarski II, N. W. D. J. M. R. (2007). A Comprehensive Guide to Planning, Prevention, Response, and Recovery. Jossey-Bass.

Fu, H., & Wang, B. (2022). The Effect of Risk Perception on Anxiety in Emerging Adulthood Under the Local Outbreak of COVID-19: A Conditional Process Analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.759510

Goldstein, E., & Lipsitch, M. (2020). Temporal rise in the proportion of younger adults and older adolescents among coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases following the introduction of physical distancing measures, Germany, March to April 2020. Eurosurveillance, 25(17). https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.17.2000596

Guo, Y.-R., Cao, Q.-D., Hong, Z.-S., Tan, Y.-Y., Chen, S.-D., Jin, H.-J., Tan, K.-S., Wang, D.-Y., & Yan, Y. (2020). The origin, transmission and clinical therapies on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak – an update on the status. Military Medical Research, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40779-020-00240-0

Harris, S. (2020). Implementation Guidelines for Public Health Measures in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). .

Helsloot, I., & Jong, W. (2006). Risk Management in Higher Education and Research in the Netherlands. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 14(3), 142–159. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5973.2006.00490.x

Heywood, A. E., & Macintyre, C. R. (2020). Elimination of COVID-19: what would it look like and is it possible? The Lancet. Infectious Diseases, 20(9). https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30633-2

Hoefle, S. N. (2009). Campus Crisis Management: A Comprehensive Guide to Planning, Prevention, Response, and Recovery. The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development:, 8(12).

Hussain, T., Gilani, U. S., Khan, S., & Raza, S. M. M. (2021). Assessment of general awareness among Pakistani students regarding COVID-19 outbreak. Children and Youth Services Review, 121, 105830. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105830

Imam, A. (2021). Risk management process and approaches for COVID-19 by Indian Educational Institutions. Independent Journal of Management & Production, 12(8), 2180–2193. https://doi.org/10.14807/ijmp.v12i8.1465 70 Siddiq, A. (2022). Risk Management Strategies During COVID-19 in Higher Education: A Case Study. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal,

Inglis, T. J. J., McFadden, B., & Macali, A. (2021). Estimating COVID Risk During a Period of Pandemic Decline. Frontiers in Public Health, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.744819

Iorfa, S. K., Ottu, I. F. A., Oguntayo, R., Ayandele, O., Kolawole, S. O., Gandi, J. C., Dangiwa, A. L., & Olapegba, P. O. (2020). COVID-19 Knowledge, Risk Perception, and Precautionary Behavior Among Nigerians: A Moderated Mediation Approach. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.566773

Izumi, T., Sukhwani, V., Surjan, A., & Shaw, R. (2021). Managing and responding to pandemics in higher educational institutions: initial learning from COVID-19. International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDRBE-06-2020-0054

Jackson, C., Mangtani, P., Hawker, J., Olowokure, B., & Vynnycky, E. (2014). The Effects of School Closures on Influenza Outbreaks and Pandemics: Systematic Review of Simulation Studies. PLoS ONE, 9(5), e97297. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0097297

Kakepotoa, I., Jalbanib, K., Talpurc, Q., Memond, I., & Halepotoe, I. (2021). Higher Education Commission COVID Policy Guidelines and Online Readiness of Universities of Pakistan . International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change., 15(6).

Kawano, S., & Kakehashi, M. (2015). Substantial Impact of School Closure on the Transmission Dynamics during the Pandemic Flu H1N1-2009 in Oita, Japan. PLOS ONE, 10(12), e0144839. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0144839

khan, M. I., & Achimu, A. (2020, March 30). ADB Approves $2 Million Grant for Pakistan’s Fight Against COVID-19. Asian Development Bank (ADB) .

Khosravi, S., Ahmadi, M., & Barazandeh, M. (2014). THE RULE OF ACADEMIC COMMERCIALIZATION: THE BAYH DOLE ACT IN IRAN AND USA. Journal of Entrepreneurship, Business and Economics, 2, 16.

Leidner, A. J., Barry, V., Bowen, V. B., Silver, R., Musial, T., Kang, G. J., Ritchey, M. D., Fletcher, K., Barrios, L., & Pevzner, E. (2021). Opening of Large Institutions of Higher Education and County-Level COVID-19 Incidence — United States, July 6–September 17, 2020. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 70(1). https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7001a4

Murphy, M. P. A. (2020). COVID-19 and emergency eLearning: Consequences of the securitization of higher education for post-pandemic pedagogy. Contemporary Security Policy, 41(3), 492–505. https://doi.org/10.1080/13523260.2020.1761749

NPR. (2020). Risk Management Activities initiated by academia. NPR.

Qualls, N., Levitt, A., Kanade, N., Wright-Jegede, N., Dopson, S., Biggerstaff, M., Reed, C., Uzicanin, A., Levitt, A., Dopson, S., Frank, M., Holloway, R., Koonin, L., Rasmussen, S., Redd, S., de la Motte Hurst, C., Kanade, N., Qualls, N., Rainey, J., … Reed, C. (2017). Community Mitigation Guidelines to Prevent Pandemic Influenza — United States, 2017. MMWR. Recommendations and Reports, 66(1), 1–34. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.rr6601a1

Rachidi, H., Dadi, S., Merimi, I., Rachidi, F., Zahir, H., & Latrache, H. (2021). Focus on the predictive management of COVID-19 risk in educational institutions in Morocco. Materials Today: Proceedings, 45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2021.02.364

Rashid, S., & Yadav, S. S. (2020). Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Higher Education and Research. Indian Journal of Human Development, 14(2), 340–343. https://doi.org/10.1177/0973703020946700

Reiersen, J., Roll, K., Williams, J. D., & Carlsson, M. (2022). Trust: A Double-Edged Sword in Combating the COVID-19 Pandemic? Frontiers in Communication, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2022.822302

Shereen, M. A., Khan, S., Kazmi, A., Bashir, N., & Siddique, R. (2020). COVID-19 infection: Emergence, transmission, and characteristics of human coronaviruses. Journal of Advanced Research, 24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jare.2020.03.005

Uthman, A. T., Al-Rawi, N. N., & Al-Rawi, N. (2020). Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for COVID-19 Infection: Current Concepts and Strategies. A Multifaceted Review Journal in the Field of Pharmacy , 11(9), 860–865.

Wang, C., Cheng, Z., Yue, X.-G., & McAleer, M. (2020). Risk Management of COVID-19 by Universities in China. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 13(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm13020036

Wang, C., & Zha, Q. (2018). Measuring systemic diversity of Chinese universities: a clustering-method approach. Quality & Quantity, 52(3), 1331–1347. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-017-0524-5

Young-Xu, Y., van Aalst, R., Mahmud, S. M., Rothman, K. J., Snider, J. T., Westreich, D., Mor, V., Gravenstein, S., Lee, J. K. H., Thommes, E. W., Decker, M. D., & Chit, A. (2018). Relative Vaccine Effectiveness of High-Dose Versus Standard-Dose Influenza Vaccines Among Veterans Health Administration Patients. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 217(11), 1718–1727. https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiy088

Yue, X.-G., Shao, X.-F., Li, R., Crabbe, M., Mi, L., Hu, S., Baker, J., & Liang, G. (2020). Risk Management Analysis for Novel Coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 13(2), 22. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm13020022

Downloads

Published

2022-09-10

How to Cite

Siddiq, A. (2022). Risk Management Strategies During COVID-19 in Higher Education: A Case Study. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 9(9), 58–72. https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.99.13103