Catastrophic Event Procedure
I. Definition:
Isothermal Community College defines a catastrophic event as any incident or event that disrupts the College’s ability to continue to safely maintain instruction and operations for an extended period of time. In the event of a catastrophic event occurrence, Isothermal Community College will communicate promptly and clearly with students as it works to implement steps to support the continuity of student learning as defined by guidance provided in North Carolina Community College System Code 1B SBCCC 200.99 and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) guidance on Closing a Program, Site, Branch, or Institution.
II. Procedure:
- Operational Systems: The College leverages highly available educational technologies such as Moodle Learning Management System (LMS) and the collaboration platforms Microsoft Teams, Blackboard Collaborate and Zoom, all of which are cloud based to minimize the likelihood of noticeable service interruption. Further, the Isothermal Community College Business Continuity Plan – Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plan ensures that systems are protected from vulnerabilities, adequately secured, and backed up to prevent record destruction and/or data loss.
- Continuity of Operations: The following Isothermal Community College policies and procedures are also intended to help mitigate the impact of emergency events on College operations:
- The Student Records policy (Policy No. 05.04.03) provides guidance for ensuring the integrity, confidentiality, and security of all student documents and records created, received or maintained in the course of university academic activity.
- The Campus Safety Plan provides detailed emergency instructions for Isothermal Community College students to ensure safety and protection of property during fire, severe weather, loss of utilities, and other emergencies.
- Program Discontinuance: In the unlikely event that Isothermal Community College cannot deliver the instruction for which students have enrolled, the College commits to one or more of the following courses of action, depending on each individual student’s needs:
- Provide students with the teach-out plan for finishing their degree or program path as long as they do not break service to the college and remain in their designated degree or program path
- Provide a reasonable alternative for delivering instruction and/or services for which students have paid
- Provide reasonable financial refund for the education students did not receive
- Provide assistance transferring earned credits to another North Carolina Community College
- Isothermal Community College students will be notified by the College Administration and then counseled about their options by their advisors. In accordance with institutional accreditation requirements, a teach-out plan will be submitted to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) prior to its implementation.
- The Refund of Tuition and Fees policy (Policy No 06.01.04) provides guidance for ensuring that financial refunds are processed timely and consistently and in accordance with the College’s policy, and applicable federal, state and accreditation requirements.
