Crisis Management through Crisis Communication: Lessons from a Higher Educational Institution

Abstract

All higher educational institutions experience different types of crises. In the early 2020, higher educational institutions experienced various types of crises and these crises tested the resiliency of every institution.  This case study aimed to examine how a higher educational institutions in a highly urbanized city managed the crises it faced during the pandemic especially in the area of crisis communication. It aimed to describe how the subject institution utilized crisis communication during the COVID-19 Pandemic; determine the effectiveness of crisis communication in addressing concerns; and proposed improvements that can be made to crisis communications in higher educational institutions. An asynchronous interview was employed by the researcher with 17 members of the management team. This study found out that the manger participants have had concerns with the well-being of their family, the quality in delivering their service products to the customers, and job security. It also found out that the methods employed by subject university resulted in a positive reception of the crisis communication message. While the sentiments of the respondents were mostly positive, there were unmistakable shortcomings such as concerns or questions from stakeholder not being addressed in a timely and supportive manner. While the subject institution is not uniquely affected by the pandemic, its crisis communication response may help the progress and development of crisis communication across different industries and organizational cultures.