Lessons Learned

The purpose of this Dissertation in Practice was to look at the patterns and trends of student enrollment, course hour load, and academic outcomes and explore student success interactions after the environmental shock of a natural disaster. Forming the setting for this study was a regional, commuter, university campus and its largely nontraditional student body. While the study was primarily qualitative, a sequential, mixed methods design was used to answer the two research questions. Using descriptive statistics, the initial quantitative piece explored the different indicators and outcomes of students enrolled and established a backdrop for the more in-depth, qualitative component. Interviews were conducted with both student and staff participants regarding post disaster interactions and a component analysis resulted in the identification of three central domains. These domains led to the development of six major summary themes. Findings underscore the value of communicating post disaster and being able to tell our stories, the reliance on communication technology and the importance of planning for long term disruptions, the difficulty that academic institutions face in planning for disasters, and the valuable lessons that can be learned by studying the actions of previous institutions and organizations who experienced a disaster. Implications for universities’ disaster planning and preparation including challenges, resiliency, and adaptability will also be discussed.