With thanks to Northwestern University for sharing them, below are examples of real incidents that have affected regular operations at various higher education institutions across the country. It is helpful to read through case studies to get an idea of the wide variety of incidents that can affect an institution, and the various considerations that should be addressed when forming a business continuity plan.
The linked examples are listed in chronological order with a brief description.
- Mount Allison, 1941
- Fire claims the life of 4 students and guts student residence
- University of Texas at Austin, 1966
Gunman hits 43 people, 13 died - Kent State, 1970
Campus Unrest/Disruption, 4 students killed - Marshall University, 1970
Plane Crash kills 13 members of football team - Florida State University, 1978
Serial Killer kills 2 sleeping students in sorority - Lehigh University, 1986
Student murdered in residence hall - École Polytechnique, 1986
- Mass shooting leaves 28 shot, 14 dead
- Stanford University, 1989
Massive earthquake damages several campus buildings, displaces students - University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign, 1991
Outbreak of Meningitis, 2 student deaths - University of Miami/Florida International University/Miami Dade Community College, 1991
Hurricane destroys South Miami - University of Iowa, 1991
Student shooter leaves 4 dead - Concordia University, 1992
- Shooting leaves 4 dead, 1 wounded
- Colorado State University, 1997
Major flood, 16 buildings closed - University of Maryland, 2001
Tornado on Campus, Kills 2 - University of Toronto, 2003
- The SARS outbreak: teaching in a time of crisis
- Tulane University, 2005
Hurricane Katrina devastates and leaves long-lasting campus impact - Mount Allison University, 2006
- Norwalk virus spreads through university
- Dawson College, 2006
- 19 injured, 2 killed including perpetrator
- McMaster University, 2008
- 554 students scramble to find new housing after damage closes residence building for semester
- Northern Illinois University, 2008
6 shot dead in classroom, 16 others injured - Big Ten Universities, 2009
H1N1 pandemic - York University, 2010
- December exams are cancelled and students evacuated after fire cuts heating in residences
- University of Alabama, 2010
Faculty member kills 3, wounds 3 - University of Alabama, 2011
Tornado closes campus, halts all university operations - Brigham Young University, 2012
Massive data crash, computer systems take months to fully recover - Various Institutions in Northeastern U.S., 2012
Hurricane Sandy devastates northeast, destroying years of research at NYU - McGill University, 2013
- Burst water main causes flood on campus; damage is extensive
- University of Colorado Boulder, 2013
25% of buildings damaged in flood - University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2014
Storm-related power outage causes total digital blackout - Case Study – April 4 2019 Electricity Outage St. George Campus
- Power outage to campus as well as a large swathe of City of Toronto