Modified Operations is intentionally broad because we cannot forecast all emergencies. Units may have different BCP requirements depending on the nature of the situation and the timing. Units can update BCPs as needed.

MSU is organized by Major Administrative Units such as the College of Arts and Letters, Infrastructure, Planning and Facilities, Human Resources, etc. The Unit references the major administrative area, which is then further divided into departments, offices, or institutes. If the unit is required to have a COOP as the lead agency for an Emergency Support Function (ESF), they do not need to also do a BCP.

If there is essential work to be continued, the home Unit should take the lead on developing the BCP. As the BCP is a communication tool, sharing the information where it makes sense operationally is encouraged.

Some units may need departmental BCPs specific to the critical and essential tasks that must be completed or maintained during emergencies. An example is the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources—a large unit encompassing research, animal safety, and typical office functions. IPF and SLE have more detailed plans for various situations, while HR primarily focuses on maintaining key systems. It depends on the specific needs of the unit/department, the timing, and the duration of the emergency.

Units must have a business continuity plan tailored to their unique responsibilities. Considerations include clinical practice, teaching/instruction, research, business operations, public and outreach activities, animal care, and human care. Remember that as a university, we want to maintain minimal operations with critical staff to minimize the number of people, traffic, and movement on campus during Modified Operations.

Typical Modified Operations periods are 72 hours or less.

MSU follows an incident command emergency management plan. Senior leaders are apprised of situational aspect of the emergency as decisions are made and will communicate following the Unit BCP.

At times, we may need all critical employees with essential functions to report for their typical schedule, or we may need to bring additional people in. Other times, it could be a safety situation and we would not want additional people on campus. Communication can be challenge, and every effort will be made to communicate to the campus community as accurately and quickly as possible, even if a situation unfolds in the middle of the night. Supervisors and employees should have the ability to communicate with each other.

We need only the minimum number of employees onsite to allow focus on the emergency at hand in the safest way possible and having additional people could hamper our response.

Critical employees with essential functions are required to report to maintain essential operations and the University provides additional compensatory time to recognize this work. Each case is situational and if there are concerns, the unit will collaborate with Employee Relations to investigate any disciplinary action.

The university wants to recognize, and has broad support from union leadership, the additional responsibilities of those that must physically perform work onsite. Typically, during Modified Operations, the “only” work that is being performed is that which has been identified in the unit’s BCP.

The intention is to have the hour-for-hour compensatory time for those who must perform their work physically onsite in addition to require overtime pay, if earned.

The policy is intended to be flexible and if changes are made, they should be documented in the BCP and updates shared in the unit and with the DPPS Emergency Management Division for future planning. If an employee has concerns about the situation, they should forward their concerns following typical resolution steps. The Modified Operations policy is intended to reduce non-essential activities on-site.

If the university cancels classes, instructors should not lecture or hold an exam on that date (either in-person or via remote options). Any due dates and exams should be extended to the next class period and a brief communication should be sent to students.  There will be unique and nuanced situations for the professional schools (and other possible variations) based on accreditation and other types of requirements and regulations. In these circumstances, guidance will be communicated by the college dean. Additionally, for programs that are 100% online, instruction should continue and should not be impacted by the location-based modified operations context.

Clinical instruction is considered essential and would continue, unless the nature of the emergency precludes performing clinical instruction in a safe manner for patients, faculty and students. Information and communication for those in clinical rotations should be maintained in the Unit BCP should there need to be further action.

The key reason to have a BCP is to have a thoughtful response to typical emergencies that can be easily communicated to employees, leaders, and university emergency response. The document provides contact information and other information to aid in communications and operations.

Once finalized, a copy of the BCP is retained by MSU Emergency Management in DPPS. Units should ensure distribution and communication with leaders and employees. DPPS may reach out for clarification if there are questions. A customizable BCP template (Word document) is available on the HR website.

Please email the BCP to EM@dpps.msu.edu.

The COOP, Continuity of Operations Plan, is required by Units responsible for an Emergency Support Function (ESF) as part the University’s Emergency Operation Plan (EOP). It is similar to the BCP, which is designed to be specific to all other units. If the unit has a COOP, the unit will not need a BCP.

Each unit should have a champion(s) (minimally) take the following courses, which are available online as independent studies through FEMA Independent Study Website:

• ICS 100 Introduction to the Incident Command System
• ICS 200 Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response
• IS 700B An Introduction to the National Incident Management System
• IS 800 National Response Framework, An Introduction