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Office of Emergency Management

Building A Continuity Plan

Emergency Management is responsible for campus level emergency planning, response coordination and recovery, including developing and maintaining the campus Emergency Operations Plan. The Director also provides internal consultation to campus divisions and units on the development of their own specific emergency and business continuity plans. This approach looks at the entire life cycle of the emergency, from the period before the emergency occurs (sometimes years in advance) through the event and into the post-emergency recovery phase.

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Purpose of Business Continuity Planning

A Business Continuity Plan provides an effective framework for risk mitigation and disaster recovery.  Within this framework, a department plan will identify the resources and strategies necessary for responding to and recovering from all plausible hazards. Your plan will identify which essential functions must be protected and the processes for preserving those operations. 

Role of the Department Business Continuity Coordinator

The Business Continuity Coordinator (BCC) provides data, analysis and strategy to complete a comprehensive business continuity plan.  This includes examination and identification of: risks, emergency preparedness protocols, mitigation, essential functions, resumption protocols, resource procurement and assignment, vital records redundancy and protection, equipment, and recovery projections. It is likely that a BCC will lead an ad-hoc committee within their division to accomplish these tasks.

A BCC should possess a broad knowledge of the operations and individuals within the department. They will have access and authority to collect information necessary to build a comprehensive continuity plan. 

First Steps 

  • Delegate a primary and secondary Business Continuity Coordinator (BCC).
  • Request access to UC Ready by contacting Stephan Edgar, sedgar@ucsc.edu
  • Register for UC Ready Level I training via the UC Learning Center.  To find a course, go to the Learning Center and enter the name of the class in the query field.
  • After BCC training, receive the UC Ready User Manual and Resumption Annex and begin making entries.
  • Consider forming a Business Continuity ad-hoc committee to discuss recovery strategies, resources, and assignments. Facilitate collaborative continuity planning.
  • Share your draft plan with the campus Business Continuity Planner.

Continued Processes

  • Promulgate the plan to employees annually.
  • When on-boarding new employees, share the department’s continuity plan.
  • Train employees and exercise your plan. The Office of Emergency Management can assist with table-top exercises or drills. 
  • Login to UC Ready
  • Once you are ready to login to the UCReady Continuity Planning Tool, please follow these steps:
  • Open the UC Ready URL
  • Use the drop down menu to select University of California, Santa Cruz.
  • Enter your Gold Cruz ID and password. 
  • Select the Plans tab to locate and open your plan.
  • See the UC Ready User Manual for further instructions.  
  • Begin entries into UC Ready and the Resumption Annex. Do not agonize over cells or tabs that seem confusing to you. Make note of these fields and contact the campus Business Continuity Planner for assistance.

    Good luck and happy planning!

*Continuity Training

The Mission Continuity Office is currently developing an online eLearning course about Business Continuity Planning.  This course will include all of the content formerly associated with UCReady Level 1 and 2, but in a cohesive and interactive learning experience.  In the meantime, revisions have been made to the UCReady Level 1 and Level 2 powerpoint presentations and are provided below for your reference.  When this training is completed, these presentations will be replaced.

Interim Training Materials

Last modified: Oct 11, 2024