Marshall University Department COOP Builder

Use this guided intake form to build a department-specific Continuity of Operations Plan. The form explains what each section captures, why the information matters, and then generates a Word-compatible COOP or print-ready PDF. Data remains in the browser unless the user downloads or shares the file.

What is a COOP?

A Continuity of Operations Plan, or COOP, is a practical roadmap for keeping essential university functions operating during and after a disruption. It does not replace emergency response procedures. Instead, it answers a department-level question: what must we keep doing, who must do it, what do they need, and how will we do it if normal resources are unavailable?

Why this matters: During a major incident, a department may lose access to buildings, people, technology, records, vendors, utilities, or normal communications. A COOP reduces decision-making delays by identifying essential functions, leadership succession, dependencies, records, systems, alternate work options, and recovery actions before the disruption occurs.

This builder converts department intake information into a downloadable department COOP annex. The completed plan should be reviewed by department leadership, validated through discussion or tabletop exercise, stored in an accessible secure location, and updated whenever staffing, systems, facilities, or essential functions change.

  • Essential functions identify what must continue or resume first.
  • Succession and delegation clarify who has authority if normal leadership is unavailable.
  • Interdependencies identify what the department needs from others and what others need from the department.
  • Vital records, IT systems, and resources identify what must be protected, backed up, accessed, or restored.
  • Recovery strategy explains how the department will activate the plan, operate under degraded conditions, and return to normal.

1. Department Profile

Basic identifying information used for the cover page and plan control information.

Rationale: This information establishes plan ownership, version control, review timing, the primary operating location, and the person responsible for maintaining the department COOP.

2. Organization & Personnel

Describe the department and list normal staffing by position or function. Do not list every individual employee unless needed for continuity roles.

Rationale: A clear department profile helps reviewers understand normal operations before they evaluate which services are essential during a disruption.
Tip: Use this section to explain what the department does in normal operations before identifying what must continue during a disruption.

Day-to-Day Personnel

Enter current staff positions and the number of people in each position, not individual names.

Daily Organizational Chart

Optional: upload an image of the department org chart. It will be embedded in the generated plan.

No org chart uploaded.

3. Succession & Delegation

Succession identifies who assumes authority when leadership is unavailable. Delegation defines what authority is transferred, any limits, and when that authority begins or ends.

Rationale: Continuity incidents often create leadership gaps. Pre-identifying successors prevents delays in approvals, resource requests, personnel direction, and coordination with university emergency management.

4. Essential Functions

Identify functions that must continue or resume quickly to prevent unacceptable operational, academic, financial, regulatory, or reputational impacts. Use Tier 1 for functions that must resume within 24 hours, Tier 2 for 2-6 days, and Tier 3 for more than one week.

Rationale: Essential functions drive the rest of the plan. Staffing, alternate facilities, technology, records, communications, and resource priorities should all trace back to these functions.

5. Interdependencies

Identify departments, vendors, or external partners your department relies on to perform essential functions, and identify essential functions your department provides to others.

Rationale: Most university functions depend on other units. Mapping dependencies helps leadership identify single points of failure, backup options, and departments that need early coordination.

5.1 Departments / Partners This Department Relies On

5.2 Essential Functions This Department Supports for Others

6. Vital Records, Data, IT Systems & Critical Resources

List systems, records, data, equipment, vendors, supplies, and other resources required to carry out essential functions. Include backup locations, access requirements, and the maximum acceptable outage where known.

Rationale: During continuity operations, resources are limited. This section identifies what must be available first and what backup, restoration, or access arrangements are needed.

Critical Vendors / Contracts / MOUs

7. Facilities, Alternate Worksites & Telework

Identify alternate facilities, remote work options, technology needs, and relocation assumptions if the primary facility is unavailable.

Rationale: Loss of building access is one of the core COOP scenarios. Departments should know where and how essential work can continue if the normal workspace is unusable.

8. Communications & Emergency Contacts

Describe how department personnel, leadership, students, stakeholders, and partners will be notified and updated during a continuity incident.

Rationale: Communications determine how quickly a department can account for personnel, activate continuity roles, coordinate with partners, and provide accurate status updates.

Department Emergency Contact Roster

9. Recovery Strategy

Describe how the department will activate the plan, continue or restore essential functions, procure emergency resources, relocate or operate remotely, and return to normal operations.

Rationale: This section turns the intake data into an operational approach: when to activate, what to do first, how to sustain essential functions, and how to transition back to normal operations.

Marshall COOP Activation Categories

The generated plan includes the Marshall base-plan activation categories: Alert, Stand-by, Partial Activation, and Full Activation.

10. Training, Testing, Exercises & Plan Maintenance

Identify how the department will train personnel, test the plan, exercise procedures, update contact lists, and maintain the COOP.

Rationale: A COOP that is not trained, tested, or updated becomes stale quickly. Regular review and exercises help validate assumptions and reveal gaps before an incident.

Plan Maintenance

11. Approval & Distribution

Document approval authority, distribution, and annual review expectations.

Rationale: Approval confirms leadership ownership. Distribution and storage instructions ensure the plan is available to the people who need it during a disruption.

Completion Notification to EHS / Emergency Management

Use this section after the department has completed the intake and generated the draft COOP. The button below opens a pre-filled email to the review office so EHS/Emergency Management knows the department COOP is ready for review and sign-off.

Rationale: A completion notification creates a handoff point between the department and the review office. Because this tool runs as a static browser page, it cannot send an email or attach files by itself. The user should attach the generated Word or PDF copy before sending the email.

Generated COOP Preview

Click “Update Preview” after editing. This preview is what will export to Word or print/save as PDF.

Preview not generated yet.