[BCM] [JCUS] [E3] [BIA] [PS] Key Product and Services

Key Products and Services

BIA PS: Key Products and Services for James Cook University Singapore

Introduction

A key starting point in Business Continuity Management is understanding what the organisation must continue to deliver before determining which activities, resources, technologies, and dependencies support that delivery.

For James Cook University Singapore (JCUS), the principal products and services centre on education delivery, academic assessment, student administration and support, digital learning, campus operations, regulatory compliance, information resources, and research activities.

JCUS publicly identifies teaching, research, student support, library and computing resources, laboratories and other learning facilities as important components of its Singapore operations.

This is particularly relevant to JCUS because its Singapore operations are governed by the Private Education Act and EduTrust framework.

JCUS states that its courses are registered with the Skills and Workforce Development Agency (SWDA), while EduTrust covers areas including corporate governance, academic processes, student protection and support services, and financial viability.

For BCM purposes, the product or service is the output delivered to students, regulators and other stakeholders, whereas the Critical Business Function (CBF) represents the organisational capability required to produce or maintain that output.

The objective is therefore to identify the products and services that must be maintained at an acceptable level during a disruption and subsequently restored to normal operation.

The following table establishes the proposed JCUS Key Products and Services Catalogue and maps each product or service to the 14 Critical Business Functions already identified for the BCM programme.

 

Key Products and Services for JCUS

Table BIA P&S: Key Products and Services for JCUS

P&S Code	Key Product / Service	Description of Product or Service	Primary Recipients / Stakeholders	Supporting CBF	Required Delivery During a Disruption
P&S-01	Teaching and Learning Services	Delivery of scheduled lectures, tutorials, workshops, practical activities, laboratory teaching, online learning and other academic instruction required for students to continue their programmes.	Students; academic staff	CBF-1 Teaching and Learning Delivery	Maintain priority teaching at an acceptable level using face-to-face, online, hybrid, rescheduled or alternative delivery arrangements.
P&S-02	Examination and Academic Assessment Services	Delivery and administration of examinations, assignments, tests, practical assessments, grading and other mechanisms required to evaluate student achievement.	Students; academic staff; academic administration	CBF-2 Examinations and Academic Assessment	Protect assessment integrity and records; maintain time-critical assessments where feasible; provide controlled postponement or alternative assessment where necessary.
P&S-03	Student Enrolment, Registration and Academic Progression Services	Maintain student enrolment, subject registration, study plans, academic progression, transfers, withdrawals, and related academic administration. JCUS's Student Handbook identifies study planning, withdrawal/transfer, graduation, enrolment terminology and examination administration among its academic services.	Current students; academic administration	CBF-3 Student Enrolment, Registration and Academic Progression	Maintain time-critical registration and progression activities and preserve accurate transaction records during system or workforce disruption.
P&S-04	Student Academic Records and Results Services	Maintenance, processing and controlled availability of student academic records, grades, results and associated academic information.	Students; academic staff; authorised administration; regulators where applicable	CBF-4 Student Records and Academic Results Management	Protect record integrity and confidentiality; preserve approved results; maintain access to essential records and defer non-critical processing where necessary.
P&S-05	Digital Learning and Academic Platform Services	Availability of digital platforms supporting learning materials, lecturer communication, assessments and academic information. JCUS identifies LearnJCU as an online academic suite through which students access teaching materials, lecturer communications and assessment information.	Students; academic staff	CBF-5 Critical Digital Learning and Academic Platforms	Maintain essential digital learning capability or provide approved alternative methods for accessing materials, submitting work and communicating with teaching staff.
P&S-06	ICT, Digital Identity and Connectivity Services	Provision of the underlying network, connectivity, authentication, computing and related ICT services required for university operations and digital service access.	Students; academic staff; administrative staff	CBF-6 Critical ICT Infrastructure, Identity and Connectivity	Maintain or restore priority connectivity, authentication and infrastructure services; provide controlled workaround arrangements for critical activities.
P&S-07	Student Safety, Welfare and Critical Support Services	Provide urgent student support, welfare assistance, counselling pathways, safety information, and critical assistance during disruptive events. JCUS's Student Handbook identifies student support services including careers, counselling and related student services.	Students	CBF-7 Student Safety, Welfare and Critical Support	Maintain emergency and high-priority welfare services, identify vulnerable or affected students and provide timely support information and referral pathways.
P&S-08	Safe Campus and Essential Facilities Services	Provision of safe and usable campus premises, security, access, utilities and essential teaching and student facilities. JCUS identifies facilities including auditoriums, laboratories, collaboration rooms, library spaces, study areas and wireless connectivity.	Students; staff; visitors; contractors	CBF-8 Campus Safety, Security and Essential Facilities	Protect life safety; control access; maintain essential utilities and facilities; close unsafe areas and enable alternative operating arrangements where necessary.
P&S-09	Admissions and Student Onboarding Services	Process applications and admission activities, and provide essential information required for new students to commence their studies. JCUS's Student Handbook includes admissions procedures and pre-departure information within its student information framework.	Prospective and commencing students	CBF-9 Admissions and Critical Student Onboarding	Maintain deadline-sensitive admissions and onboarding activities, communicate changes and preserve applicant/student records.
P&S-10	Student Fee Administration and Protection Services	Administration of student fees, financial transactions and applicable fee-protection arrangements. JCUS states that it uses the Fee Protection Scheme Group Insurance (FPS-G) to cover course fees in accordance with SWDA requirements.	Students; finance; management; relevant regulatory stakeholders	CBF-10 Student Fee Administration and Protection	Maintain critical fee records, protect transaction integrity, support time-sensitive payment/refund processes and preserve fee-protection obligations.
P&S-11	Regulatory Compliance and Education Quality Assurance Services	Maintain essential regulatory, quality assurance, academic governance, and compliance obligations associated with JCUS's operation as a private education institution.	SWDA and other applicable authorities; management; students	CBF-11 Regulatory Compliance and Education Quality Assurance	Maintain statutory and regulatory obligations, preserve required evidence and records, manage material compliance issues and meet critical reporting requirements.
P&S-12	Critical University Communications and Crisis Information Services	Delivery of accurate and timely operational, emergency and crisis information to students, employees and relevant external stakeholders.	Students; staff; management; regulators; families and external stakeholders where appropriate	CBF-12 Critical University Communications and Crisis Information	Provide authoritative disruption information, safety instructions, service-status updates, changes to teaching/assessment arrangements and recovery information.
P&S-13	Library and Essential Academic Information Services	Provide access to essential academic information, library resources, readings, databases, e-books, journals, and research support. JCUS states that most online library resources, including e-books and journal articles, are accessible electronically and that course readings are also available through LearnJCU subject sites.	Students; academic staff; researchers	CBF-13 Library and Essential Academic Information Resources	Prioritise digital access to essential academic resources and provide alternative access or support where physical library services are unavailable.
P&S-14	Critical Research and Specialist Laboratory Services	Ensure continuity of time-sensitive research, specialist laboratories, research information, experiments, and facilities where interruption could cause unacceptable loss or safety consequences. JCUS identifies research as a core university activity and maintains specialist teaching and research facilities at its Singapore campus.	Researchers; postgraduate research students; academic staff; research partners	CBF-14 Critical Research and Specialist Laboratory Operations	Protect people, research data, specimens, experiments and specialist assets; maintain only time-critical research operations where safe and practicable.

 

Relationship Between Products, Services and Critical Business Functions

This distinction is important for the JCUS Business Impact Analysis.

A product or service represents the outcome that JCUS needs to continue providing.

A Critical Business Function represents the organisational capability required to produce or sustain that outcome.

For example:

The same principle applies to examinations, student records, regulatory compliance, library services and research.

This approach prevents the BIA from focusing exclusively on internal processes without considering the services students and other stakeholders need JCUS to continue delivering.

 

Minimum Acceptable Service During Disruption

The objective of BCM is generally not to reproduce normal operations immediately after an incident.

During a significant disruption, JCUS may need to operate at a reduced but acceptable service level while resources and capabilities are progressively restored.

For example, normal teaching may involve full face-to-face delivery, laboratories, tutorials and digital resources.

During a campus-access disruption, the minimum acceptable product may temporarily consist of priority classes delivered remotely, access to essential teaching materials, communication with lecturers and arrangements for practical activities to be recovered later.

Similarly, normal library operations may include physical collections, study spaces, computers and in-person assistance.

During a premises disruption, the priority service may become continued digital access to essential databases, e-books, electronic journals and course readings.

JCUS already provides extensive online library resources, making this an important continuity capability.

Therefore, each Product and Service should subsequently be linked to a Minimum Business Continuity Objective (MBCO) specifying the minimum acceptable level at which the service should be delivered during disruption.

 

Product and Service Prioritisation

The 14 Products and Services should not automatically be assumed to have identical recovery priorities.

Priority should be determined through the Business Impact Analysis by considering factors such as:

• safety and welfare consequences;
• impact on teaching and learning;
• academic calendar and examination deadlines;
• number and categories of students affected;
• legal and regulatory obligations;
• financial consequences;
• information integrity and confidentiality;
• reputational consequences;
• dependencies between services;
• availability of manual or alternative delivery methods; and
• how the impact increases as disruption continues.

A service's importance may also vary with the academic calendar.

Examination and assessment services, for example, may become particularly time-critical during examination periods, while admissions and onboarding services may be more critical immediately before a new intake.

 

Using the Product and Service Catalogue in the BIA

The Product and Service Catalogue provides the foundation for the subsequent BIA.

The recommended relationship is:

This provides a traceable connection between what JCUS needs to deliver and the resources required to sustain that delivery.

It also avoids treating technology or facilities as objectives in themselves.

For example, restoring a learning platform is important because it supports Teaching and Learning Services, Examination and Academic Assessment Services, and potentially other critical academic products and services.

Similarly, restoring network connectivity is necessary because multiple products and services depend upon it.

 

Governance and Validation

The relevant JCUS business and academic owners should validate the proposed catalogue before formally adopting it as part of the BIA.

Validation should confirm that:

1. each Product and Service represents an identifiable output delivered to a stakeholder;
2. all essential education, student, regulatory and institutional services are represented;
3. the responsible CBF has been correctly identified;
4. the minimum acceptable service during disruption can be defined;
5. dependencies between products and services are understood; and
6. the catalogue remains aligned with JCUS's organisational and regulatory obligations.

This catalogue should also be reviewed when JCUS introduces new programmes, delivery models, digital platforms, campus facilities, research capabilities or significant regulatory changes.

 

Identifying Key Products and Services establishes an essential foundation for the JCUS Business Impact Analysis.

Rather than starting solely with internal departments or processes, the approach begins by identifying the outputs JCUS must continue providing to students, regulators, and other stakeholders during a disruption.

For JCUS, these outputs extend beyond classroom teaching.

They include academic assessment, enrolment and progression, student records, digital learning, ICT access, student welfare, safe campus operations, admissions, fee administration and protection, regulatory compliance, crisis communications, library and academic information resources, and critical research activities.

This broad service perspective is consistent with JCUS's operating environment.

Its Singapore campus combines teaching and research with student support, digital academic services, library resources and specialist learning and research facilities, while operating within Singapore's private-education regulatory and EduTrust framework.

The next step is to determine the Minimum Business Continuity Objective for each Product and Service.

This establishes the minimum acceptable service level JCUS should maintain during disruption.

The BIA can then identify the Critical Business Functions, processes, recovery time requirements, people, premises, technologies, information and external dependencies necessary to achieve those objectives.

The resulting relationship can be summarised as: