Dr. Brenda L. Knight

THE INFLUENCE OF COVID-19 ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION OF A NEW COURSE WITHDRAWAL POLICY

Limited research exists relating to the development and initial implementation of new higher education policies during a crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic took the world by surprise, and higher education leaders found themselves adjusting traditional roles and services to help students and staff navigate the crisis. Multiple streams policy theory, first explained in the work of Kingdon (1984), and later in the work by Zahariadis (1995, 2007), served as the theoretical lens for this study as it explored how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the development and initial implementation of a new late withdrawal policy. Semistructured interviews were conducted with nine leaders from student affairs and academic affairs departments at one Florida college. Two interconnected themes emerged from the data: Responding to Crisis and Influencing Policy. Discussion of these themes revealed the adaptiveness leaders exhibited as they balanced continuing their daily work, working in a new and remote environment, supervising their staff members, and working together to develop and implement a new withdrawal policy for students whose classes were impacted by COVID-19. Recommendations for student affairs and academic affairs leaders, college administrators, and state department of education officials are proposed. Also, recommendations for future research to assist higher education leaders to prepare an effective course of action in all types of crisis situations are provided. This study adds to the research on higher education leaders’ responses during times of crisis.

Brenda Lancaster Knight is currently the Registrar at Florida SouthWestern State College in Fort Myers, Florida where she supports students in the pursuit of certificates, associate, and baccalaureate degrees. Throughout her over 25-year career in higher education she has served in roles in Kentucky and Florida as Director of Admissions and Records, Dean of Enrollment Services, Adjunct Faculty, and Registrar. Brenda earned a BS degree and an MA from Western Kentucky University, Kentucky, and a Masters in Higher Education from the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. Brenda found her niche in student affairs when she began working in admissions and records at Henderson Community College in Henderson, Kentucky where she continued her career and became the first Registrar at the college. She then moved to Tallahassee where she served in the roles of Registrar and Dean of Enrollment Services.