Business Faculty’s Communication Strategies for Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus has far-reaching effects in the field of higher education. College faculty have been challenged by the abrupt changes, but still have to deliver the lessons and help students achieve the learning goals as well as pay attention to the impact of the pandemic on students’ wellbeing and socio-emotional development. It is essential to conduct a qualitative research to understand experienced business faculty’s communication strategies and suggest instantly applicable advices for other business instructors from a crisis communication perspective as well as through an instructional strategy lens. This extended abstract includes the results of the in-depth interview with three experienced college instructors. All three interviewees were actively utilizing coping strategies—action-facilitating supports and nurturing supports—while the frames of mindsets vary from Sharedness of Mental Model and Military Strategy to Resource-based approaches. A full interview result report of all 24 college faculty will follow.