Purpose

This research aims to explore a university’s experience and processes in epidemic preventions. This research looks into the effects of COVID-19 on higher education institutes-how the structure of the Office of Student Affairs changed, how ideas are implemented, and how the role of student affair personnel is affected. This research also displays the creativity and proactive measures along with epidemic prevention results in attempt to share with other higher education institutions in Taiwan the preventative measures and the value of Student Affairs.

Design/methodology/approach

Through the qualitative research of narrative inquiry, this research gathers the experiences of student affairs personnel in epidemic prevention through case study. Student affairs personnel include five managers that went through in-depth interviews and seven staffmembers that was put in focus groups. Other than that, thirty-one meeting minutes were used for cross examination to establish the validity of this research.

Findings/results

According to the qualitative analysis of the transcript, the results of this study are divided into the following four themes-Awareness: The Sensitivity of the Student Affair Personnel; Realization: The Importance of Student Affairs; Connection: The Search for a Focus;Vision: Redefining the Core Value of Student Affairs. Within the four themes there are also twenty-two items for analysis. With advancepreparation, the student affairs personnel have been sensitive in actively integrating different roles-focusing on student advising, activity rearrangement, and community care. Additionally, with the guidance of the government and student affairs professionals, the university was able to provide long-distance learning and other preventative measures with the help of technology. This increased thevalue of student affairs by confirming the core values of being studentcentered, embracing team work, and advance preparation.

Originality/value

With the COVID-19 epidemic affecting the world, Taiwan’sprecautionary measures against COVID-19 aroused much global attention. In order to control the spread of COVID-19 while maintaining student learning at the same time, taking appropriate precautions is key to all schools in 2020. Unfortunately, the university learned of two confirmed COVID-19 cases late March and early April. The news brought panic throughout the school and created epidemic prevention crisis for the university. As the university was able to implement new interventions, the gained experiences are worth sharing amongst other higher education institutes.

Implications for Policy/Practice

According to the research results, suggestions for student affairs personnel and campus epidemic prevention is provided-including the how student affairs personnel should increase literacy in technology and social media and professional ability. Finally, it is suggested that universities step forward to connect closely with the community. Creating consensus and building a friendly relationship between universities and communities enables teamwork to better Taiwan’s epidemic prevention.