Abstract
The Journal of Security, Intelligence, and Resilience Education (JSIRE) asked academics from homeland security and related fields to share how they and their institutions of higher education managed the COVID-19 crisis. Academics from 15 institutions of higher education with a homeland security or related field of study and one professional academic association answered this question in the accompanying essays of this Special Edition. The accompanying essays represent institutions of higher education from the United States as well as Australia, Canada, India, and Italy, and include colleges and universities in addition to a community college, a law
school, a medical college, a historically Black College or University, an Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian–Serving Institution, a U.S. military institution, and FEMA’s higher education program. This article presents a rapid review, coding, and synthesis of the 16 essays (Braun & Clarke,
2006; Silver & Woolf, 2018). Three prominent themes emerged from the essays: “student(s),” “course(s),” and “community.” This article begins with a brief summary of the COVID-19 pandemic followed by a methodology section that delineates the rapid review and coding process. The results and discussion sections provide prescient insights into the behind-the-scenes
activities of academics and their institutions during what is likely the greatest challenge of our times.