Ongoing Campus Services
From Dr. Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer
and Gary Nicksa, Senior Vice President for Operations
Last night, President Brown announced that the University will extend remote teaching and learning through the end of spring semester and undergraduate residence halls will close on Sunday, March 22, to help contain the fast-spreading coronavirus.
While our intent is to have as small a staff presence on campus as is feasible, all academic and administrative departments at the University need to remain fully functional to support remote education, ongoing research that must continue, and student services including admissions, virtual library services, academic advising, and housing and dining for students who cannot return home.
We ask supervisors to work with the staff to enable them to work from home, to the extent possible. Special daily parking arrangements are available for staff who must work on campus, normally take public transportation, and would prefer to drive during the health emergency.
Staff schedules may be adjusted as on-campus operations change. All staff will be paid for their regularly scheduled hours whether worked on-campus or at home. Staff who are not required to be on campus and whose jobs cannot be done from home may be temporarily assigned other duties.
If you are experiencing flu-like symptoms, do not come in to work and call your primary healthcare provider. Call the Occupational Health Center at 617-353-6630 after you speak to your provider. You do not need to go to the Center in person; calling is preferable. Please then inform your manager to keep them up-to-date on your status.
Staff who have been advised to self-quarantine or isolate should report their hours as sick time. Supervisors are being informed to approve these hours even if they exceed an employee’s accrued sick time. Excess hours will be tracked for each employee and repaid going forward when additional hours are earned.
Similarly, employees who, after talking with their supervisors, are unable to work for reasons other than COVID-19 will be allowed to take vacation time. During the health emergency, vacation time will also be allowed to exceed an employee’s accrued hours and repaid going forward when additional time is earned.