What is it?

Email from UVM's Enterprise Technology Services (ETS).

When was it announced?

Monday, March 30, 2020.

What is it about?

To comply with social distancing measures and to maintain safety, UVM will not provide any carry-in option for hardware repair or software support. If you wish to pursue a hardware repair, you will have to work directly with the device's manufacturer and coordinate a send-in. ETS is still available for remote support and troubleshooting.

Where can I learn more?

Visit ETS's contact page for more information on their hours and how to submit a help ticket.

What is it?

This is a Directive from Governor Phil Scott.

When was it announced?

Thursday, March 26, 2020.

What is it about?

The Governor has directed schools to remain closed for in-person instruction and be required to implement continuity of learning plans for remote learning. This an extension of a directive that initially dismissed schools until April 6th, 2020.

Where can I learn more?

Read the school-year dismissal press release.

What is it?

Update on applcations that can be used remotely.

When was it announced?

Thursday, March 19, 2020.

What is it about?

UVM provided access to Adobe Creative Cloud products, including Acrobat DC, InDesign, and Photoshop in computer labs on-campus. Adobe has extended remote access to their Creative Cloud suite of applications through May 31, 2020. During this period, UVM students, faculty and staff can download and install Creative Cloud applications to their personal devices and use their UVM NetID credentials to log in.

CDCI encourages everyone to install Acrobat DC as it can help improve the digital accessibility of PDFs.

Where can I learn more?

Visit ETS's software and licensing page on Adobe Creative Cloud Remote Access.

What is it?

UVM has updated guidelines on teleworking and created a specific process for requests related to COVID-19.

When was it announced?

Origianl information sent on Friday, March 13, 2020.

UPDATED on March 16 at 2:29pm via email sent by Wanda Heading-Grant, Vice President of Human Resources, Diversity and Multicultural Affairs.

What is it about?

UPDATE: as of 3/16 at 2:29pm, UVM is expanding its telecommuting agreement to encourage employees to telework wherever possible. Employees will still need to utilize the procedure listed below.

There is now a COVID-19-specific telework agreement. This agreement may also be used if parents need to stay home with their kids due to school closures. This includes non-exempt employees who have work they could do from home. Here are the steps for this process:

1. Employees wishing to work remotely must fill out and sign the COVID-19 telework agreement form (PDF).
2. Employees must get signed approval from supervisor.
3. After the form is signed by the employee and supervisor, it needs to be emailed to Rachel Cronin. Please let Rachel know if this request is part of an accommodation due to a disability.
4. Forms submitted to Rachel will then be sent to the CESS Dean's office and to CDCI's Labor and Employee Relations representative. If this request is part of an accommodation due to a disability, the form will also be sent to UVM's ADA/504 Coordinator.

Where do I learn more?

Read the 3/16 announcement on expanding telecommuting at UVM.

What is it?

Governor Phil Scott announced that schools will be dismissed no later than Wednesday, March 18 to help prevent the spread of coronavius.

When was it announced?

Sunday, March 15, 2020.

What is it about?

After releasing state of emergency directives on Friday, March 13, Governor Scott amended his plan to include the dismissal of schools by Wednesday, March 18. Teaching and learning is expected to continue, but there are currently a lot of questions around what this will look like. CDCI knows this will also impact the services many of our projects provide. As we continue to learn what this means for our state and our work, we will share updates.

Full communication

Read the Governor's school closing order online.

Where can I learn more?

The VT Digger is  regularly updating its story on state school closures. 

What is it?

Governor Phil Scott declared a state of emergency and outlined plans to mitigate the risk and transfer of COVID-19, especially to the most at-risk populations within the state.

When was it announced?

Friday, March 13, 2020, at 5:30pm.

What is it about?

There are 19 parts of the exectuive order. These topics include reducing and restricting visitation at residential and hospital settings housing at-risk populations, prohibiting social gatherings of 250 or more people, and encouraging public K-12 schools to remain open for the time being.

Full communication

The Executive Order is available online (pdf). You can also get more state updates by visiting Vermont Department of Health.

What is it?

Email from Gary Derr, Vice President for Operations and Public Safety

When was it announced?

March 13, 2020 at 2:20pm

What is it about?

The university is suspending all domestic and international travel for faculty, staff, and students. All university-related travel reservations need to be cancelled immediately, regardless if they were paid on a UVM purchasing card or personal credit card.

Full Communication

Read the full travel restriction notification.

What is it?

Email from Rachel Cronin

When was it announced? 

Sent March 13, 2020 at 8:52am and Updated March 13, 2020 at 2:06pm

What is it about?

Communicating with CDCI Personnel about frequently asked questions and concerns around travel, events, technical assistance, reviews, and teleworking.

Full Communication

Hello, Everyone,

Good morning, and we hope this finds you all well. We have received many questions from you, our students, and partners. We have spent the past few days learning about COVID-19 and the university's plans and policies and meeting with administrators in our college to answer your questions.

The goal of this email is to provide some answers about travel, events, technical assistance, annual performance reviews, and telework. The short answer is CDCI personnel need to follow all university and college guidelines. We understand some changes are going to create real challenges, and raise new questions. Please share your questions and suggestions with us as you explore ways to continue providing teaching, service, research, and outreach. 

As a reminder, in order to provide the most accurate and timely information, all official communication related to the University’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic will come from the Office of the President. 

Thank you,

- Jesse & Rachel

Guidance regarding the travel authorization policy revision:

We learned via Gary Derr's email on March 10, 2020 that there is a change to travel reimbursement policy effective immediately. From Gary's email "Under existing university policy, all employees are currently required to obtain authorization for international travel. Effective immediately, all employees are also required to obtain authorization for domestic travel through PeopleSoft. If you do not secure prior authorization for travel, you will be personally responsible for all costs associated with any travel disruption." The purpose of this policy change is to insure that UVM does not become liable for excessive travel expenses that are incurred if the event you are attending is cancelled. This means that for any travel where a hotel or airfare or conference registration occurs, there must be a travel authorization submitted first, regardless of the destination or the means of purchase. This does not apply for in or interstate mileage reimbursement where no other travel expenses are incurred. Click here for a link to UVM Travel's frequently asked questions regarding this new policy. Some examples for CDCI of how this policy will work in reality: Let's say I am planning to attend a conference in New Hampshire in April. I will need to drive to NH, book a hotel, and register for the conference. Normally, I would do all of these things and then request reimbursement after I return via a travel expense reimbursement form. Effective immediately, a travel authorization must be requested BEFORE the travel occurs. If a travel authorization is not requested and the event is cancelled and no refunds are supplied, I am then responsible for covering the cost of that hotel and conference registration myself. If no travel authorization is obtained and if the hotel or conference registration were paid for on a UVM p-card and there are no refunds supplied, I am then responsible for reimbursing UVM for the costs incurred on the p-card. 
You do not need to seek out travel authorization for every day mileage incurred while doing the day to day work of your project. Conceivably, if your TA meeting was cancelled you wouldn't drive to the location and therefore wouldn't be seeking mileage reimbursement anyway. 
To request a travel authorization email travel@uvm.edu, cc Rachel.Cronin@uvm.edu at least 2 weeks prior to the travel occurring. In the body of the email include your name and employe ID number, list all anticipated expenses including mileage as a total, include the location of travel and the business purpose of travel (ie: why you are traveling), include the start and end dates of the trip, include a chartstring or ask in the email that Rachel forward the chartstring. After you submit the email request the Travel Office will create the authorization in peoplesoft and it will be reviewed by Dean Thomas. Please wait to make travel arrangements until you receive confirmation that your travel has been approved. If the trip is cancelled, please email travel@uvm.edu and cc Rachel.Cronin@uvm.edu to let them know.

Directives for cancelling, moving online, or postponing events with 26 or more individuals  and directives for attending non-CDCI hosted events with 26 or more attending individuals:

At this time, we believe in exercising an abundance of caution and in maintaining social distance wherever possible. As a result, UVM is requiring that all CDCI hosted events with more than 25 individuals meeting in one place be cancelled, postponed, or rescheduled to an online, distance format. This is in line with UVM's stance as per President Garimella's email from March 11, 2020, "The university will remain open, but events and gatherings will be limited to 25 attendees or fewer. Wherever possible, remote delivery will be implemented to support any larger meetings." We have outlined guidelines and tips for using distance technology (docx). UVM does not have specific guidance or restrictions on attending events hosted by someone else. It is our recommendation that whenever possible you attend remotely or consider not attending. This is, however, at your own discretion. Please refer to these CDC resources regarding social distancing and steps to prevent illness.

Directives for TA and Training for smaller groups, both in schools and outside of schools:

The general message from the UVM administration, the CESS Dean's office, and leadership here at CDCI is to maintain continuity of services wherever possible and within reason with the suggestion that as many of these events be moved to distance based communication wherever possible. The expectation at this time is that TA and trainings both in homes and in schools should continue if the group is 25 or fewer individuals. Please include yourself and your colleagues in that number. Whenever possible, please move TA and trainings to distance based communication regardless of the number of individuals attending. See attached for tips using Adobe Connect, Teams, Screen-Cast-o-matic, and REDCap. If the TA or training can't be moved to distance based communication, please refer to the CDC resource for tips to prevent illness linked to here. We are ordering more hand sanitizer to provide to outreach professionals in the field. It might take several weeks to arrive. In the meantime, please continue to wash your hands as frequently as possible. We are also working with CESS leadership to be added to the notification list for school closings around the state. We will share school closings daily when we are made aware of them. Obviously if the TA or training you were to provide that day is in a closed school, the TA or training would likely also be cancelled.

Annual Performance Reviews:

We learned yesterday, in an email from Kait Rooney, that the deadline for submitting annual performance reviews in PeopleAdmin for staff was extended from March 31, 2020 to May 15, 2020. The email also specified that individual units may require supervisors to complete their reviews sooner than that. Pam Blum, Assistant Dean for Finance and Administration within CESS, notified CESS supervisors late yesterday that CESS is encouraging all supervisors to complete the reviews as timely as possible, preferably by April 30, 2020.

UVM Telework Policy and how and when it should be used:

NOTE: This section has been updated on March 13, 2020 at 3pm. 

UVM has a policy regarding flexible working arrangements. This includes ongoing teleworking arrangements. At the moment, faculty and staff should maintain continuity of services. For many of us that means reporting to the office for work either on campus or off. As per Dean Scott Thomas' email from yesterday, March 11, 2020, "The decision to move to remote instructional delivery is one made on the basis of evidence and considerable deliberation. Moving instruction off campus significantly reduces the risk to our staff by having the majority of faculty and students work remotely. This will better ensure that our campus will continue to operate at capacity as we navigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic."  However, if you feel strongly that you need to work from home, please work with your supervisor to complete the flexible working agreement form. If you work in a state office and have questions about how this applies to you, please reach out to either Jesse or Rachel. And, as always, if you are not feeling well, even if you feel just a little off, please either work from home or take a sick day until you know you are well enough to return to work.

What is it?

Email from President Suresh Garimella

When was it announced?

March 11, 2020 at 1:24pm

What is it about?

Communicating with UVM students, facult, and staff about the actions the university will take to minimize the spread of COVID-19

Full Communication

March 11, 2020

Dear UVM community members:

As we face the local, national, and international challenges posed by the coronavirus outbreak (“COVID-19”), our primary focus remains on the well-being of our students, faculty and staff. In addition to monitoring the situation closely, we have continued to consult with health authorities in order to thoughtfully and appropriately refine our response plans.

Exercising an abundance of caution, the university will shift to remote methods of learning starting Wednesday, March 18, for regularly scheduled classes. In-person classes on Monday and Tuesday, March 16 and 17, will be canceled to provide additional opportunity for faculty and staff to complete preparations for moving to remote instruction.

This decisive action reflects our commitment to help slow the spread of the virus, while also promoting the academic progress of our students and protecting the health and safety of our community. Please note that this change does not apply to medical students in the Larner College of Medicine, which is developing a separate action plan centered on their unique needs.

Specific communications will soon be issued by Provost Patty Prelock to the faculty, Dean Cindy Forehand to graduate students and post-doctoral scholars, and Rafael Rodriguez, executive director of Residential Life, to our residential undergraduate students, whom we are encouraging to not return to the residence halls after Spring Break unless they need to live on campus. These messages will include links to more detailed information and resources.

Also, starting Wednesday, March 18, the university will begin implementing other measures to facilitate the social distancing recommended to slow the spread of COVID-19. The university will remain open, but events and gatherings will be limited to 25 attendees or fewer. Wherever possible, remote delivery will be implemented to support any larger meetings.

These measures will remain in effect until further notice. Given the evolving nature of the situation, and our continual reassessment, we are not in a position to address future events, such as Commencement, at this time.

In summary, I am announcing the following measures:
In-person classes on Monday, March 16 and Tuesday, March 17 will be cancelled.
Classes will resume on Wednesday, March 18, but will shift to remote methods of instruction.
The university will remain open and employees will be expected to report to work.
Graduate students and post-doctoral scholars will be expected to continue their work, as described in the communication they will receive from Dean Forehand.
Social distancing measures, such as limiting indoor events to 25 attendees or fewer, will go into effect Wednesday, March 18.
While these changes are significant, I want to emphasize the importance of keeping our university open, and continuing our support of critically important services and activities, such as our student support, administrative functions, and research endeavors.

I recognize these measures are unprecedented and may be unsettling. With that in mind, we will continue to provide regular updates and information. The COVID-19 website (go.uvm.edu/covid19) is a resource for the latest policy decisions and other useful information and, starting today, questions may be sent to COVID19@uvm.edu or to our COVID-19 information helpline that will be staffed from 8:30-4:30 daily (and this weekend) until further notice. The helpline number is 802-656-HELP.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership. I am grateful for the dedication, teamwork, and care that defines our community.

Suresh V. Garimella
President