See the UVM landing page for students and families that includes support for remote learning, information about student accessibility services, academic tutoring, health and wellness information, FAQs, and more.

CESS Office of Student Services

Our CESS Student Services Office strives to listen and respond compassionately, offering guidance and resources that help students develop as engaged, ethical, and collaborative learners (and humans) while pursuing their academic, career, and personal goals.

During this time of addressing COVID-19 social distancing, we remain available to listen, guide and assist you, albeit remotely for the time being. Our hours are 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday-Friday. You can reach us by emailing cessstsv@uvm.edu or by calling 802-656-3468. We will reach out to you on the same day.

Walk-In Hours to be posted shortly for Fall 2020.

Our student-centered support includes the following:

• Holistic advising (academic and personal)
• Services, resources, and policy support to students and faculty within increasingly more complex and diverse environments, partnering to help students progress to graduation and becoming outstanding professionals
• Academic and student affairs enrichment programming
• Enrollment management (recruitment, retention, transitions) in conjunction with diversity and equity priorities
• Addressing students’ goals and questions, and connecting you with relevant resources (a great first point of contact)
• Helping students navigate personal and academic objectives or issues during this COVID-19 period
• Assisting students who may benefit from coordinated resource support
• Assisting students with course registration
• Administering the Academic Standing Review process and helping students make progress
• Assisting students and faculty with Degree Audits
• Serving as the primary contact for course withdrawals, leaves of absence, and re-entry
• Signing academic forms that require the Dean’s office approval and signature
• Partnering with students and faculty to pursue and structure Incompletes in courses
• Communicating with faculty when students may need to miss classes due to serious illness or an emergency
• Facilitating understanding of or appeals to standing policies and procedures
• Verifying eligibility to graduate
• Certifying students for educational licensure

CESS Student Services Team:

• Lynn C. White Cloud: lwhitecl@uvm.edu
• Gillian Homsted: gillian.homsted@uvm.edu
• Meghan “MJ” Jaird: meghan.jaird@uvm.edu
• Margaret Coan: margaret.coan@uvm.edu

CESS Return to In-Person Operations (RIPO) Coordinators

• Pam Blum
• Katie Shepherd

CESS Safety Officers & Logistic Coordinators by Department or Unit

CESS Deans Office

Designated safety officer and logistic coordinator (health and safety issues)

• Katie Shepherd, Katharine.Shepherd@uvm.edu, (802) 999-9926 (cell); (802) 656-1348 (office)
• Pam Blum, Pamela.Blum@uvm.edu, (802) 777-3007 (cell); (802) 656-1275 (office)

**Please note: Katie Shepherd and Pam Blum will also serve as the Assistant Safety Officers in each unit, should the primary contacts not be available.

For The Office of Student Services Staff:

   1)  Designated safety officer and logistic coordinator (health and safety issues)

• Meghan “MJ” Jaird, Meghan.Jaird@uvm.edu (802) 656-1442;

   2)  CESS Student Services Approved RIPO (coming soon)

For the Department of Education (all Programs)

   1)  Designated safety officers (Health and Safety Issues)

• Kimberly Vannest, Kimberly.Vannest@uvm.edu PH: (802)-656-1350; Cell: (979) 219-7763
• Ellen Baker, Ellen.Baker@uvm.edu PH: (802) 656-5778; Cell: (802) 522-8120

• Michele Guyette, Michele.Guyette@uvm.edu Cell (802) 734-6778
• Chris Caswell, Chris Caswell@uvm.edu PH: (802) 656-0481
• Crispina Pincus, Crispina.Pincus@uvm.edu PH: (802) 656-3888; Cell: (646) 276-1515
• Kunie Renaud, Kunie.Renaud@uvm.edu PH: (802) 656-8576; Cell: (802) 370-8269

   3)  DOE Approved RIPO (coming soon)

For the Department of Leadership & Developmental Sciences (Counseling & HDFS)

   1)  Designated safety officers (Health and Safety Issues)

• Jane Okech, Jokech@uvm.edu PH: (802) 656-1481; Cell: (802) 318-1875
• Crispina Pincus, Crispina.Pincus@uvm.edu PH: (802) 656-3888; Cell: (646) 276-1515

• Chris Caswell, Chris Caswell@uvm.edu PH: (802) 656-0481
• Crispina Pincus, Crispina.Pincus@uvm.edu PH: (802) 656-3888; Cell: (646) 276-1515
• Kunie Renaud, Kunie.Renaud@uvm.edu PH: (802) 656-8576; Cell: (802) 370-8269

   3)  DLDS Approved RIPO (coming soon)

For Department of Social Work Faculty & Staff:

   1)  Designated safety officers and logistic coordinators (Health and Safety Issues)

• Kate Ball Clem, KBall@uvm.edu (802) 735-6676 (cell); 802-656-2504 (office)
• Pam Blum, Pamela.Blum@uvm.edu (802) 777-3007 (cell); (802) 656-1275 (office)

   2)  Social Work Approved RIPO (coming soon)

For CDCI Employees:

   1)  Designated safety officers and logistic coordinators (Health and Safety Issues)

• Rachel Cronin, Rachel.Cronin@uvm.edu (802) 656-2499 (office); (802) 233-0104 (cell)
• Jesse Suter, Jesse.Suter@uvm.edu (802) 656-1130 (office); (802) 503-5135 (cell)

   2)  CDCI Approved RIPO (coming soon)

For CWTP Employees:

   1)  Designated safety officers and logistic coordinators (Health and Safety Issues)

• Susan Conte, Susan.Conte@uvm.edu (802) 660-2631 (work)
• Thomas Carlson, Thomas.Carlson@uvm.edu (802) 656- 3329 (office); (415) 902-4916 (cell)

   2)  CWTP Approved RIPO (coming soon)

For Tarrant Institute Employees:

1) Designated safety officers and logistic coordinators (Health and Safety Issues)

• John Downes, John.Downes@uvm.edu (802) 598-1749 (cell)
• Robin Merritt, Robin.Merritt@uvm.edu (802) 656-2641 (office)

   2)  Tarrant Approved RIPO (coming soon)

For resources to support teaching remotely, go to the "Teaching Continuity" accordion.

CESS RIPO Planning information: What You Need to Know (PPT)

Faculty Key Information

The Faculty and Academic Affairs Working Group of UVMStrong has compiled key information on classrooms and technology that may be useful to you as you begin the fall semester.

Classroom Safety Guidance for Faculty: UVMStrong has created documents to support faculty who are teaching in-person.  “Classroom Guidance to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19” and “Academic Laboratories Guidance to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19” can be found on the Risk Management web site.

Classroom Technology: CTL and ETS have created guides to assist with classroom technology. You can find detailed information on most general purpose classroom setups and specific information on the new technology in classrooms. 

Technology Info for GTAs and UTAs: Graduate and undergraduate teaching assistants should familiarize themselves with the Quick Start Guide (attached). Here you can find information on most rooms that will also include more detailed training modules.

Mixed Modality Courses: Faculty teaching in a “mixed” modality should review their classroom capacity (https://www.uvm.edu/registrar/fall-semester) and assign students in their class to groups. There is a straightforward way to assign students to groups in Blackboard. Faculty should then alert students that groups have been assigned and let the groups know which day they should come in-person to class.

Teaching PODs: Faculty, GTAs and UTAs who are teaching remotely can schedule PODs to deliver classes and hold office hours. PODs must be scheduled through FAMIS. Please contact your Chair or department administrative assistant for assistance with scheduling.

Please feel free to contact Jean Evans if you have questions.

Human Resources Information

Human Resources FAQs will be updated and supplemented as conditions evolve.

Working Remotely

Please see the University land page with guidance and support for working remotely. This is a repository of resources available to facilitate working remotely. You can also use this website to query any other technology-related questions you have.

Here are some important guides you should be aware of:

• Screencast-o-matic (SOM): Quick Start
• Blackboard for Instructors
• Accessing Network Folders
• Add a UVM email account to your device
• Cisco AnyConnect VPN using MFA

Utilizing existing resources and self-help guides will help mitigate overwhelming our support resources. For technical assistance, please schedule a service or appointment. Priority will be given to services and appointments made using the scheduling tool. However, you may also send an email to cesshelp@uvm.edu to inquire if a phone appointment is necessary.

If students need IT support, please have them call the UVM Helpline at 656-2604. For self-help, please see the UVM Tech Team's Knowledge Base.

Student Teaching, Field Placements, and Internship Information

Contact your program representative:

• Education – Barbara Burrington, Barbara.Burrington@uvm.edu
• Counseling – Lance Smith, Lance.Smith@uvm.edu
• Social Work – Jean Sienkewicz, Jean.Sienkewicz@uvm.edu

See UVM's Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) strategies for teaching remotely using university-supported applications (i.e., Blackboard, MS Teams), plus detailed how-to documentation for several other instructional technologies:

UVM Teaching Continuity website

Getting University Help:

• Submit a ticket by emailing CTL at ctl@uvm.edu
• Call (802)-656-4460
• CTL Open Hours walk-in schedule
• Teaching with Blackboard
• UVM’s Knowledge Base Blackboard for Instructors
• Teaching Continuity Facebook Group
• For Blackboard questions such as how to login or how to open a course, or for help with a network connection, computer hardware, or your NetID, contact the UVM TechTeam at 802-656-2604 or submit a ticket by emailing techteam@uvm.edu.

CESS Support for Remote Teaching

Through Microsoft Teams, a team entitled "CESS Support: Remote Teaching" is available Thursdays from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm and Fridays from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm. You can join this team through your Teams app and receive calendar invitations to these weekly synchronous meetings.

Follow this quick video introduction or follow these directions:

1. Open Microsoft Teams
2. Click on Teams on the left side menu
3. Click on “Join or create team” button in the upper-right corner of the screen
4. Under “Join a team with a code,” enter the team code: cqvlqhh

You can also email Susan Hennessey at sthennes@gmail.com, especially if you don’t already have Teams or have trouble with the code above.

Please see this Updated UVM Travel Policy Addedum Fall 2020:

https://www.uvm.edu/sites/default/files/Division-of-Finance/travel/Fall_2020_UVM_travel_travel_addendum.pdf

CESS:

• Currently in-state, same-day travel and mileage is approved if necessary for your job duties.
• In-state overnight stays need prior approval from your supervisor and business manager.
• No out-of-state or overnight travel is approved at this time unless following the above addendum.