The use of spaces on campus has been prioritized for academic use first this year due to COVID-19. The following non-classroom spaces have been designated for academic purposes and therefore use of the space for events meetings is limited.

• Alumni House Silver Pavilion 
• Davis Center Grand Maple Ballroom 
• Ira Allen Chapel 
• Old Mill John Dewey Lounge 
• Waterman Memorial Lounge 
• Waterman Manor
• PFG Indoor Tennis courts 4, 5 & 6

If you plan to adapt your event to be virtual, you may still want to make a reservation in EMS. Making a reservation in EMS for your virtual events will enable you to list the event on the Campus Calendar, and request technical support or assistance from University Event Services. Check out our page, Virtual and Hybrid Events, for more information on how we can help!

To book your event online email or call your Campus Events Scheduling team at campusevents@uvm.edu or 802-655-5667.

The University has created an on-campus Quiet Reading Space where students may go to engage with remote courses. The space is located on Athletic campus in the PFG Multipurpose Indoor Tennis Courts. (Enter the Patrick Gym main doors and then follow signs to the right to the Tennis Court Facility / Study Space).

Capacity is limited, please plan accordingly.  The space will be available Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 PM.  You will be required to sign in at the facility.  Please observe the following rules:

1. Students must sign in at the door.
2. Wear a mask at all times and observe 6-foot physical distancing.
3. Clean your desk with a disinfectant wipe before being seated (Wipes are located on the wall to the left of the seating entry area).
4. Eating is not allowed.
5. You must be seated at a desk. Please do not sit in the aisles or against walls. Please do not congregate in the aisles.
6. Please use headphones and low voices when speaking.
7. When class ends, please leave quietly to allow other students to use the facility.
8. The Staff monitor has authority over the space and will ask students not following the rules to leave.

Some classrooms have been designated as teaching space for remote instruction. The Pod spaces are classrooms that have been outfitted with technology such as a microphone, a tablet surface for writing, and a webcam, and are suitable for live-streaming remote (synchronous) classes, which is the top priority use for these spaces. These rooms cannot be used for general meeting purposes this year. The following rooms have been designated as Pod rooms for this academic year:

The university has implemented an aggressive and comprehensive set of measures aimed at maintaining the safety and health of our campus and local communities this fall. Another way we can reduce the risk of Coronavirus is to avoid exposure to visitors who are not participating in our rigorous testing protocols.

Earlier in the semester, as the UVM Health, Safety, and Resumption of Operations Committee reviewed departments’ resumption of in-person operations plans, there were instances in which limited non-academic/non-research visitors to campus were approved. Since we’re moving indoors, heading into cold/flu season, and COVID is spiking in areas across the Northeast, the university will now be restricting all visitors to campus.

Non-Academic/Non-Research Visitors
Non-academic/non-research visitors require advance permission before coming to campus, and will only be approved when the visit is:

• Essential to students’ education
• Essential to the delivery of other essential services to students
• Essential to contributing to Vermont’s COVID response preparedness
• Essential to the delivery of medical or other health services

Advance permission for non-academic/non-research visitors should be sought by submitting a revised resumption plan to the UVM Health, Safety, and Resumption of Operations Committee, detailing the nature of the visit and the related health and safety plan. Please contact Francis Churchill or Tessa Lucey for more information.

Academic/Research Visitors/Collaborators
Academic and research visitors/collaborators continue to be restricted. There is an exception process in place that is coordinated by Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs Jim Vigoreaux and Vice President for Research Kirk Dombrowski. Exceptions are limited to concrete collaborations that cannot be done via Teams.

Emeriti faculty with an essential academic or research need to visit campus must seek pre-approval through the exception process.

Research Participants
Research participants who must visit campus should already be included in a lab/project resumption plan that was reviewed earlier this summer. If not, then the plan needs to be updated and reapproved. This update may require IRB approval as well.

Other Visitors

• Campus retail will only open to the public during move-in and move-out periods.
• Vendors will follow the vendor approval process.
• Proposed student visits (this includes current and prospective students) should be pre-approved by Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Student Success J. Dickinson

Please only request permission for visitors when you believe the visit is absolutely essential. Thank you for understanding the need to take these precautions to support our continued success.

As communicators, we have a responsibility to consistently illustrate the healthy, safe behaviors we expect our community to adhere to.

GROUPS: If filming or shooting any group of 2 or more individuals, they should all be wearing masks, whether they are indoors or outdoors, and all must follow proper social distancing guidelines (6 feet of space between all individuals). This applies regardless of whether the person is a researcher in a lab or a student on the Green.

• As of April 2020, face coverings are to be worn at UVM whenever you are in the presence of other people or in a public setting. Face coverings are required in the State of Vermont in all public settings where social distancing may not be possible.
• Pay special attention that masks are worn properly (from the bridge of their nose to below their chin). Non CDC-approved face coverings (for example bandanas, neck gaiters) should not be showcased in prominent ways as there is conflicting information regarding their efficacy.
• Even in a setting where distancing is possible, groups should wear masks as to help normalize this imagery, reassure our community, and promote healthy, safe behaviors.
• If 6 feet is not possible (e.g. two lab technicians who work in a tight spot), put as much distance as possible between subjects for the photo to still make sense and give the appearance of distance.
• Folks will miss context on social media in particular – so any students showcased should be masked and distanced, even if they are roommates. Consider each photo posted without the caption; taken out of context, does the photo still meet guidelines?

INDIVIDUALS: If filming or shooting a single individual, and you can distance the subject from yourself and all other people, you may discuss with the individual if they are comfortable being filmed or photographed without a mask, providing that everyone else stays distanced and masked.

• Photographers/videographers should always keep their mask on, and maintain a six-foot distance from the subject and any other people in a public setting.
• Time that the subject spends without a mask should be as limited as possible.
• Consider adding a footnote to your photos and videos if a subject is not wearing a mask, or if footage/photo was captured prior to the pandemic
• Folks will miss context on social media in particular – so any people showcased should be masked unless there is compelling reason to show them unmasked and the reason is obvious. For instance a researcher collecting samples alone in a field, a student eating alone on the green, or a researcher working alone in a fume hood with lab coat, safety glasses, gloves, etc. Consider each photo posted without the caption; taken out of context, does the photo still meet guidelines?

UVM has five Community Tents to offer for dining, studying, and approved events. All tents have heat, lights, and Wi-Fi. They come completely set up with tables and chairs that maximize the seat counts while keeping a 6-foot distance.

OPEN times indicate the space is available for event programming or will otherwise be used as open student study/mingling space.

Tents will close for the semester at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, November 24th.

Reservations:

Tents will not be in the EMS System, they must be reserved by contacting the Campus Events Scheduling Team at campusevents@uvm.edu or 802-656-5667.

Tent Schedules:

Scheduling Guidelines:

Tents cannot be used for formal academic purposes such as review sessions and break out groups Students studying informally is allowed.
Student groups and Departments may request the tents for events during the open hours.

Monitoring for Health and Safety:

Participant behavior and appropriate use of the tents will be monitored by Dining services and Program hosts. All participants must abide by the Green and Gold Promise or be asked to leave the tent.

Tent Setup:

Each tent will be set up with tables & chairs. Layouts can be found here. Event programs will be encouraged to use the tents in the way in which they have been set to minimize disruption and maximize use. If an event requires a different setup, ample time will be required to change the tents set up and return it to the standard setup after the event. All labor costs associated with changing tent layouts will be the responsibility of the event sponsor. 

• Venue — what is the location, size, type, crowd density, indoor/outdoor, airflow of your venue.
• Attendees— what is the age, health status, and where are the attendees coming from.
• Event activities —what is the level of interaction among participants.
• Duration — how long will the event last? Events should meet no longer than necessary to complete the meeting or purpose of the event.
• Reasoning —what is the purpose and necessity of the event.
• Accommodations for individuals with registered disabilities – how to identify and accommodate participants who have disabilities.

If the event poses a substantial health risk, event planners should consider conducting the event virtually or in a hybrid format.

Communicate in advance of the event about event guidelines and expectations:

• Face coverings are required.
• Physical distancing is required.
• Advance or in-person health screenings are required for employees and students Know the adjusted maximum capacity to accommodate physical distancing for the space your event is in.
• What are the ingress/egress plans to avoid contact whenever possible?
• Limit high touch items or equipment at events.

UVM has canceled on-campus programming from outside speakers for the fall semester, including events that would encourage large crowds such as parents’ weekend and alumni weekend, which will be celebrated virtually.

All events and meetings on campus will require in-person participants to wear face coverings when in the presence of others. Including, but not limited to in the classrooms, labs, studios, and outdoor events.

Students, faculty, and staff must observe strict physical distancing of 6 feet while on campus. This includes common area spaces, classrooms, labs, studios, outdoor spaces, etc. Occupancy has been adjusted so that students, faculty, staff, and visitors maintain strict physical distancing of no less than 6 feet per individual.

All in-person events must have a designated team or staff member present at the event to assist with onsite compliance with the COVID social distancing and face mask requirements.

All technical services and equipment needs are to be submitted to University Event Services a minimum of 10 business days out from your event. UES will determine the options for services, equipment, and vendors.

Event Planners must keep a roster of all the people who attend in-person events. The roster must include a phone number and full name to be used in the case of contact tracing. The roster must be kept for at least 30 days. In this case, the Event Planner is considered to be the person listed as the 1st contact on the EMS reservation. The Event Planner is expected to be able to provide UES with the roster if requested, even if they do not attend themselves.

All Open events must be pre-ticketed or have a sign-up in advance, no walk-up customers are allowed. Ticketing service is available to assist with this.

Before planning your catering, please review the Fall 2020 Food Service Guidelines

Catering is provided only by UVM Dining and not through one of the preferred caterers until further notice. No catering waivers will be approved for any other caterer or vendor such as food trucks.

Catering on campus is limited to individual, pre-packaged items only. No self-service buffets or other options will be available.

No outside food of any kind is allowed unless it is a pre-packaged snack. For example, individual, packaged cupcakes would be allowed, but no large cake that is then sliced and served.

No pizza, potlucks, bake sales, or food fundraisers will be allowed on campus.

Please note that all locations on campus including, classrooms, meeting rooms, departmental rooms,and athletic facilities will have reduced capacities this academic year. The new capacities will be
noted at the entrance. In many spaces, signs and stickers will be placed on the floor showing wherefurniture is to be placed to maintain 6-foot distancing in the room.

Some events and meeting spaces will be repurposed for academic use and not available for events and meetings.

In some spaces, special setup requests cannot be accommodated. The room must stay in the default setup.

To reduce touchpoints and the spread of the virus groups are advised to either forgo or reduce the use of decorations such as streamers, balloons, posters, or signs taped to walls.

For department spaces on campus include office, break rooms, conference rooms, special equipment classrooms, and other department spaces containing seating that is scheduled by that
department, the department is required to set up the room utilizing 6 feet between each individual seat in all directions. Space capacities for a room should be recalculated with 6-foot distancing
requirements.

We strongly suggest using the pre-approved COVID-19 inventory of signs, decals, and posters to help maintain compliance with these guidelines.

Departments are responsible for placing a capacity sign in every location. Sign templates for department spaces will be provided. Please note: public spaces will have signs installed by Custodial Services and Physical Plant staff (public halls, restrooms, elevators, and stairs).

Telecommuting and on-line instruction will help facilitate modified space capacities.

Student groups are encouraged to meet virtually when possible.

All student groups will need to follow the same guidelines for in-person events as outlined above.

Recognized student organizations are required to adhere to additional guidelines as set forth by the Department of Student Life.

Tabling reservations will be available Monday – Friday, 9am – 9pm, reserved in 2 hr blocks: 9-11am,
11:30am-1:30pm, 2-4pm, 4:30-6:30pm, and 7-9pm.

• Each organization can have only one table and one block per day.
• Consecutive day reservations by the same group are restricted to provide wider availability to all groups.
• Tabling will be limited to the university community only. Non-UVM vendor tabling will not be allowed on campus.
• Safety precautions for tabling activities will mirror precautions for meetings and events:
  • 6ft physical distancing between clients and representatives is required.
  • Only 1 person behind tables at a time
  • Face coverings are required
• Promotional items/giveaways/brochures and flyers may be distributed by placing materials on the table, so they are available for pick up by the guest.
• Food sales or giveaways strictly prohibited UNLESS pre-packaged, individually wrapped, and sealed; no bake sales or other prepared foods will be permitted.
• Providing hand sanitizer at the table is recommended. If desired, tabling organizations will need to provide hand sanitizer.
• Tables may not be moved or rearranged.
• Should you choose to sanitize the table before use, supplies will be made available at the Davis Center 1st floor Information Desk.
• All tabling will be permitted for up to a 2-hour time block for each group. Outside tabling will be permitted weather dependent. Given the limited availability for tabling space, a rain location will not be possible.

To request a room or event click here to log in to the EMS Portal.
To learn more about UVM’s Return to Campus click here.
To order COVID signage from UVM Print and Mail click here.