Dear Faculty,

I know many have questions about our increased COVID numbers. I want to provide some context for what we are seeing. There is a new variant which is 40% more contagious, so the increase in cases is expected.  The positivity rate among UVM students remains lower than the state’s overall positivity rate and we are providing more extensive testing. Of the cases we are seeing in the state most are in the 20-29 year-old range with mild symptoms so the strategy to vaccinate by age bands is keeping our older, more vulnerable populations safe.

Transmission is occurring through small gatherings of 5 to 10 people and it is more likely to impact whole households as compared to last semester. Importantly, we are seeing no spread in the classroom, so I want to assure our faculty and GTAs who are teaching in person that the classroom space is safe. Additionally, nearly 61% of our positive cases were already in quarantine, so our aggressive testing strategy to not only identify positive cases but ensure close contacts are immediately quarantined is working. Just a reminder that close contacts are those who have been exposed to someone testing positive for COVID who have been less than 6 feet apart for longer than 15 minutes during a 24-hour period.

On the basis of the above, we are going to continue our twice weekly testing for students until further notice. We are following a more stringent definition of household than the state, and we are continuing our enforcement of the Green and Gold Promise. To protect yourself and our community, this is a good time for faculty to recommit to testing regularly, avoiding crowded spaces, social gatherings, and travel whenever possible.

As I do each week, I’m writing to share some reminders and information that I hope is helpful to you.

• Fall 2021 registration begins on April 5. My thanks to those of you who have posted your Expanded Section Descriptions (ESDs) or a link to a recent syllabus for all of your fall course sections. Only about half of the required ESDs have been posted; if you haven’t posted yours please do so as soon as possible. ESDs help students understand the nature of a course, its learning objectives, pedagogy, methods of evaluation, and provide students with the information necessary to plan their courses before registration opens.
• The Graduate College and the Graduate Student Senate will be celebrating National Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation Week during the week of April 5 – 9. This is our opportunity to thank all of our amazing graduate students and recognize their contributions to teaching, research, and service at UVM. The celebration will include a series of virtual contests and events for graduate students. Please take some time next week to recognize your graduate students’ contributions and offer them your thanks. Your gratitude and encouragement are especially important this year.
• The virtual Student Research Conference will go live on April 15. More information coming soon.
• The Center for Cultural Pluralism invites you to a session of Courageous Conversations. In this session you will learn how to lean into conversations about race, disrupt bias, and move forward. The session will be held Tuesday, April 6 from 10:00 – 11:30 AM. Register through PeopleSoft-Human Resources, with your UVM net ID login.
• The UVM Integrative Pain Management Conference is scheduled for May 7, 2021. This conference is an essential aspect of reducing opioid prescriptions and addiction in our community, providing patient-centered care, reducing health care costs, and improving health outcomes. The conference will be offered virtually. Learn more.
• On Tuesday, Vermont Governor Scott announced that anyone who is 16 years or older and who identifies as Black, Indigenous, or a person of color (BIPOC) including anyone with Abenaki or other First Nations heritage can sign up to get a vaccine beginning April 1. Members of households of BIPOC community members also are eligible at that time. For instructions on how to schedule a vaccine, please visit the Vermont Department of Health Getting the Covid-19 Vaccine website.
• Currently, only residents of Vermont are eligible for vaccines, including current college students who intend to stay in Vermont over the summer. Based on current vaccine supply forecasts, and as long as doses continue to be allocated at the current level, the State expects to expand registration for COVID-19 vaccines to any college students who do not meet the residency requirements as well as second homeowners returning to Vermont for the summer months, on April 30. We are pleased that the state expanded eligibility after we strongly advocated for the change on behalf of our students.
• Reminders and recent communications:
  • Initial Commencement 2021 plans were outlined this week.
  • Vice President Derr provided a vaccination update on April 1.
  • The deadline for students to withdraw from classes is April 8. It is especially important that faculty provide updated grade information and make use of our Academic Alert system so that students have a good sense of their academic standing in your course prior to the withdraw deadline.
  • Please help shape the RFP process for UVM’s Learning Management System by completing this brief survey.
  • The addendum to the existing UVM Travel Policy has been revised for summer 2021 travel, and reflects the most current state and University requirements.
  • Plans for the fall 2021 semester are outlined in this March 15 memo.
• You can find detailed information on COVID-19 tests administered and results on the Weekly Testing Report. Last week’s student test results included 55 off-campus positives and 25 on-campus positives out of 18,318 tests. Last week’s faculty and staff test results included 0 positives out of 1,086 tests. Faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to participate in regular testing.

I know everyone is feeling the exhaustion and frustration of the pandemic. Who would have expected that a year in, we would still find ourselves isolated from broad human contact, deprived of face-to-face conversations that don’t rely on a screen, and unable to connect at a very personal level. We have faced many challenging decisions and not everyone agrees with the steps forward, especially when we have lived in a world of unknowns for more than a year. I am grateful for your resilience, and ask for your continued service as a university citizen. We are one UVM – we are greater than the sum of our parts. We need to take care of ourselves and one another and focus on what we can do to support positive change and engagement with our larger community.

Warmly,
Patty