Quickly Transferring to Distant Modalities
Dear campus community,
First of all, I would like to wish you all a happy and healthy new year. Unfortunately, we will continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022 and are actively monitoring the current Omicron surge. I am in regular contact with the CSU Chancellery and CSU colleagues. The escalation in positivity rates and the increase in hospital admissions across the state have all raised concerns. When we resumed testing on campus this week, we saw a similarly dramatic increase in positivity rates. In this context, The university has decided to postpone the start of classroom teaching to February 14th and most campus services will be offered remotely until February 7th. The J. Paul Leonard Library, Mashouf Wellness Center, Cesar Chavez Student Center and most of the administrative buildings will remain open.
The semester itself starts as planned on January 24th. There are no changes or disruptions to the planned online courses. Face-to-face events will be switched to remote modalities in the first three weeks of the semester. We make some exceptions for courses that need to meet in person to meet students’ immediate learning needs (this may include hands-on courses in health, science, or the arts). The chair holders, together with their deans and the provost, determine which courses must be held in person, and the students will be notified by January 14 if their course is held in person. We don’t expect many exceptions. Courses that are granted personal exemptions begin January 24th.
Most campus services, including all student services, will be migrated to remote modalities. All campus offices will physically reopen on February 7th, offering a combination of personal and remote services pending the return of in-person tuition on February 14th. Students and staff are encouraged to check a department’s website to determine the best way to stay in touch with a particular office.
University Housing will inform students in the dormitory about their return to campus and move-in dates directly from University Housing. Students who are currently living in dormitories during the winter holidays will not be asked to vacate.
Employees and administrators with existing teleworking contracts can continue to work remotely after approval by their manager and in accordance with the needs of their offices and units. As the university remains open, some faculties, staff, and administrative staff will continue to work on campus as determined by their supervisors and institutional needs. Staff and faculty who prefer to return to campus by February 6 can and should contact their manager to make arrangements to return to the office.
I would like to express my thanks and those of the entire university to the employees who continue to work personally in the service of our students and our campus community. And thank you all for your patience and work as we continue to strive to fulfill our mission and meet the challenges of the pandemic.
While this is a moment to exercise caution, I remind you that this is not a return to March 2020 when we switched all courses and services to remote modalities. The campus remains open. Our student athletes stay in competition. Campus facilities such as the J. Paul Leonard Library, the Mashouf Wellness Center, the Cesar Chavez Student Center and most of the administrative buildings will remain open. And we will continue to offer COVID tests and refresher clinics on campus.
We are a highly vaccinated and increasingly promoted campus. COVID-19 is no longer the same disease as it was two years ago, and we are now working to get an endemic disease under control. My family is personally experiencing the benefits of these vaccines and booster vaccines. Earlier this week, my son and I tested positive for COVID-19 but have been asymptomatic so far and other family members remain negative. Like many others, I didn’t imagine the start of 2022 this way, but thanks to our multiple vaccination doses, we are fine.
Local health experts believe the current surge will peak around the end of January. The delay in face-to-face tuition and service gives all of us time to get our booster vaccinations and let up some post-vacation surge. For some of us, this temporary delay is a relief; a sad step backwards for others. We all have expectations of that Personal service resumes on February 7th and personal teaching resumes on February 14th, and we’ll be posting a campus update on February 1st confirming plans for her resumption. We will continue to follow the advice of public health and medical professionals and share our responses quickly.
As always, I wish you good health.
Preferably,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
president
