Good morning,

We hope you are looking forward to returning to campus this fall. Students will begin moving back into the residence halls beginning on August 10 and classes will begin on August 17. 

We expect COVID-19 will be with us for the foreseeable future and are planning accordingly and of course while no one can guarantee a campus that is free of persons who have the virus or are otherwise ill, we are making several important changes to help lessen the risks. We want to share with you a number of the decisions we have made and some of the preparations we are making.

Returning to Campus to Work

• Although some employees have already returned to campus to begin preparations for the fall semester, most employees will typically begin returning to work on campus the week of July 26, 2020. Divisional leaders assigned each employee to one of three categories:
  • Category 1: Employees for whom a substantial portion (or all) of their responsibilities need to be performed on-campus on a daily basis.
  • Category 2: Employees for whom a substantial portion (or all) of their responsibilities can be performed remotely on a daily basis if necessary.
  • Category 3: Employees for whom a significant portion of their responsibilities can be performed remotely but must come to campus on a regular, but less than daily, basis to perform critical tasks. 
• Employees will soon begin to receive information from their supervisor regarding their expected return date, work assignment location, and any on-campus work schedule.
• Employees who will be working on campus on a regular but less than daily basis will be assigned an on-campus work schedule. This schedule will help the University practice physical distancing in the workplace and hopefully lessen the number of people an employee comes into contact with. Employees are expected to adhere to their assigned work schedule. Assigned work schedules will not be changed and assigned on-campus work days may not be switched or swapped.

Campus

• Campus and even your personal workspace will likely look different to you when you return to campus. Physical Facilities staff are working with Building Points of Contact and others around campus to erect appropriate signage and physical barriers.
• All offices that provide direct services for students or faculty will be opening and functioning on campus. Some offices will be by appointment only – no drop-ins. 
• Some spaces will be closed or their use will be limited (e.g. break rooms.)

Cleaning

• Common spaces and other high-touch areas will be cleaned, sanitized, and disinfected by custodial staff on at least a daily basis. Physical Facilities will provide disinfectants and hand sanitizer for use by departments and work units. Employees are encouraged to use the supplied products throughout the workday to sanitize or disinfect their workspaces or commonly shared equipment ( e.g. copiers).
• Each employee should remove as many non-essential high-touch items as possible from their work area such as magazines, common pens, etc.
• DO NOT move furniture. Furniture Removal is being coordinated by Physical Facilities and storage space is limited. Tape will be available to cordon off furniture.

Meetings

• You can expect to continue to hold many meetings on a virtual basis –even if everyone is on campus!
• In-person meetings will be limited in size based on local, state and federal guidelines and should not exceed 50 percent of a room’s capacity, assuming individuals can still maintain 6 feet of separation for physical distancing requirements.
• All meeting attendees must wear a face covering while sharing space in a common room.
• During your time on-campus, you are encouraged to communicate with your colleagues and supervisors as needed by email, instant message (e.g. Google Chat, Slack etc.), telephone or other available technology rather than face-to-face. You can also use a range of available virtual collaboration tools (e.g. WebEx, Jabber, etc.).

Personal Conduct

Employees will be expected to follow the Guidelines for Distancing and Hygiene. This includes a daily health assessment and wearing a face covering when working outside a single person office.

More to Come

We will soon be launching a Return to Work website that will provide more information about your return to work. Please remember, the rules and our planning continue to evolve as new information becomes available. 

We look forward to welcoming you back to campus. If in the interim you have questions, please contact Human Resources at employment@MiamiOH.edu, 529-3131 or Academic Personnel Services at academicpersonnel@miamioh.edu.

Jason Osborne
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

David Creamer
Senior Vice President of Finance and Business Services