To: OSU faculty and staff
From: Dan Larson, Coronavirus Response Coordinator, Vice Provost for Student Affairs
MARCH 26, 2020 UPDATE:
Oregon State University outlines critical functions and on-site operations
In compliance with Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s Executive Orders EO 20-09 & EO 20-12
KEY COVID-19 ANNOUNCEMENTS
- All employees must work remotely, unless performing a critical function that requires on-site work
- If it is unclear whether you are to work on-site, talk with your supervisor
- Facilities maintenance and printing and mailing services will continue
- Resources provided for remote work and teaching support
In compliance with Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s Executive Order 20-12, Stay Home, Save Lives, OSU faculty, staff and students are required to remain at their place of residence, with few exceptions.
In addition to limiting on-site activity within OSU campuses and facilities, all employees and students are expected to comply with OSU’s Social Distancing Policy. Questions on the policy, its implementation and enforcement should be directed to Dan Larson, university coronavirus response coordinator and vice provost for student affairs.
While OSU remains open statewide per Gov. Brown’s Executive Order 20-09, and will provide for remote instruction and continuity of research, service and operations until further notice, access to university campuses, facilities and spaces will be greatly limited. Unless otherwise directed or approved, all faculty and staff are to conduct university duties from home. Employees whose work cannot be performed at home, yet whose duties do not require on-site presence, should consult with their supervisor on employee leave options and benefits.
Until further notice, accessing space in any OSU building by OSU employees is prohibited, unless approved by your dean, vice president or vice provost, and is in support of a designated on-site critical function. The following critical university functions will require some employees to remain on-site, although with limited duration and modified service levels.
- Use of selected classrooms and labs for remote instruction by teaching faculty and graduate teaching assistants.
- Work within on-campus student housing and dining services and related facilities.
- Support of facility, utility, technology and operational infrastructure necessary to maintain the university’s operational continuity and resiliency.
- Work within some administrative and student services units (by appointment only).
- Work within research spaces that require consistent monitoring and care of live animals and research samples.
- Provision of emergency response services, including COVID-19 response and coordination, police and public safety response, and environmental health and safety response.
- Work within Student Health Services center.
- Work within Printing and Mailing Services’ center.
CHECK WITH YOUR SUPERVISOR
Each dean, vice president and vice provost has identified on-site critical functions in their colleges, divisions and units. Employees should check with their supervisor to confirm whether they are expected to come on-site to perform a critical function. Neither Oregon law enforcement nor OSU require permission slips for employees to travel to/from work. Questions related to travel to and from work should be directed to an employee’s supervisor.
In compliance with the Executive Order, there will be extraordinarily limited access to classrooms during spring term. Moving forward, all Corvallis classroom use must be requested through the Schedule Desk. Use of the classrooms at the Bend campus must be requested through the OSU-Cascades Academic Dean. Requests will be processed on first-come first-served basis. Priority will be given to instructors delivering instruction in real-time.
For Corvallis, Strand Agriculture (STAG) is reserved for regular lectures and recitations and Gilbert Addition (GBAD) is reserved for laboratory use. To reserve classroom space, faculty should contact their authorized scheduling representative, and they will contact the Schedule Desk in the Office of the Registrar to manage the reservations. Use of any classroom space outside of these buildings must be approved by the Dean of the faculty member’s college and that must be recorded using the formal OSU scheduling tools.
At OSU-Cascades, Tykeson Hall is reserved only for regular lectures, recitations and laboratory use, and the Graduate Research Center for use of the light board teaching studio.
If there is difficulty in finding space for faculty during the day or times necessary, the schedule team in Corvallis or the Academic Dean at OSU-Cascades can work to find an alternate solution.
Maintenance of Facilities:
As an on-site critical function, University Facilities, Infrastructure and Operations will continue to support building maintenance and operations, consistent with a standard level of service on the Corvallis and Bend campuses. This includes monitoring of alarms and performing equipment checks. Units that maintain facilities or provide maintenance and building operations beyond what is provided centrally, will be expected to continue managing their operations based on the needs of their operation.
Printing and Mailing Services:
OSU Printing and Mailing Services will remain open as a critical university function during Oregon State University’s efforts to reduce the risk and spread of COVID-19 and remain in compliance with Gov. Kate Brown’s executive orders.
During the university’s response to COVID-19, Printing and Mailing Services will be open:
- 9 a.m. to noon, Monday, Wednesday and Friday for printing and mailing services located at 4700 S.W. Research Way, Corvallis, 541-737-4941.
- 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) Annex on campus at 191 S.W. 35th St., Corvallis, 541-737-4073
- Until further notice, the Xpress Stop in the Memorial Union will be closed.
The mailroom at OSU-Cascades is open:
- Noon to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday for mailing and ID card services located in the Residence Hall wing at 1500 SW Chandler Ave.
NOTE: Until further notice, Corvallis campus mail and parcel package delivery services are suspended. In response Printing and Mailing Services is providing alternate services for campus mail pick-up and delivery, as well as the pick-up and delivery of parcel shipments. Click here to see information about mail and parcel shipment services, as well as all services that continue to be provided by Printing and Mailing Services.
Remote Working and Teaching Support:
We are mindful of the disruptions being experienced by moving to remote teaching and work. In preparation for full remote teaching, we have compiled several resources, including trainings on how to use Zoom and Canvas, and how to make sure you have the right network connection. These steps are prerequisites to remote teaching. We encourage all teaching faculty, including graduate teaching assistants to review the resources available at beav.es/keep-teaching for training, advice and assistance. We also encourage that faculty and graduate teaching assistants contact either their college IT support team, the OSU-Cascades IT support team, or OSU Service Desk (541-737-8787, [email protected]), as early as possible to ensure a successful kickoff for spring term and teaching remotely.
We know that this remains a challenging time for all. Thank you for your significant hard work, patience, flexibility and resilience as we all come together to continue to provide for learning, research and innovation and service, while minimizing the risk and spread of COVID-19.
OSU Coronavirus Coordinator
Vice Provost for Student Affairs