Continuity of Other Operations

Joint Response from OLC, QM, UPCEA, and WCET Regarding COVID-19 and Advice on Transitioning Face-to-Face Courses Online

Reopening Information

Re-opening Planning Guide and Self- Assessment for Higher Education from CHEA and JHU - OPENSMARTEDU.ORG

A searchable list of Colleges' Plans for Fall (The Chronicle of Higher Education) - updated regularly, requires subscription

Phil Hill's Visualization of Colleges' Plans for Fall - Part 1, Part 2

Continuity of Operations (COOP)

Check out the list of free and discounted ed tech available. Remember, many of these solutions will revert to fee-based service after this crisis passes. Be sure to check on the FERPA compliance of any tool you use.

Individual Voice Communications with Students

Many of us rely on phone conversations with students. With remote work situations and only home phones and cell phones, many are hesitant to offer those personal lines to students. Here are some options (be sure to check on the FERPA compliance of any tool you use):

Zoom/Outlook/Calendly Scenario (note: Zoom allows meeting attendees to dial in by phone)

• Download the Zoom add-on to outlook. This will allow you to create zoom meetings easily while creating a calendar item.

• Download Calendly. They are offering free zoom and go-to meeting integrations. Post your calendly link in your signature line (or make it a auto-response in outlook. Calendly allows others to schedule meeting with you (it does this by checking your availability in outlook). With the zoom link, Calendly can automatically set appointments and designate a zoom meeting room.

Freeconferencecall.com/Google Calendar Scenario (note: freeconferencecall.com also has an online meeting option)

• Download the Google Calendar Extention for FreeConferenceCall.com

• Schedule meetings as you usually do but in the location field you can add your freeconferencecall.com option!

Pick Up and Dial Options - Not Revealing Your Personal Phone Numbers

• Google Voice

Individual Chat Communications with Students (outside an LMS)

Discord, Slack, Skype, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Hangouts, and LinkedIn all have chat functions. Be sure to check on the FERPA compliance of any tool you use.

Short-term Actions

Some things you can do as an administrator in the short-term (if your campus remains open):

• Distribute the CDC’s ‘Don’t Spread Germs at Work’ throughout your team.

• Post some of the many handwashing posters the CDC makes available.

• Identify work from home activities and determine the institutional policy waivers/actions that are required to establish work from home arrangements

• Know the frequency your facilities are cleaned/sanitized, identify opportunities to increase this frequency

• Identify criteria that would determine the need to cancel events/programs, for example:

  • % of high-risk populations that participate

    • Those in danger of contracting the virus (individuals with existing respiratory conditions, the elderly, etc)

    • Those arriving from countries with COVID-19 quarantines and outbreaks.

  • A health emergency is declared in the region which results in a travel ban to your location or the airport and hotels in your area (please note: a state of emergency, when declared by a governor, often is a step required to make new funds available to address a situation and may not indicate danger to the general public)

  • An outbreak or diagnosis on your campus

  • Guidance from local, regional, state, federal governments and health authorities

  • Others - to be determined by institutional leadership

• Notify participants of the risks, perhaps attaching the CDC handout to communications.

Long-term Planning

Infectious disease experts hope that the Coronavirus (COVID-19) will follow the cold/flu season characteristics and warm weather will slow new infections. Since little is known it is difficult to plan for spring and summer programs. Here’s what we know:

• Japan has closed all schools through the end of the school year, in late March, similarly Chinese schools are closed indefinitely. Programs dependent on participation from international participants, especially those from affected areas may see lower registrations, either from infections in potential participants or because those same individuals may be caregivers or otherwise prevented from traveling.

  • Beyond travel bans, students in countries with school closures may have difficulty procuring necessary documents from schools, as noted in the 3//5/2020 story in the Chronicle. Further, there is some concern that students from these countries will not graduate on time causing issues with international recruitment and admission efforts.

• Many institutions have elected to cancel study away programs to affected countries (using the CDC’s risk assessment by country as a guide) consistent with the guidance from NASFA. Some institutions have gone so far as to cancel all international programs and international travel for faculty and staff for the near future.

• AACRAO has a list of resources, including a recorded webinar and podcast. There’s also some case studies on handling campus-based medical outbreaks.

• Camp Nurses have guidance on communicable diseases for vacation camps. Specifically they released a statement on the Coronavirus (COVID-19), found here.