July 31 faculty/staff update from the Ready & Resilient Committee

Colleagues,

We will be wrapping up the Ready & Resilient (R&R) email updates in the coming week as we transition back to Jon Dooley’s weekly campus updates beginning Wednesday, Aug. 5.

This week’s update includes specific details about a number of processes and topics:

• Required for Fall: Testing, Training, Health Screening, & Schar Check-In
• Required Schar Center Health Check-In
• Health Screening Web App is Live!
• Helpful Lessons from 10 Weeks in Session at the School of Health Sciences
• Statement Against Anti-Asian Racism
• Clarification on Face Coverings Outdoors: Classes, Meetings, & Events
• Clarification on Types of Face Coverings: No Vents or Valves
• Communicating with Students about Your Course Expectations & Routines
• Syllabus Language
• Event Reservations & Space Guidelines for Student Gatherings
• Support for Staff and Faculty with School-Age Children
• Student Employment for Students with Accommodations
• Classroom Technology Orientations
• Technology Update
• Ongoing R&R Work and Future Updates

Required for Fall: Testing, Training, Health Screening, & Schar Check-In

Click here to view the R&R page with links to required training, testing, the health screening app, and Schar Center Health Check-In.

Individual links include:

• Testing page with link to the testing portal (FAQs and instructions)
• Training modules (less than 30 minutes)
  • Before starting the training read the Healthy Elon Commitment here 

Required Schar Center Health Check-In

Once you get your test results and complete the training, you are ready to plan your required visit to the Schar Center Health Check-In (unless you have an accommodation to be away from campus this fall).

Remember the Check-In is a drive-through process. No need to bring anything with you besides a cell phone, if you have one, to show you know how to use the Health Screening Web App (see below).

Health Screening Web App is Live!

The daily health screening web app is now live and should be used as a diagnostic tool for monitoring health daily. The health screening, which can be found at www.elon.edu/rrhealthscreen, collects no data and can help each of us to ensure we are checking our health daily as a way to protect ourselves and the community during the pandemic.

Helpful Lessons from 10 Weeks in Session at the School of Health Sciences

Elon’s School of Health Sciences resumed in-person graduate classes 10 weeks ago. In brief videos out this week, Dean Becky Neiduski shares helpful insights about how students and faculty have adapted to the new classroom realities brought by the pandemic, and what they have learned that can be helpful as we prepare to start the fall semester.

Statement Against Anti-Asian Racism

Along with the COVID-19 pandemic, our nation has experienced an increase in acts of discrimination, racism and violence against Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islanders. The Elon community condemns anti-Asian bigotry, remarks, behaviors and all acts of xenophobia and rejects the racialization of the COVID-19 pandemic and the association of nationality to the disease. Read the full language against anti-Asian racism on the R&R site. 

Any act or expression of bias or bigotry should be reported to the Center for Equity and Inclusive Excellence using Elon’s bias response system, which can be found here.

Clarification on Face Coverings Outdoors: Classes, Meetings, & Events

Some have asked if face coverings are required for meetings, classes, or events held outdoors. Participants in outdoor classes, meetings, or events should still wear face coverings—even if physical distancing is maintained—due to amount of time spent in close proximity. Elon’s face covering policy will be revised as follows.

Everyone on campus is required to wear a face covering over the nose and mouth when indoors. This includes classrooms, public restrooms, open office and common spaces, hallways, meeting rooms, libraries, theaters and other indoor spaces.

Face coverings are also required outdoors when six foot physical distancing cannot be maintained, or during a class, meeting, or event held outdoors or in a tent. 

Clarification on Types of Face Coverings: No Vents or Valves

Some have asked about masks with vents or exhalation masks, especially after the Mayo Clinic shared their graphic on masks. Elon’s face covering policy has been revised to prohibit the use of masks with vents or exhalation valves (other than approved NIOSH rated N95 masks) as follows.

Face coverings may be cloth or disposable. They may not have vents or exhalation valves (other than approved NIOSH rated N95 masks).

Communicating with Students about Your Course Expectations & Routines

Given the various circumstances at play for this fall, you may want to hold your first class meeting virtually—as suggested originally in a Fall 2020 Task Force recommendation—or even to plan a virtual “class zero” students can attend before the first in-person meeting. This approach would provide an opportunity to:

• Welcome your students to the course
• Discuss course expectations or routines for this fall
• Explain mask requirements and that food and drink will not be allowed in the classroom, lab, or studio
• Clarify cleaning protocols
• Communicate how students will know which class period to attend (if you are teaching a blended course that will be split because of physical distancing requirements).

Some faculty are asking students to share short, introductory videos in Moodle before the first day of class as well, as a way to help students start to build connections with the instructor, with each other, and with the course.

Syllabus Language

Earlier this week, the following were released via email:

• Syllabus resources (including basic syllabus language related to policies and resources),
• Processes for identifying note takers, and
• Religious observances that may require students to miss classes this fall semester (click here to see the list of religious observances).

Additional resources can be found in the Fall 2020 Relevant Information for Teaching Guide.

See Assistant Provost and Professor of Exercise Science Paul Miller’s July 28 email (“Syllabus Resources for Fall Semester”) for more details.

Event Reservations & Space Guidelines for Student Gatherings

In order to reinvent how we operate, gather, and provide safe and healthy events for students, Student Involvement, Event Management, and Physical Plant have developed reservation and space usage guidelines for the fall. These guidelines include reduced attendance, face coverings, physical distancing, and other requirements. Click here to read the updated guidelines, which will be shared with students soon.

A select number of campus locations will be reservable for physically distanced events, meetings and activities. Each location will primarily be reservable in the evenings and on the weekends. Locations include a limited number of traditional classrooms, the new surge classrooms, and specified outdoor tents. Remote gatherings are still recommended. If gathering in-person is necessary or preferred, please refer to 25Live to review location availability and new capacities or contact the Events and Space Management Office for further guidance at (336) 278-EVNT(3868) or events@elon.edu.

Support for Staff and Faculty with School-Age Children

Look for updates Monday from Associate Vice President for Human Resources Kelli Shuman regarding support for faculty and staff with school-aged children.

Student Employment for Students with Accommodations

The question arose this week about employment for students with accommodations. Disabilities Resources and the Modification Review Committee will work with students to develop their learning and housing plans, including any needs around meal plans, student employment, etc. These processes are intended to be handled on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, a student with accommodations may still be able to participate in student employment, a meal plan, housing, etc. While some jobs may require face-to-face work, other jobs can and should be modified to support students’ needs. Supervisors’ priorities should be meeting students’ needs while ensuring the work can be completed.

Classroom Technology Orientations

Information Technology will host several Classroom Technology Orientations over the next few weeks to provide training on the most common classroom technology setup, with a special focus on using video conferencing technologies. Look for an email early next week with registration information and additional details. (The first orientations will be held next Thursday and Friday afternoons.)

Technology Update

AppsAnywhere: AppsAnywhere is a new portal for accessing and running most campus academic software packages securely and on-demand from your own device. Students, faculty, and staff can access the portal at appsanywhere.elon.edu. Learn more here.

Zoom & Adobe Creative Cloud: A reminder that Elon has procured a site license for Zoom and Adobe Creative Cloud. Students, faculty, and staff can login to Zoom at www.elon.edu/zoom. Adobe Creative Cloud access will be coming in August prior to the start of Fall semester classes. Please do not purchase either of these products on your own for Elon. 

Paper scantrons and Respondus: Paper scantrons for academic testing will not be available during COVID-19. We have extended our pilot of the Respondus Lockdown Browser to support testing. Learn more here.
Digital Learning Days: Learn about blended learning environments and maximizing face-to-face instruction in our second offering of DLD: Aug. 5-7.

Long-term equipment checkouts: Look for an email early next week with details on available equipment and the request process for long-term technology checkouts.

Ongoing R&R Work and Future Updates

We expect to release final details next week regarding:

• Benchmarking and alert levels developed by the Infectious Disease Committee
• Fall events on campus
• Plans for international students
• Student ambassadors
• More on Move-In and Orientation

Our Requests of You

Thank you for your good questions. We need your ideas. Keep reaching out to us individually and through ready2020@elon.edu. We ask that you give us a bit of grace and patience as we work through the many recommendations and help prepare for this fall.

As your programs and departments are developing processes and making plans for fall, please share those plans through deans and vice presidents, as well as through Jeff Stein at jstein@elon.edu or through ready2020@elon.edu so we can ensure alignment across campus in this rapidly changing environment. We will continue to provide updates through the Ready & Resilient website.

Sincerely,

The Ready & Resilient Committee

• Jeff Stein, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Assistant Professor of English (Chair)
• Dan Anderson, Vice President of University Communications
• Ginette Archinal, Medical Director of Student Health and University Physician
• MarQuita Barker, Director of Residence Life
• John Barnhill, Associate Vice President for University Advancement
• Tom Flood, Assistant Vice President of Physical Plant
• Jason Husser, Associate Professor of Political Science and Policy Studies, and Director of the Elon Poll (Academic Council Representative)
• Deandra Little, Assistant Provost, Director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and Professor of English
• Paul Miller, Assistant Provost for Academic Operations and Communications and Professor of Exercise Science
• Kelly Reimer, Director of Teaching and Learning Technologies (Staff Council Representative)
• Carrie Ryan, Director of Auxiliary Services
• Kelli Shuman, Associate Vice President for Human Resources & Chief Human Resources Officer
• Gabie Smith, Dean of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Psychology
• Mary Southern, Project Manager for Provost and Academic Affairs Operations (Project Manager)
• Mike Ward, Deputy Director of Athletics
• Randy Williams, Vice President and Associate Provost for Inclusive Excellence and Assistant Professor of Education