PHOTO: Image depicts empty classroom with multiple chairs against several connected tables at the University of Houston Clear Lake. Photo by The Signal Editor-in-Chief Brandon Pena. — With the transition to online classes, empty classrooms such as this one have become the norm on campus. Photo by The Signal Editor-in-Chief Brandon Pena.

UHCL phases reopening as regular operations remain remote

By Miles Shellshear, Editor-in-Chief Last updated Jul 9, 2020 622 0

EDITOR’S NOTE: 7/1/20 – UHCL planned to enter phase three June 28. After Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo issued a “Stay Home Work Safe” advisory June 26, UHCL returned to online operations.

UHCL will enter phase three of its four-phase reopening plan June 28. Although campus is slated for operation at 75% maximum capacity during the third phase, most staff operations will remain online. These dates and capacities are targets and not rigid requirements for staff, faculty or students to return by.

“The health and safety of our UHCL community are my utmost priority,” said Ira K. Blake, president of UHCL. “Faculty and staff will be returning throughout the summer in a phased approach, whereby employees will continue telecommuting and report to campus with a hybrid work schedule.”

“If you don’t need to come to campus, don’t come to campus,” said Brad McGonagle, director of human resources. “What I don’t want to see is folks come to campus just because they don’t want to be at home anymore.”

McGonagle clarified that only offices which operate best on campus, because of job function or technological needs, should return to campus while practicing proper precautions. This includes facilities and maintenance staff, police and a handful of additional offices which require an on-campus presence for daily operation.

Returning to campus

As staff return, personal precautions recommended by the CDC are advised to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on campus. Safety measures include wearing facial coverings, staying physically distant from others, washing your hands frequently, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces and monitoring your health for symptoms.

This checklist from UHCL Human Resources details the factors supervisors should consider as they determine when and how staff for their office should return to work.

Those experiencing symptoms should stay home until they have received guidance from their healthcare provider. Staff diagnosed with COVID-19 are required to meet all of the following criteria before returning to work:

Remain home for at least 72 hours after their fever resolves (without the usage of fever-reducing medication)
Improvement in respiratory symptoms (e.g. cough, shortness of breath)
At least seven days have passed since symptoms appeared

Staff who stay home with symptoms should be treated as though they have COVID-19. As such, they must meet the same criteria before returning to work. If an employee wants to return sooner, they must obtain a fitness for duty release from their healthcare provider. If a staff member has come into contact with an individual lab-confirmed positive for COVID-19, they must remain self-quarantined for 14 days since their most recent exposure.

Supervisors will conduct regular check-ins with staff to discuss their challenges, concerns and questions in returning to campus. Human resources is available for any assistance in addressing concerns or questions. A frequently asked questions document is available for staff seeking answers about the campus reopening. Additional information and updates can be found on the employee information page.

Academic affairs team

The university’s core leadership has developed two teams working to address the challenges presented by COVID-19. The first of the two groups is the Academic Affairs group, which is working to address the future of academic affairs at UHCL.

In order to support faculty through the planning process this summer, the Academic Affairs group is seeking feedback from faculty regarding course format, adaptation and safety precautions for fall.

“Even if it’s the 19th or 90th person to say it, we still need to hear it,” said Heather Kanenberg, president of the faculty senate. “We would always rather have faculty at the table than have people reaching out and wondering.”

Training for course adaptation, technological and educational tools will be available to faculty throughout the summer from the center for faculty development. Moving forward, instructional designers and the center for faculty development will continue to assist faculty in developing course formats optimized for their content and their students.

“Faculty are making decisions with their students in mind first and foremost” said Elizabeth Beavers, incoming president of the Faculty Senate. “The main thing is that we’re very mindful of the fluid situation we’re in and trying to plan for the fall, we’re doing so mindful of the uncertainty of the contexts that our students are going to have.”

The Academic Affairs team will hold frequent town hall events to maintain a dialogue with faculty, staff and students throughout the planning process.

“We don’t want to overload folks, but we want to be there if they need it. As decisions are made, we will be involved, as we have these points to be a conduit for faculty,” said Kanenberg.

Future operations team

The future operations team is developing plans for campus operations moving forward. There are three elements of action which campus officials are taking to ensure the health and safety of those returning to campus.

The first element includes reminding those returning to follow the personal precautions recommended by the CDC. These include wearing masks, social distancing, washing hands and monitoring one’s health. Print and digital signage around campus will remind people to take these precautions.

“If you come to campus, wear a mask. It’s not for your protection, it’s for everyone else’s protection. As Hawks, I hope we all have a culture of caring for eachother. I hope people will recognize this isn’t about their liberties. It’s about caring for our fellow staff, faculty and students,” said Mark Denney, vice president of finance and administration.

The second element of action is the placement of hand sanitizing stations in all buildings on campus at entrances and in common areas. Sanitizing wipes will be available in common areas and classrooms to sanitize hard surfaces such as desks and chairs before use.

Alternatives to facemasks such as face shields and plexiglass desk shields are being considered for the Fall semester. Many alternatives such as these are in consideration this summer and will become available through campus accessibility services in the fall.

The third and final element of action is that on a daily basis, all classrooms and common areas will be sanitized and cleaned by campus custodial services.

“Based on all of the science of how this disease is spread, that is all going to create a pretty safe environment for our students, staff and faculty to be in,” said Denney.

As of June 22, UHCL has not released official policies and procedures to the campus community as a whole regarding reopening, but they are working to develop messaging and communicate the expectations to the university community by mid-July, said Denney.

“University administrators are committed to creating a safe, welcoming and educational environment for all of our faculty, staff, students and community friends,” said Blake.