Dear UMBC Community,
We were delighted to learn that salary enhancements for University System of Maryland (USM) faculty and staff are included in Governor Hogan’s budget plan for FY 2022 and FY 2023. Early information about the Governor’s proposal can be found in this announcement, released by USM Chancellor Jay Perman on Thursday evening. USM institutions will develop individual plans for implementing the salary increases.
In announcing this welcome news, Chancellor Perman thanked the Governor saying, “Over two years of unrelenting challenges, our faculty and staff have worked incredibly hard to keep our communities safe, to keep our students learning, and to keep our campuses running smoothly. I’m in awe of their dedication to the people and missions we serve.”
We fully agree with the Chancellor and appreciate the Governor’s recognition of the vital role you play in the lives of our students and Maryland citizens. Additional information regarding implementation of the salary enhancements at UMBC will be available soon.
Thank you for all that you do.
President Freeman Hrabowski
Provost Philip Rous
]]>KEY POINTS
Spring semester classes will begin as scheduled on January 31.
Spring telework agreements will be in effect beginning January 24.
All in our on-campus community must be up to date with our vaccination requirement, including a “booster shot” when eligible.
PCR tests are required for all returning to campus.
KN95 or equivalent masks must be worn in all spaces where masking is required.
Dear UMBC Community,
As promised, we are writing to update you on the University’s plans for the spring semester. Classes will begin as scheduled on January 31, and spring telework agreements will be in effect beginning January 24.
It is clear that the COVID-19 Omicron variant will affect many in our campus community as we begin this semester. Knowing that many of us and our families have and will continue to be impacted by this virus, we will continue our multi-layered approach to health and safety precautions and our commitment to compassion and flexibility for students, faculty, and staff. If you need additional support or flexibility as the semester starts, please ask for help. Students can reach out to their instructors and advisors, faculty should work with their department chairs and keep their students informed, and staff can work directly with supervisors. We will get through this together.
Three safety requirements will allow us to continue teaching and learning, research and creative achievement, and other community activities as safely as possible. We expect all students, faculty, and staff on campus to comply with these measures:
1. Be up to date with our vaccination requirement, which will include an additional dose of the COVID-19 vaccine—a “booster shot”—when you are eligible. More information is located on this page.
2. Take an on-campus PCR test on the first day that you return to campus. We will share particular information on how to test for the spring semester directly with commuting and residential students. Instructions on how to test are available here.
3. Wear KN95 or equivalent masks in all spaces where masking is required. The campus continues to require indoor masking for all community members and visitors. More information, including locations to obtain free masks, is available here.
Finally, please remember that community members who have been on campus and have tested positive, or been a close contact of someone who has tested positive, should file a Case Report Form. We also have added guidance for community members who have recently tested positive.
Thank you for your continued commitment to keeping our community healthy and strong. Additional guidance for faculty members, residential students, and our Universities at Shady Grove students and faculty will be forthcoming soon. If you have any questions, contact us at covid19@umbc.edu.
Provost Philip Rous
Vice President of Information Technology and CIO Jack Suess
COVID-19 Planning Coordinating Committee Co-Chairs
Dear UMBC Community,
After 12 years of dedicated service to our campus community, UMBC Police Chief Paul Dillon has announced that he will retire from UMBC effective February 25, 2022. Chief Dillon came to UMBC from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2010 as Deputy Chief, and became Chief of Police in 2018.
I have asked UMBC’s Deputy Chief of Police, Major Bruce Perry ‘97, psychology, to serve as Acting Chief of Police upon Chief Dillion’s departure. Major Perry has been a member of UMBC’s Police Department since 1998; I look forward to working with him in his new role.
Throughout his time at UMBC, Chief Dillon has applied his wealth of knowledge and expertise to ensure a safe and secure environment for students, faculty, and staff to live, work, and learn. He has developed, implemented, and led many key public safety initiatives for the campus, including the campus text alert system and an updated emergency preparedness plan.
A strong advocate for equality, tolerance, and inclusiveness, Chief Dillon is a representative and advisor for several campus groups, including the Behavioral Risk Assessment and Consultation Team (BRACT), LGBTQ Climate Group, and Relationship Violence Awareness and Prevention Advocates group.
Most recently, Chief Dillon had provided remarkable leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through his work with the COVID-19 Planning Coordinating Committee, as well as his leadership of the Contact Response Team, Chief Dillion’s vast knowledge and expertise in crisis and emergency management has proven invaluable.
Last, but certainly not least, UMBC Police added its first community outreach officer during Chief Dillon’s tenure, and welcomed “Officer Chip,” our certified comfort dog, to support UMBC community members in distress.
Our campus is safer and more prepared for emergencies due to Chief Dillon’s professionalism and hard work. His good nature, collegiality, and sense of humor will be missed. He and his wife, Cynthia, are the proud parents of three children, including two Retriever alumni: Jake Dillon ‘16, a Sondheim Scholar, who is an economist with the U.S. Department of Commerce, and Katie Dillon ‘18, a Center for Women in Technology Scholar, who is a software engineer for Google. Their daughter Grace earned a degree in musical theater from Otterbein University in 2021 and is pursuing an acting career in New York City.
Please join me in congratulating Paul and wishing him all the best in his next adventures!
Kathy L. Dettloff, Vice President for Administration and Finance
Key Points
The campus will continue to reduce density on campus by encouraging flexible telework when possible through January 24.
All community members are required to take an on-campus COVID-19 test the day that they return to campus.
Our next on-campus booster clinic is January 20.
Dear Community,
The COVID-19 Planning Coordinating Committee is actively working to understand the health and operations risks associated with the COVID-19 Omicron variant surge. We will keep the campus informed of developing plans to carry on with teaching and learning, research and creative achievement, and campus operations as safely and smoothly as possible in the spring semester. We anticipate being able to share updates on these plans no later than January 14, 2022.
In the meantime, we want to share guidance regarding health precautions and campus operations during the next few weeks.
Reduced Campus Density and Telework
Between now and January 24, we are encouraging departments and supervisors to be flexible and, when possible, accommodate additional telework days for staff. Staff may continue to work off site beyond the scope of existing telework agreements with their supervisor’s permission. Some employees will be needed on-campus to provide critical, on-campus services necessary to support research, administration, and students. Supervisors should work directly with employees to determine a schedule that decreases density but also provides the core services needed by the campus.
On-Campus Testing & Return to Campus
All community members are required to take an on-campus PCR test on the day that they return to campus. Please test as soon as you arrive on campus. Details on where and how to test are available here or through this wiki. Testing on campus requires the use of a mobile application that you will need to download before you arrive on campus, so please plan ahead. After you test, you may remain on campus but please be extra diligent about mask wearing and distancing as you wait for your results.
In addition, we are strongly recommending that, if possible, all community members take a home rapid test 3-5 days before they return to campus.
Case Response and Campus Safety Measures
Our contact response team has resumed tracking of on-campus cases. If you test positive, please review important response measures and report your result here. Masking continues to be required in all indoor spaces, except when you are actively eating or in an office alone. We recommend high-quality KN95 masks. Free KN95 masks are available at The Commons information desk and the Library mail counter.
Booster Clinics
With new information released by the Centers for Disease Control, we continue to strongly encourage all in our community to get a booster shot as soon as they are eligible. Due to community demand, we are hosting new COVID-19 Booster and Flu Clinics, with our next clinic on January 20. Boosters are available by appointment only. Make your appointment here.
Thank you for your patience as we weather this surge and plan for the spring semester. If you have any questions, contact us at covid19@umbc.edu.
Provost Philip Rous
Vice President of Information Technology and CIO Jack Suess
COVID-19 Planning Coordinating Committee Co-Chairs
Due to community demand, we are hosting new COVID-19 Booster and Flu Clinics.
Clinics are January 6 and 20 and are by appointment only.
Reserve your appointment today!
Thank you for helping to keep our community healthy.
Vic Madrid
Medical Director, Retriever Integrated Health
]]>Dear UMBC Community,
Due to community demand, we are hosting new COVID-19 Booster and Flu Clinics in the New Year.
Clinics are January 6 and 20 and are by appointment only.
Reserve your appointment today!
These slots may fill. If no times appear when you click on January 2022, our clinics are filled. We will continue to host throughout the new year.
Thank you for helping to keep our community healthy.
Vic Madrid
Medical Director, Retriever Integrated Health
]]>Due to the remote working guidance, Chartwells has adjusted dining hours for January 4 - 9. Venues and hours are below. Adjusted hours may continue as needed. For the most updated dining locations and hours, please visit dineoncampus.com/umbc.
Starbucks
Monday - Friday
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
True Grit’s
Monday - Friday
Breakfast: 7:30 – 9:00 am
Lunch: 11:00 am - 1:30 pm
Dinner: 5:30-7:30 pm
Saturday and Sunday
Brunch: 10:30 am – 1:00 pm
Dinner: 5:30 – 7:30 pm
This campus update is from Enrollment Management. Receive regular updates by following their myUMBC page.
On January 5, 2022, UMBC will launch its enhanced online enrollment tools and interface to support students’ academic planning. The enhanced tools and interface, powered by HighPoint Technology Solutions, provides critical infrastructure needed to support a more improved student enrollment experience for both students and advisors, including degree planning, class search, registration and schedule adjustments. This improved enrollment experience further supports and promotes the goals and objectives of the Strategic Enrollment Plan (SEP) with respect to the defined Student Success Strategy. Specifically, students and advisors will benefit from:
An Updated Look and Feel: The new interface offers a fresh, modernized look and a more intuitive experience. Students and advisors serving as early test-drivers of the enhanced tools and interface report overall positive user experience.
A More Integrated Experience: Because the new enrollment solution sits inside PeopleSoft SA (our student information system), enrollment transactions will be facilitated more seamlessly from beginning to end. For example, students can build courses into their degree planner and schedule builder, place the courses into their shopping cart, and register for the courses within the same platform. Students no longer have to move from one tool to another to complete an enrollment transaction.
More Real-Time Transactions and Updates: The unified experience and approach will allow the scheduler builder tools, that includes class enrollments, open seats and waitlist totals to be almost real-time - providing both students and faculty with timely and accurate information for academic planning purposes.
More Robust Class Search Options: The enhanced tools respond to feedback from students and advisors about the need for more robust search options. Now, students and advisors can leverage more search options including the ability to search courses that meet GEP requirements without having to select additional search criteria. Additionally, search results are displayed in an easily readable format without the need to drill down for more course detail.
For more information about the enhanced enrollment tools and interface, we invite you to review the online FAQs or contact the Registrar’s Office.
The enhanced online enrollment tools and interface represent the beginning of a series of planned enrollment enhancements to support student success. Other planned enhancements include an improved new student onboarding (confirmation/deposit) experience and more robust degree planning tools.
Thank you to the Registrar’s Office and the Division of Information Technology (DoIT) teams for leading, planning and facilitating these important enhancements. Thanks, too, to our SA Academic Advisory Committee - represented by our Colleges, Office of Academic and Pre-professional Advising, Division of Undergraduate Academic Affairs, and the Student Government Association - for providing critical insight and feedback about the student and advisor enrollment experience to help inform this project.
]]>DoIT is excited to announce that during January we will be replacing more than 1,000 wireless access points throughout academic, administrative and support buildings on campus. We are taking measures to minimize disruptions however, some areas may see momentary impacts to wireless service.
We expect that each building will require approximately 3 days of work to complete and we will complete each building before moving on to the next. During the work for your building please be patient as we try to complete your area as quickly as possible while also making our best efforts to maintain stable service.
Replacing wireless access points will modernize the wireless infrastructure and provide faster connections, better wireless coverage and an overall improved experience to the UMBC community.
If you have any questions or concerns about this project, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Ray Soellner
Assoc. Director - DoIT