Tonight, Tuesday December 21st, beginning at 6pm we will be performing emergency software upgrades on the new campus phone system. This work is to address a recent security vulnerability that exists in the software of the servers running the campus phone system. We expect the work to require less than 2 hours to complete. 

We don’t anticipate any service disruptions during the maintenance window, however we appreciate your patience and understanding should you experience any abnormalities. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this work please feel free to contact me directly. 

Ray Soellner

Assoc. Director - DoIT

rays1@umbc.edu

Key Points

• A  liberal temporary telework policy for staff is being implemented for the week of January 3 to 7 to reduce density on campus.

• On-campus testing will be provided in January, and all UMBC community members are required to test as soon as they return to campus.

• UMBC’s PCR testing will pause during winter break, but self-administered rapid antigen tests will be available at the Police Station and open residence halls. 

Dear UMBC Community,

Thank you for your collective efforts to keep the campus open and safe during the fall semester.  As students, faculty, and staff prepare for a well-deserved winter break, the COVID-19 Planning Coordinating Committee is monitoring the current surge of Omicron-variant cases in Maryland and beyond and taking steps to minimize the risk of spread on campus when we return.

Reduced Campus Density for Week of January 3

In order to reduce density on campus in the week of January 3, we are implementing a liberal temporary telework policy for staff, which means that most employees can determine their on- campus work schedules for the week. Supervisors should only require an employee who can otherwise work remotely to come to campus if there is a critical on-campus task to be performed. If you can work remotely, consider doing so for up to five days between January 3 and January 7.  Please make sure you share your schedule with your supervisor. This is a temporary measure and will not alter existing telework agreements. Staff who do not currently have a telework agreement are also eligible for telework in the week of January 3. 

Additional information regarding work schedules and testing will be announced before January 7.

Campus Safety Measures in January

Out of an abundance of caution, we ask that you self-test at home 1-3 days before returning to the campus. We know that both PCR and rapid testing may be difficult to obtain after the holidays, so please start planning for your family now.

We will provide on-campus testing in January and will require all of our community members to test as soon as they return to campus.  While you are waiting for your results, please be diligent about mask wearing and physical distancing. If your work situation does not allow for distancing, please speak with your manager about an alternative safety plan.

When you return to campus, please strictly adhere to safety protocols in place at that time, including any testing and symptom tracking requirements you have previously been assigned. KN95 masks are available free of charge at the RAC front desk, The Commons Information Desk, and the Library mail counter. 

Winter Break On-campus Testing

As we shared in our last campus message, UMBC’s PCR testing will pause during winter break but self-administered rapid antigen tests will be available at the Police Station and the desks of open residence halls. 

COVID-19 Planning Leadership

Finally, we want to recognize and thank the members of the COVID-19 Planning Coordinating Committee, Work Groups and Sub-Groups, who have worked constantly for nearly two years to support academic continuity, research and creative achievement, student success, operations, and events. As Lynne Schaefer retires this week, we are grateful to announce that Jack Suess, CIO and Vice President for Information Technology, will take over as co-chair of the COVID-19 Planning Coordinating Committee in the new year.

Provost Philip Rous

Vice President for Administration and Finance Lynne Schaefer

COVID-19 Planning Coordinating Committee Co-Chairs

The DoIT Technology Support Center is looking to hire additional consultants to work during the spring semester and beyond. Please see our job description below and visit our job posting on UMBCWorks to apply. (Search for TSC Student Consultant.) The application will be open until January 7, 2022.

We're specifically looking for students available to work during the following hours:

• Mondays 11 A.M. - 4:30 P.M.
• Tuesdays 8 A.M. - 4 P.M.
• Wednesdays 11 A.M. - 2 P.M.
• Thursdays 8 A.M. - 2 P.M.
• Fridays 8 A.M. - 12 noon

TSC Student Consultant Job Description

Technology Support Center (TSC) student consultants are the first points of technical contact for the UMBC community and those who do well often go on to work in other areas of the Division of Information Technology (DoIT). Minimally, consultants are expected to provide initial triage and support for a wide range of information technologies including accounts, hardware, instructional technologies, networking, software, telecommunications, and basic web development.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:

• Provide technical assistance to users by phone, online and in person;
• Answer TSC phones in a professional and courteous manner;
• Create, update and resolve tickets in the Request Tracker (RT) ticketing system;
• Create, update, suggest and recommend relevant FAQ articles to users (www.umbc.edu/faq);
• Provide direct assistance to users on technical issues they cannot easily resolve on their own;
• Respond to all work-related communications in a timely manner;
• Escalate urgent problems to the Full-Time staff, as appropriate.

Required Skills and Experience

• Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate by phone or in person.
• Demonstrated writing ability.
• Demonstrated ability to achieve successful outcomes in handling difficult situations and customers.
• Demonstrated analytical and troubleshooting skills.
• Ability & willingness to learn coupled with a clear understanding of one’s technical abilities, so as to triage and escalate an issue that leads to an effective solution for the user.

Key Points

• The increase of COVID-19 cases on campus is challenging but manageable.

• During Winter Break, many COVID-19 response processes will be paused.

• Community members who receive positive test results should reach out to their healthcare provider for guidance.

• Certain compliance measures remain in effect, especially for faculty, staff, and students who will be on campus in January.

Dear UMBC Community,

As we near the end of the semester, we continue to manage a number of COVID-19 cases on campus. We appreciate the actions taken by all of our faculty, staff, and students to increase safety measures and offer flexibility for symptomatic students and colleagues. This increase on campus is challenging, but manageable, and we are fortunate that the cases have not been severe. We have no evidence of transmission within classrooms. In addition, we have reason to believe that most of our transmission is happening in unofficial gatherings where masking and distancing are not occurring.

At this time, we are planning to hold in-person graduation ceremonies as planned. Please be aware that we are carefully monitoring a broad range of factors and will keep the campus community informed if there are any changes. 

Given the very reduced number of community members on campus during Winter Break, we will pause most contact tracing and case response processes from December 23-January 2 in order to provide frontline staff a much needed respite. Community members in need of support will still be able to access immediate help by calling University Police or emailing covid19@umbc.edu for non-urgent concerns. Students on campus in need of medical support may also call the Retriever After Hours Support Line at 410-455-3230.

On-Campus COVID-19 Testing

UMBC’s on-campus PCR testing will pause during Winter Break. The last opportunity to test on campus is Tuesday, December 21 before 11am. However, self-administered rapid antigen tests will be available at the Police Station and the desks of open residence halls for any individual who is required to be on campus and test during the break.

If you receive a positive test result between December 21 and January 2, please work with your healthcare provider and/or local health department to seek care and guidance on quarantine and isolation. Students who test positive next week should complete their isolation period off-campus. If this is not possible, we will work with you to find alternative housing arrangements.

Compliance

Students who have health and safety requirements may stop regular testing when they leave campus for the semester. However, if they will be on campus for winter courses, they must continue to symptom track during Winter Break and through the end of Winter Session. Testing requirements will resume the first day of any in-person or hybrid winter courses.

Faculty and staff with testing requirements will not need to test during the break but must continue to symptom track. Faculty and staff with testing requirements are expected to test when they return to campus on January 3.

Booster Clinics

We are very pleased that our on-campus COVID-19 booster and flu shots clinics have each filled to capacity. We are currently planning additional clinics in January. Clinics will be by appointment only. Dates and appointment links will be posted here.

Thank you for all of your efforts to keep our campus safe and healthy. We wish all of our students, faculty, and staff a productive conclusion of the semester and a restful break.

Provost Philip Rous

Vice President for Administration and Finance Lynne Schaefer

COVID-19 Planning Coordinating Committee Co-Chairs