March 20: UMBC COVID-19 Action Update

Campus Status: The University is open, with employees working remotely (facilities will remain closed).

Currently, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19, also known as coronavirus, connected with UMBC.

For the most updated information and more information on actions to reduce COVID-19 risks in our community, please visit COVID19.umbc.edu. 

Student Services and Support

• Please make sure to view Dr. Hrabowski’s message to the Class of 2020 about Commencement. Questions and ideas can be shared at commencement@umbc.edu.

• We know many students are eager to return to campus and retrieve their belongings.  Careful planning and sequencing are necessary to allow this to happen safely. Until this plan is established, students who have left campus for spring break will be unable to access their residence halls. Students with an urgent need to retrieve items from their residence halls may contact Residential Life.

• University Health Services will be providing services remotely starting Monday, March 23, from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. weekdays. Please call 410-455-2542. If you have non-emergency health concerns outside of regular business hours and wish to speak with someone from UMBC’s After-Hours Support Line, please call 410-455-3230. If you are experiencing a physical health emergency while on campus please call UMBC Police at 410-455-5555. If you are off campus please call or 911, or go to the nearest hospital emergency room.

• The Counseling Center is providing students with crisis support remotely via Webex and phone from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. weekdays. Please call 410-455-2472. If you have mental health concerns outside of regular business hours and wish to speak with someone from our After-Hours Support Line, please call 410-455-3230. 

Academic Continuity

• Online instruction begins Monday. The Division of Information Technology is standing by to help, check out https://doit.umbc.edu/.

• View the Provost’s latest message to faculty and staff here.

• UMBC is currently operating in a Research Maintenance Mode, PIs and lab staff must apply to be on campus. Any prior lists of essential personnel submitted last week are no longer valid, and will need to be resubmitted through the Access Exception Form. More information and the form is available here.

• The Office of Equity and Inclusion, Academic Success Center, Office of Accessibility and Disability Services, and Office of International Education Services (IES) are open and working remotely to support students, faculty and staff.

Business Continuity and Staff Support

• Since the posting of the COVID-19 Timekeeping Instruction & Reference Guide, HR has determined that the campus would benefit from two edits to the guide. Attached is the updated version which includes: (1) a link to the web page for the electronic timesheet (ETS) video tutorials and written guides; and (2) clarification of key factors for departments to consider when determining payments for the non-Federal work study student employees. The edited guide is available here.

• Human Resources mailed all live checks to employees for checks dated Friday, March 20th. Employees who had a live check were sent an email notification from Payroll on March 18, 2020 that checks were being mailed. This notification let them know to expect their check to be delivered to the address on their tax forms.  

Facilities

• Only faculty and staff with explicit permission from their supervisors should be on campus. We understand that faculty and staff may need to access their offices on a one-time basis. If you need to do so, please call UMBC Police at 410-455-5555. Visits should be limited to 30 minutes or less. 

• All mail will need to be picked up at the mailroom in University Center, 8am-12pm M-F. There is ground-level access next to the ATM as all other doors are locked.

• UMBC Transit has suspended all routes effective today 03/20/20 and until further notice. Information and alternative transportation options will be posted to the Transit group page. Please refer all questions via email to transit@umbc.edu.

If you have questions or concerns, please email COVID19@umbc.edu. 

Dear Faculty and Staff,

As we all work to respond to the rapid changes that our scholarly community is experiencing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, I want to thank you personally and express our collective understanding and appreciation of the commitment to our shared values and mission that each of you is demonstrating.

Yesterday, USM Chancellor Jay Perman emphasized that as a public university we have an important role in supporting the public good every day, but most especially in times of crisis such as we are experiencing now. He shares our belief that we must do everything we can to support our students as they work to complete their studies. 

I want to reassure you that we have multiple teams working diligently on key academic issues that impact both our students and faculty as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Issues are being continuously identified, and to the extent possible, we are engaging in consultation to develop actions and guidance that can be communicated to you and the campus community as rapidly as possible. We recognize the need to mitigate these circumstances in a well-considered and orderly but prompt manner.

There are too many areas of concern to mention here today but issues currently under consideration include:

• Questions, issues, and proposals related to academic policy and academic deadlines aimed at supporting the completion and progression of our undergraduate and graduate students. These include such important subjects as financial aid and continuous enrollment.

• Concerns and guidance related to contract renewals, promotion and tenure processes, and teaching evaluation in the light of the disruption caused by the current situation. We are planning for the promotion and tenure processes for faculty and librarians undergoing review this academic year to be completed on schedule and are drafting guidelines for those undertaking the process next year.

We will continue to consult with deans, chairs, and faculty shared governance on these matters, understanding that many decisions need to be made with considerable urgency and at a more rapid place than normal. In this regard, I am enormously grateful for the leadership and counsel of our Provost’s Office team, deans, department chairs, center directors, and officers of shared governance.

Finally, I ask you to continue your outstanding support to colleagues and to continue to communicate frequently with your students who are looking for reassurance as they face this major change to everything they have experienced previously in our academic setting.

I have no doubt we will all get through this challenge as we always have, although each of us will be challenged in new ways and will experience times of uncertainty. We will get through this unparalleled time by supporting each other, not as an institution or a pile of bricks and mortar, but as a community—a community that cares deeply about each other and our students.

Provost Philip Rous

To Our UMBC Class of 2020,

Whether you are a graduating senior or completing a master’s degree or Ph.D., please know we recognize how hard you’ve worked to achieve your goals. We are incredibly sorry that we will not be holding in-person Commencement ceremonies this spring. We know this is enormously disappointing to you and everyone who has supported you, and we regret that we will not be able to celebrate your accomplishments in the traditional way this May.

In the days ahead, we will be working with students and our shared governance groups on plans for celebrating Commencement for students who are scheduled to graduate in May. In the meantime, we would like to clarify a few important points. Even without in-person Commencement ceremonies this May, students will earn their degrees and be able to graduate this semester, consistent with academic standards. We still fully expect to mail your diplomas out in mid-July as is our normal practice. And UMBC’s Career Center will continue to provide services through alternate formats; please see their website for further information to help with your next steps as Retriever alumni.

You are such a special class – our 50th to graduate from UMBC – and you deserve the chance to celebrate the grit and excellent work that got you to this point. We are so proud of all you have achieved. Please know that we will find a way to honor you and your classmates as a community when it is safe to do so. In the meantime, we appreciate your patience and understanding as we work together to continue the important work of our community of inquiring minds.

Visit commencement.umbc.edu for updates as they become available.

Please share your questions and ideas about Commencement at commencement@umbc.edu.

President Freeman Hrabowski