Due to the continuation of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and subsequent guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies, Florida Atlantic University will transition to temporary remote work for most personnel no later than the close of regular business hours Wednesday, March 18. Units should begin making preparations for this transition immediately, and where possible may begin implementation before Wednesday.

This applies to all university employees, except those designated by their supervisor as performing necessary services that will remain operational until further notice.

The University is and will remain open during this time. While we encourage every employee who can to work from home, certain employees will be required to be on campus to support academics, research, student services, public safety, university facilities, and other areas. The definitions of the positions that may work remotely are subject to change as more information becomes available.

A remote working environment is anticipated to continue until at least Monday, March 30, however, personnel may be recalled prior. Expect further updates regarding how long we will operate in this status.

During this time, and where possible, supervisors will work with their teams to structure remote work environments so university operations can continue as efficiently as possible. For supervisors, this means providing guidance and setting expectations for remote work, which will include, but is not necessarily limited to, assignments, the fulfillment of duties, and work hours. All employees who access university technology systems remotely must remain connected to secured systems and follow all university policies related to access, data security, and data confidentiality.

If employees are in roles that do not traditionally accommodate remote work, supervisors will assign other work, projects or professional development that can be performed remotely to the maximum extent possible. Supervisors may contact the university’s Human Resources Department for assistance.

Employees who are not able to do their work remotely because the work requires their physical presence on campus are asked to work with their colleagues and supervisors to devise suitable solutions that support social distancing. Supervisors may consider rotating shifts and modified hours to enable employees to work at different times or to otherwise provide arrangements that will increase social distancing. Flexibility and creativity are encouraged.

During this time of remote working, all staff must be available to report for work at short notice unless they have taken approved accrued leave. An employee who is unable to satisfy this requirement or work remotely because of a family care or other issue may use accrued leave or leave without pay, to account for time away from work, with his/her supervisor’s approval. Supervisors should remain flexible and sensitive to the extraordinary personal challenges that everyone is facing now in approving all leave requests.

It is important to note that the university has not been informed of any positive cases of the virus that directly involve FAU students, faculty or staff. However, the university is implementing these steps to promote social distancing, which the CDC and other experts believe is vital to prevent the spread of the virus. For more information about social distancing, and for up-to-date information about the constantly changing situation related to the coronavirus pandemic and university operations, please visit the FAU’s dedicated COVID-19 website.

 Please remember, if you are feeling unwell, and especially if you are experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19, please seek medical attention as soon as you can.

I am confident you will do everything possible to help FAU remain operational and continue to serve our students during this period of change.

Best,

John Kelly

President

Spring Break is almost over, and the remainder of this semester will be like no other in the history of this university.

As of this update, the university will remain open, and all faculty and staff should report for work as normal.

For our students, however, the situation is very different. Beginning Monday, all students will take classes via remote instruction for an initial two weeks. Please know that many people across the university are working tirelessly to deliver the best possible level of instruction, tutoring, advising and guidance during this challenging time.

Many of our facilities and programs are closed, suspended or operating reduced hours — but many continue, such as our libraries, dining halls, student unions, and other facilities and services.

And, of course, the safety of the entire FAU community is always our top priority. You can rest assured the FAU Police Department and other public safety staff will continue to provide the exemplary level of service we are used to across all our campuses.

I am proud of all the efforts the students, faculty and staff are making to keep the university running during this uncertain time.

Please remember to regularly check our dedicated COVID-19 website that contains a wide array of information and resources to help you stay informed. And, most important of all, if you are feeling unwell, and especially if you are experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19, please seek medical attention as soon as you can.

For anyone with questions, or if you are uncertain of the operating status of the university, please ask. Professors, staff, advisors, supervisors, and others are all available to help.

Best,

John Kelly

President

Today’s update is lengthy, but contains a lot of important information.

Advising: Offices will remain open with normal hours of operation. However, students are strongly encouraged to have virtual meetings with their advisors in lieu of visiting the office. Students can schedule virtual advising appointments through the Success Network button found on MyFAU or by visiting fau.edu/successnetwork.  For those still on campus, or those wishing a face-to-face appointment, contact your advising office to schedule an appointment. Contact information can be found at fau.edu/advising.

Tutoring: The University Center for Excellence in Writing, Math Learning Center, CLASS, and the Science Learning Center remain open. Most services will shift to online delivery and students are strongly encouraged to avail themselves of online support, although limited face-to-face tutoring also will be available. For students who choose face-to-face tutoring, social distancing norms will be observed. Links to full tutoring schedules and scheduling information is available at fau.edu/ctl and on each center’s website.

Testing: The Testing Center remains open. Students are encouraged to check the center’s website at fau.edu/testing for updates and operating hours before visiting the center.

Student Health Services is operating regular hours, but please call ahead to confirm. The number is 561-297-3512 (after hours, please select option 3). Counseling and Psychological Services are operating regular hours, also. Again, please call ahead. The number for these services is 561-297-3540 (24 hours daily).

Student Union operating hours are 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday to Friday on the Boca Raton campus. The Union is closed on weekends. The Davie campus Student Union and computer lab hours are 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Monday to Thursday, and 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. Fridays. Saturday and Sunday hours are noon – 6 p.m. On the Jupiter campus, the Burrow will remain closed.

Dining Hall hours on the Boca Raton and Jupiter campuses are as follows:

Monday to Friday — 7:30 – 10 a.m. for breakfast; 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. for lunch; 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. for dinner. Saturday and Sunday — 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. for brunch and 3 p.m. – 8 p.m. for dinner.

On the Boca Raton campus, the Wimberly Library will open 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Monday to Friday; 10:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. Saturdays; noon – 8 p.m. Sundays. There also is a 24/7 study space with computer lab adjacent to the library accessible to all students with card swipe.

In Jupiter, the John D. MacArthur Campus Library will open 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. There also is a 24/7 computer lab adjacent to the library in Jupiter accessible to all students with card swipe.

The HBOI library will operate its regular hours of 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.

Library availability for students on the Broward County campuses can be found at broward.org/library.

Additional library services may be accessed at library.fau.edu/lib2go.

Many of our services will continue for as long as we are permitted to stay open. However, some facilities and programs have temporarily closed or suspended operations.

All our campus recreation locations are now closed until at least March 27. And, all summer study abroad programs are cancelled.

The on-campus Boca Raton shuttle bus that services various campus parking lots is suspended until March 30. However, the FAU-operated shuttle bus between our Boca Raton and Jupiter campuses is operating its normal schedule.

The Schmidt Center Gallery, the Ritter Gallery, and the Avron B. Fogelman Sports History Museum are closed until further notice. Staff associated with these facilities should report for work as normal.

Also, all on-campus student events on all campuses are cancelled through March 27.

At FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce, all public events are postponed, cancelled, suspended or closed. They include the ocean science lecture series, the marine science Friday lecture series, the Ocean Discovery Visitors Center, all public tours, and the speakers bureau. Visit FAU.edu/hboi for more information.

The 2020 President’s Gala, which was scheduled for April 4 in FAU Stadium, also is cancelled. I would like to thank everyone who supports this event, from our generous sponsors, people who buy individual tickets, and our vendors, who all make this such a wonderful event, for their continued support. I look forward to seeing you at the 2021 Gala on April 10.

Conference USA has cancelled the basketball championships, and all spring sports competitions are suspended until further notice. In addition, the NCAA has cancelled all spring athletic championships.

Please remember to regularly check our dedicated COVID-19 website that contains a wide array of information and resources to help you stay informed. And, most important of all, if you are feeling unwell, and especially if you are experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19, please seek medical attention as soon as you can.

Please take care of yourselves and those around you.

John Kelly

President

Today’s update covers two very important areas: School district closings, and new travel and self-quarantine protocols.

This afternoon, the Commissioner of Education for the State of Florida directed that all public schools close for an initial two-week period beginning Monday.

Consistent with this decision, our Karen Slattery Educational Research Center for Child Development will be closed, and our A.D. Henderson University School, both located on our Boca Raton campus, will move to online delivery only, for the period March 16 – 30. The second week of this period coincides with Spring Break at Henderson.

At Henderson, each grade level has a digital plan. Teachers will be in contact with students and parents/guardians to provide details about virtual instruction, which will include lessons, assignments and support. Classes for our students enrolled in FAU High School are included in the university’s remote instruction plan.

It is very important that all supervisors and those of you with dependents review FAU’s Children in the Workplace policy (Policy 4.1.3).

As the policy, in part, states, “supervisors and managers should be flexible in granting accrued leave to employees who need to make emergency child care arrangements.” The announcement that school will be closed next week could create an emergency need for some employees to make child care arrangements.

You can access the complete policy online here. As it discusses, our work areas simply are not designed to provide appropriate accommodations for children. For these reasons, and for the similar public health reasons that prompted the State University System of Florida Board of Governors to require all state universities temporarily revert to remote instruction, the university must enforce this policy.

In an update to the university’s travel protocols, all individuals — which includes all students, faculty and staff — who return to the U.S. from any country or return from a cruise must self-quarantine for 14 days. This means if you returned from an overseas trip, for example, 10 days ago, you should now self-quarantine for four days. If you return after today, you must self-quarantine for the full 14 days.

This directive applies to personal overseas travel, such as vacations, as well as any university-related travel. However, it does not apply to U.S. territories.

Please bear in mind, self-quarantine should include working remotely as much as possible. If these self-quarantine restrictions apply to you, please work with your supervisor to arrange remote working.

These travel protocols will remain in place until further notice.

As a reminder, beginning Monday for an initial two weeks, all FAU students will take classes via remote instruction. If you are a student, please pay close attention to messages from faculty and staff regarding your classes.

Also, we have requested students not return to campus from spring break during the period of remote instruction. Residential students at home for spring break are encouraged to remain off campus, if possible. However, students who need to remain on or return to campus should contact the Housing and Residential Education office at 561-297-2880 or housing@fau.edu.

If it feels like the situation regarding the COVID-19 virus and how it affects university operations is in constant change — it is. However, I will do my best to keep you informed with all the pertinent information. As of this update, the university will remain open, and all faculty and staff should report for work as normal on Monday.

Please remember to regularly check our dedicated COVID-19 website that contains a wide array of information and resources to help you stay informed. And, most important of all, if you are feeling unwell, and especially if you are experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19, please seek medical attention as soon as you can.

I sincerely hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend and thank you for your on-going support and understanding.

John Kelly

President