Effective Thursday, March 19, Chapman University campuses will go fully remote for all non-essential operations.
The health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff is our highest priority, and that concern has guided our deliberations on how best to continue supporting the academic mission of Chapman University through the rapidly evolving advisories related to the COVID-19. As the recommendations to limit person-to-person contact become increasingly prevalent, including the White House guidance to limit gatherings to groups of 10 or fewer, we must work quickly to limit the number of individuals on the physical campuses in both Orange and Irvine.
This temporary measure will be evaluated regularly, and any decision to resume normal campus operations will be made in close consultation with Orange County health officials.
Information for Staff: Working Remotely
- Only staff performing “essential services”, as defined by Human Resources, should be reporting to work on campus beginning Thursday, March 19, 2020. If you do not know if you are essential staff, please discuss with your direct supervisor immediately.
- For non-essential staff that can work from home, you should begin working remotely on Thursday as well.
- For those in need of resources to support working remotely, IS&T will continue walk-in support on Wednesday and Thursday in the Leatherby Libraries Rotunda from 7:00 a.m.- 7:00 p.m., and from 7:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. on Friday.
- If your supervisor and you determine that you are non-essential and cannot work remotely, you will continue receiving your regular compensation for the remainder of the academic year (May 31, 2020) or until we resume normal operations, whichever comes first. Human Resources will provide instructions on how you should enter this on your timesheet in a separate communication.
- Remote work resources are available at https://www.chapman.edu/campus-services/information-systems/index.aspx
Information for Staff: Campus Access
- All dining services and restaurants on campus will close effective today, March 17, 2020. If you are essential staff working on campus, please plan your meal breaks accordingly.
- The physical campus, including the Leatherby Libraries, are currently accessible, however, we encourage access limited to essential services. Online resources will continue to be available, as will non-essential staff who are working remotely.
- We encourage limiting in-person meetings and have provided several options, such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom, to facilitate online meetings.
- Please regularly check the Coronavirus website for additional updates.
Information for Faculty: Academic Instruction
- All instruction will continue to be delivered remotely for the remainder of the semester, including final exams. For classes on the Rinker campus, remote instruction will likely continue into the next trimester.
- To facilitate remote instruction, learning and support services, IS&T has been supporting faculty and instructors, graduate teaching assistants, staff, and students who are in need of laptops and internet access. Resources are available at: https://www.chapman.edu/campus-services/information-systems/index.aspx
Information for Faculty: Campus Access
- While offices, labs and research facilities remain open, we encourage faculty to work remotely and limit access to campus.
- All dining services and restaurants on campus will close effective today, March 17, 2020.
- The physical campus, including the Leatherby Libraries, are currently accessible, however, there will be reduced staffing and we encourage very limited access. Online resources will continue to be available, and remote staff will be available wherever possible.
- Please do not schedule or attend in-person meetings and we have provided several options such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Canvas Big Blue Button to facilitate online meetings.
- Dissertation and theses defenses must be moved to a remote access format.
- Please continue to watch the Coronavirus website for additional updates and resources.
Information for Students: Academic Instruction, Housing, Dining and Student Support
- All dining services and restaurants on campus will close effective today, March 17, 2020. Students using dining services will receive a pre-packaged dinner.
- For residential students, on-campus housing and limited dining services remain open only to residents unable to leave campus. Housing staff will work directly with residential students. Those who remain will likely require relocation to better manage the necessary social distancing needed to contain the spread of the virus. Please continue to check the Residence Life and First Experience website for updates.
- All instruction will continue to be delivered remotely for the remainder of the semester, including final exams. For classes on the Rinker campus, remote instruction will likely continue until the next trimester.
- To facilitate remote instruction, learning and support services, IS&T has been supporting faculty and instructors, teaching assistants, staff, and students who are in need of laptops and internet access. Resources are available at https://www.chapman.edu/campus-services/information-systems/index.aspx
Information for Students: Health and Counseling Services
- All Student Health and Counseling services will continue as essential campus functions.
- While most employees will work remotely, the Health and Counseling centers will have a limited number of staff on site to respond to urgent student situation.
Information for Students: Campus Access
- The physical campus, including the Leatherby Libraries, are currently accessible, however, we encourage very limited access. Online resources will continue to be available, and remote staff will be available wherever possible.
- Students are encouraged to work with faculty and staff directly to access critical resources and campus facilities, if needed.
- Employees will work remotely if feasible, and only essential personnel supporting critical campus functions will be allowed continue their work on campus.
- Please continue to watch the Coronavirus website for additional updates and resources.
Please continue to stay connected as additional information will be provided from the critical areas working to keep Chapman University moving forward.
While the physical campuses will have limited access, Chapman University’s academic mission is alive and well. Social distancing will not stop us from our pursuit of knowledge. Since the start of this situation, I have seen the University community rise to this challenge and these additional precautions won’t stop our progress. While we are putting the health and well-being of the community first, we remain committed to the learning environment, although quite differently than we are used to. I continue to be grateful for your resilience, flexibility and adaptability as this situation progresses.
