UVA SCPS Coronavirus Updates

The University of Virginia is closely monitoring the emergence of COVID-19, and consulting with experts at UVA Health, the Virginia Department of Health, the CDC and other partners.

For updates from the University, please visit a UVA website set up for this purpose.

 

 

UVA Updates on
Novel Coronavirus

 

 

A list of messages specific to the School of Continuing and Professional Studies community is available below.

 

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March 19: A Note of Thanks and Updates

Dear Colleagues,

I want to thank you for your amazing teamwork and compassion for one another as we exited Zehmer Hall and other sites over the last few days. During this unprecedented time, each of you have reminded me of how blessed we are to be part of such a caring and collaborative team.

Over the last few days during the bustle of moving to remote work, I reached out to many colleagues to assist with requests for critical and time sensitive information. My sincerest thanks to everyone who assisted with these requests – Program Directors, Martha Ann and the SSEM team, Christoph, Kathy Roy, Sue and the FBOP team, and many others. A special thanks to George and Mike who helped us move our things while also transitioning the building to facilities management and the emergency operations staff.

Much has happened the past few days, so I am sharing some updates and information below.

  • Mail – Zehmer Hall physical mail will be held at UVA Mail services. Kathy Roy will pick it up on Wednesdays and forward pertinent information to individuals (she will be contacting individuals as needed); Cathy Froelich is forwarding RI and NVC mail to Charlottesville.
  • Packages – Please let Kathy Roy know if you are anticipating any packages to be delivered to Zehmer Hall. For other locations expecting packages, I recommend working with Cathy Froelich to have them rerouted as appropriate.
  • Printing – Please note the print to pdf option. If you need to annotate on your pdf copies please email [email protected] to request Acrobat Pro if you don’t already have this software. If you find yourself accidentally printing to your office printers please delete the printers from your computer and you will be able to set them up again after returning to the office.
  • Equipment - Our equipment and systems are enabling us to work remotely. Two important reminders to keep us operational during this time.
  1. Please complete the equipment inventory form sent by Sue Herod to log University items that you took home for remote work. Also, please take a minute to familiarize yourself with the policies included in her email.
  2. From Christoph: Please show your equipment love! Now - more than ever before - the hardware that SCPS has provided to accomplish our jobs has become invaluable. We ask that you take every measure possible to protect and steward this equipment. With disrupted supply chains and lack of access to Zehmer, damaged hardware will be very challenging to replace which could severely interrupt our operations. Please keep this in mind and stay healthy and safe!

Stay connected and up-to-date

  • For university communications, it is important to check the UVA Coronavirus website frequently. This is where you can find the latest information.

For SCPS - Teams is an important communication channel for us.

If you haven’t already done so, please join the "Working Remotely with MS Teams and Zoom" team that Christoph set up to share best practices not only with SCPS but the larger University community. Then we can ALL learn from each other! The code to join the team is 332izn8. [To join go to the teams icon (you might have to click it a couple times) and at the top right "Join Team" - input that code (332izn8) and it should put you in the Team.] Thanks, Christoph!

In closing, we get a lot of accomplished today. Many thanks to everyone. We should be very proud of how well prepared we are to instruct and work remotely.

SCPS ROCKS – more on that on Monday, perhaps?

Cynthia C. Reed, MBA
Associate Dean for Administration

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March 19: A Grading Update From SCPS

Dear SCPS students, faculty and staff,

I am forwarding UVA Provost Liz Magill’s announcement about the University of Virginia’s undergraduate grading policies for the Spring 2020 term.

Because of the extraordinary circumstances students across UVA are facing, credit / no credit (CR/NC) will be the default grading system for undergraduate courses at SCPS for the Spring 2020 term.

However, students have the option of requesting a letter grade for any undergraduate course through Tuesday April 28th, the last day of classes. We will announce the details of that process as soon as possible.

A few important details:

  • Courses taken for CR/NC are not factored into a student’s GPA
  • To receive credit (CR), students must achieve a grade of C or better
  • UVA will include a designation on students’ transcripts to indicate that the CR/NC option for Spring 2020 was created in the midst of an extraordinary crisis

For our Post Bacc Pre Med students, receiving letter grades this term may be important. Susan Salko will follow up with you to provide more guidance.

Graduate courses are not affected by this announcement. SCPS students enrolled in graduate level courses will continue with their existing grading policies. However, please let your instructor or advisor know if you are facing challenges that are affecting your learning so they can help.

There is a lot going on in the world right now impacting us personally and professionally. We are here for each other, so please do not hesitate to reach out if we can support you. I feel grateful to be going through this moment in history with all you.

In service,

Alex Hernandez
Dean, School of Continuing and Professional Studies

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March 16: COVID-19 Update

Dear SCPS Colleagues,

There is a considerable amount of information and communication being shared regarding the COVID-19 situation. As an effort to assist with this, I have highlighted below some recent communications, but I encourage you to check UVA’s webpage frequently for all updated information.

Richmond Center Operations - We are following the lead of Virginia Tech with UVA Richmond Center employees teleworking until March 30. All responsibilities will be completed virtually.

Public Health Emergency Leave added to Workday – A NEW type of paid leave, up to two weeks, is now available to employees (including wage and temporary employees) who have been impacted by the virus. This leave is available to employees who have been directed to self-quarantine by a qualified health care provider, have been exposed to someone diagnosed with COVID-19, or have an immediate family member diagnosed with the disease. This leave is not meant to be used for child/eldercare. Employees should work with their manager to address options such as working remotely and/or alternative work schedules if needed for child/eldercare.

Caregiving Benefits – Two temporary caregiving options through the University are available here. These benefits are available to benefit-eligible employees only.

  • Bright Horizons Back-Up Care
  • Reimbursement Option for Child/Elder Care

Due to rapidly-evolving status of COVID-19, Bright Horizons is seeking Caregivers to join their team. More information can be found here: https://hr.virginia.edu/join-bright-horizons-team.

Teladoc – starting Tuesday, March 17, 2020 a new service will be available through the UVA Health Plan. Teladoc offers quick access to primary care physicians who can assist in diagnosing and treating your health care concerns over the phone. For employees participating in the UVa health plans, COVID-19 testing is free. Though this service is available to anyone, UVA Health Plan participants who discuss non-COVID-19 health care concerns, and those who are not on the UVA plan, will incur fees.

Employee Health - Employee Health 434.924.2013 and its Same Day Clinic are available to UVA employees (does not include family members) who are experiencing symptoms.

I want to thank each of you for all each of you are doing to maintain SCPS operations during this time. Again, please continue to monitor UVA’s webpage dedicated to information and resources surrounding COVID-19. Any updated communication coming from UVA leadership will be posted here and updates to the FAQs are made as this situation evolves.

Please reach out to me if you have issues or questions that need to be addressed.

Best,
Cindy

Cynthia C. Reed, MBA
Associate Dean for Administration

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March 11: An SCPS Community Update From Dean Hernandez

Dear faculty and staff,

Today, President Jim Ryan sent a message to the UVA community notifying us that the University is moving classes online for the foreseeable future. If you have not seen that message, you can find it at the end of this communication.

I am following President Ryan’s email to discuss what UVA’s coronavirus response means for the SCPS community. The decision to move classes online is a significant one, but we are well-positioned as a school to adapt.

Over 98% of our classes are already online and the University’s announcement has no impact on BIS, BPHM and our online certificate programs. These online courses will continue as scheduled.

We will send messages to our online students confirming that their coursework will not be impacted.

SCPS does have several programs, including Post Bacc Pre Med, the Certified Financial Planner certificate, Community Scholars, etc., that do meet face-to-face. We are working with the teams running these programs to support our students and help faculty transition their courses online by Thursday March 19th. This is a big lift and there will be some challenges. We are working with our teams to support this transition.

Kathy Roy will work with Cindy Reed and the University to ensure that Zehmer Hall is not holding events of greater than 100 people and looking for alternatives for smaller events.

I want to emphasize that University facilities will remain open during this time. Staff should continue to report to work as usual and take the recommended steps to prevent illness (e.g., remain home if you are feeling sick, washing hands, etc.). I encourage you to share any concerns with your manager regarding the workplace.

Cindy Reed is coordinating the SCPS response team in collaboration with the Provost’s office. Kevin Lucey is leading instructor support and Rob Seal is coordinating communications.

In addition, UVA has launched a new website to provide updates and information on the coronavirus. Please read it and check back often for updates. SCPS is also launching a webpage to provide updates for our community, and we will share that link when it is available.

You will be copied on a more general message from me to the broader SCPS community, including our students.

This is an extraordinary circumstance and I am proud that we are playing our part to care for the UVA and Charlottesville community. Our students and team will need our support over the coming days and weeks. But we know these steps can make a huge difference in people’s lives. SCPS is incredibly well-positioned to make this transition thanks to your commitment to our mission, care for our students, and expertise in online learning.

In partnership and service,

alex

Alex Hernandez
Dean | School of Continuing and Professional Studies

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March 11: Update For Students on Online Courses

Dear SCPS Community,

The COVID-19 virus has already caused significant changes across the world, and I write to both share news from the University and discuss what that means for us here at the School of Continuing and Professional Studies. Today, President Jim Ryan sent a message to the UVA community notifying us that the University is moving classes online for the foreseeable future. If you have not seen that message, you can find it at the end of this communication.

Over 90% of our classes are already online and the University’s announcement has no impact on BIS, BPHM and our online certificate programs. SCPS online courses will continue as scheduled.

However, the University’s operating changes do affect our in-person classes and programs. Students, if you take in-person classes, you will receive an update soon on moving classes online. We are also publishing a page on our website to provide updates as they are available.

In addition, UVA has launched a new website to provide updates and information on the coronavirus. Please read it, and check back often for updates.

The decision to move classes online is a significant one, but we are well-positioned as a school to adapt, as much of our instruction is already online.


Our mission to offer accessible, online education to adult learners is as important now as ever, and I’m grateful to you all for your hard work and dedication in the face of these challenges.

In service,

Alex Hernandez

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March 11: Course Information For PBPM Students

Hello everyone,

As you’re likely already aware, the COVID-19 virus has prompted the University of Virginia to move spring semester classes online for the foreseeable future. If you have not seen the message from President Jim Ryan announcing this decision, you can find it at the end of this communication. It includes resources, including a link to a University website providing updates. This decision requires that we move our PBPM classes online, beginning March 19. Additional future communications will address the completion of your labs. However, as noted in President Ryan’s e-mail, you will receive full credit for all of your courses this semester. Testing will also be addressed in a future email and/or directly from your faculty. And, as of now, the libraries will remain open.

US Healthcare will now be accessed through Zoom so please look for and accept the invitation sent today. Based on the resumption of classes on the 19th, we will not be seeing you in US Healthcare class on Wednesday (18th) and the anatomy lab visit for that day has also been cancelled.

Please be assured that Jillian and I are accessible to you for advising meetings and/or mock interviewing. Please send your requests for a meeting to [email protected].

We realize that many of you have questions. We do not yet have all of the answers, but will update you as soon as information becomes available. The School of Continuing and Professional Studies is also building a website for updates and messages from within the school.

If you have additional questions please direct them to me at [email protected].

Susan Salko

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