Our community has pulled together in positive ways in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The current Santa Cruz County and Santa Clara County shelter-in-place orders, plus last night’s statewide stay-at-home order, mandate that we be more explicit in how we respond to this growing public health challenge.
Further, we understand there may be some confusion or lack of clarity regarding what members of the campus community can do in their work capacity and when they should and should not come to campus locations to work. This memo supersedes all earlier communications, except the Research and Instructional staff directive issued earlier today to instructors, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students.
The information below reflects directives from the university; they are not guidelines. All employees and students must adhere to these directives. This directive does not apply to administrators and managers whose presence on campus is essential. Earlier today we sent a communication specifically addressing the workplace concerns of research and instructional staff and graduate students.
Dos
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Do come to work if your supervisor has told you to do so. You are allowed to come to work if you are supporting an essential operation of the university. Principal officers have been asked to work with managers to identify essential positions that may require work on the residential campus or other campus locations. If you believe that the operation you are supporting is not essential but there is an expectation that you come to work anyway, you may seek confirmation of the essential nature of your work by emailing your principal officer.
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Do come to the residential campus or other campus locations if your supervisor directs you to do so for a specific or limited purpose, even if you are generally working from home. You are allowed to come to campus locations for this purpose.
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Do feel free to park in any designated campus parking lot if you are directed to come to work at campus locations. Daytime parking lot enforcement has been suspended at the residential campus, the West Side Research Park, and the Coastal Science Campus so that employees may park closer to needed facilities, reduce the distance they have to walk, and avoid taking public transportation if they choose to do so.
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Do feel free to visit the campus COVID-19 webpage for resources about how to address loneliness and isolation that may occur while we are under the shelter-in-place order.
Don'ts
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Do not come to work if you are sick.
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Do not come to work if you are on approved administrative or other approved leave.
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Do not come to work to engage in research, except to engage in ramp down or continuity work as approved and directed by the Vice Chancellor for Research. Separate, specific guidance has been issued to campus researchers.
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Do not come to work at campus locations solely because your home internet access is inadequate, or because the conditions at your home are otherwise not conducive to working efficiently. The university understands that employees may not be able to work with normal efficiency during this period. Staff and faculty who need these resources should address their needs with their supervisor or department chair. There is also a list of helpful resources on the COVID-19 Information Technology Services website.
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Do not come to the residential campus or other campus locations because there is something in your office that you would like to retrieve, or because you want to visit with colleagues who must work on campus. You should only be coming to a campus location if your supervisor has given you express permission to do so. Your supervisor can give you permission to come to campus on a one-time basis or as otherwise necessary.
Building access
The campus will shift to having all facilities placed in after-hours security mode. This means that for all sites, including the residential campus, Coastal Science Campus, Westside Research Park at 2300 Delaware, UCO-Lick at Mount Hamilton, Scotts Valley Center, and Silicon Valley Center, doors will be locked 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and access to the facility will be limited to those essential employees who require access and have key/electronic access. This action reflects the need to adequately secure the campus through the period of the county and state directive to shelter in place and may be extended for public safety purposes.
We know that these are challenging times and we appreciate your patience and cooperation as we work through these issues. These directives are designed to further protect our campus community and give you confidence that your work is consistent with the shelter-in-place orders and the statewide stay-at-home order. These directives are intended to safeguard the maintenance of the essential and critical operations of the campus. Please take care of yourselves and be well.
