March 27: UMBC COVID-19 Action Update
Campus Status: The University is open, with employees working remotely. Facilities will remain closed.
For the most updated information and more information on actions to reduce COVID-19 risks in our community, please visit COVID19.umbc.edu.
Join Dr. Hrabowski and campus leaders next Friday, April 3 at 4 p.m., in a virtual town hall to reflect on our first few days of distance education and work. We're all in this #UMBCtogether, so please share any questions at https://covid19.umbc.edu/town-hall/.
Student Services and Support
We are moving forward with the process of providing refunds to students and families. We hope to be able to provide them by the end of April. More details available here.
Residence hall move-out will take place from April 3 – 16 with strict social distancing measures in place. Students received instructions this week.
UMBC Recreation and Physical Education will be offering free online workouts starting next week.
While the library may be closed, check out this great list of resources you can access from home.
University Health Services is providing services remotely from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. on weekdays. Please visit their website or call 410-455-2542 for more information. 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 911 or go to the nearest hospital emergency room.
Academic Continuity
UMBC has announced grading options for Spring 2020. Please make sure to review both the undergraduate and graduate messages.
UMBC is currently operating in a Research Maintenance Mode. Primary Investigators and lab staff must apply to be on campus through the Access Exception Form. More information is available here.
Business Continuity and Staff Support
On April 2-3, ABM will be cleaning out food that has been left in common area refrigerators in order to avoid food spoilage and maintain a healthy environment. ABM will throw away loose food such as fruits and vegetables as well as any containers of food that have been left behind. Any lunch bags or small coolers containing food will also be thrown away. Condiments will be left in the refrigerators. ABM will not remove anything from freezers and will not empty refrigerators located in offices or labs.
Human Resources has a new comprehensive FAQ pagefor employees and supervisors.
Effective earlier this week, the University implemented a hiring process pause for the recruitment of all staff (non-faculty) positions. With the majority of employees working remotely, we are not able to effectively welcome and onboard new staff members at this time. Departments with a critical staffing need may submit a hiring exception request. Further details can be found here.
During this time of extensive remote work, we encourage you to be vigilant about your online security. The number of scams and phishing messages circulating around our community and the Internet has increased significantly. In order to keep up with the new threats to our community, the Division of Information Technology has created a comprehensive security website. If you see suspicious activity or have information security questions, please contact DoIT Security at security@umbc.edu
In order to fully report the financial impact of COVID-19 to the University System of Maryland, the State of Maryland, and other organizations, please track all expenses related to COVID-19 separately. Guidance for collecting expenses can be found here.
Facilities
Only faculty and staff with explicit permission from their supervisors should be on campus. If you have an emergency and need to access a building, please call UMBC Police at 410-455-5555.
Starting next week, the mailroom will be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
#UMBCtogether
In the midst of challenging times, the UMBC community always finds ways to support each other. Check out how Retrievers are staying #UMBCtogether even though we’re physically apart:
https://twitter.com/Annica_Sci4Dev/status/1243600775751897089
https://twitter.com/madisonobergg/status/1243573078589833218
https://twitter.com/UMBC_WSoccer/status/1243549954184040453?s=20
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Pdbe6HBdw/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-PVnr0nurf/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Npj-0nsOO/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-MqEHsowM_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
If you have questions or concerns, please email COVID19@umbc.edu.
