Faculty and Staff COVID-19 Update
Hello Bradley Family,
We hope you are enjoying the gorgeous spring weather and continuing to stay safe and healthy. Bradley remains committed to having you, the faculty and staff back on campus for the fall semester, while keeping the health and safety of the entire Bradley family as our top priority. There are many moving parts to this process and it’s constantly evolving. Thank you for your patience as we navigate these uncharted waters.
There are multiple committees preparing our fall plans.
- Led by Erin Kastberg, the Return to Work team will focus on work schedules, employee social distancing elements and other short- and long-term factors.
- Led by Molly Cluskey, the Return to Class team will look at academic delivery, e.g., class sizes, classroom set-ups, hybrid delivery models and the academic calendar.
- Led by Jon Neidy, the Return to Engagement team will work on physical distancing and other short and long-term factors outside of the classroom experience including, residence hall and dining accommodations, move-in and welcome week activities, use of common campus spaces and student organization activities.
- Led by Jobie Skaggs, the Return to Online team will focus on increasing Bradley’s flexible educational delivery preparedness where online delivery is needed. Advanced professional development training for our faculty, integration of enhanced virtual technology and other creative tools will allow us to adapt to this changing and unpredictable environment better.
Here are the latest developments regarding Bradley’s return to campus.
Changes to Academic Timing
We have made the decision to cancel our traditional fall break and hold classes on those days instead. In addition, students will not return to campus after Thanksgiving. These decisions will reduce some of the risk factors associated with traveling during these times. We are still working through the academic calendar and determining whether we will resume classes online after Thanksgiving or if we will accelerate the semester (including some Saturday classes) to finish classes at Thanksgiving. These recommendations will be provided by the Return to Class team.
When will we return to campus for work?
The Return to Work team is developing guidelines for returning to work on campus. Per Phase 3 of the Restore Illinois Plan remote work should continue wherever possible. Bradley will continue to follow this recommendation. We understand there are a number of personal circumstances that may impact your return to work; we intend to provide you with a reasonable amount of notice before we expect you to return to campus.
Masks
Per CDC recommendations, masks should be worn by students, visitors, faculty and staff on campus. The university will provide each student and employee with one Bradley branded mask or you can wear your own. You will be asked to wear a mask while on campus and in public settings where other physical distancing measures are difficult to maintain.
Fall Planning
Teams are visiting classrooms to determine how each should be set in order to preserve physical distancing. This includes measuring the space to ensure there’s a 6-foot distance maintained and establishing the number of seats available. We are also identifying other spaces that may be used for learning. Space challenges are one of the reasons we must consider hybrid-style learning and the Online Learning team will launch faculty training shortly.
There are numerous considerations and discussions taking place. At the top of the list are antigen testing and contact tracing. Both of these will be key pieces in our return to campus. Other early decision points will be residence hall occupancy and building cleaning routines.
Orientation
More than 845 students (and growing) are signed up to attend one of the 19 single-day orientation sessions in July and August. These will be organized by college and will run approximately from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
The schedule for orientation will be:
- July 7, 8, 9, 10 (Tues through Friday) BUS, EHS, LAS
- July 13, 14, 16, 17 (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri) BUS, EHS, LAS
- July 20, 21, 23, 24 (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri) CFA, EGT, AEP
- July 27, 28, 30, 31 (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri) CFA, EGT, AEP
- Aug 19 and 20 will be open to students from more than 250 miles away and will include all majors/colleges
Some of the event’s components will either move online or into Welcome Week. The Return to Student Life team is actively working on move-in, welcome week, dining, student activities and other important engagement pieces across campus.
Online Teaching Session
Fundamentals in Online Learning & Design (FOLD) Institute will be offered beginning the week of June 8 for faculty members teaching in the fall. This training is designed to help faculty participants prepare to teach an online, hybrid or flipped course and be ready with a flexible delivery model. Details will be shared next week.
Counseling Resources Available
We know this time is stressful for everyone so we want to remind you that Bradley provides resources to help full-time staff employees and eligible dependents cope with these types of life events through its Employee Assistance Program (EAP). (888) 293-6948/TDD: (800) 327-1833, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or workhealthlife.com/Standard3. The EAP provides confidential, short-term counseling at no cost to the employee. Additionally, employees enrolled in a Bradley-sponsored health plan can schedule a time to speak with a counselor in the privacy of their home through the Virtual Visit option.
Voluntary Separation Program
As announced last week, Bradley is offering a limited-time Voluntary Separation Package for all full-time employees. The deadline to opt in is Thursday, June 11, 2020. You are invited to attend an information session Monday, June 1, from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. or Friday, June 5, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. You can join the webinar at this link:
https://Bradley.zoom.us/j/93242002290?pwd=M0V1bTFYdFAzMDNvUUFoN3FBcW9TZz09, password: Kaboom, or by phone at 1-312-626-6799, webinar ID: 932 4200 2290. If you experience any difficulty in joining the webinar, please email: avsupport@fsmail.bradley.edu
If necessary, please watch this short training video on how to join the meeting in advance:
Thank You President Roberts
As June 1 marks his last day before retirement, we want to thank President Gary Roberts again for his dedication to his alma mater over the last four years. His leadership through this transition has been appreciated and we wish him and Donna many joys in retirement.
–Sent to all employees on 05/29/2020
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