By News and Internal Communications

Editor’s Note: The following message was sent via email from UTRGV President Guy Bailey to UTRGV students, staff and faculty on March 12, 2020.

Dear Campus Community:

As part of our ongoing commitment to our UTRGV community’s health and safety, the Office of Emergency Preparedness, along with our Infectious Disease Outbreak Committee, continues to monitor the current COVID–19 (coronavirus) outbreak. 

To help mitigate the impact of the outbreak on our campus community, UTRGV announces the following proactive measures:

Academic Continuity

• We are extending Spring Break for students by one additional week, so no classes will take place the week of March 16-20.
• Classes will resume March 23 via online and will continue in this format until further notice. Revised end-of-semester and finals dates will be shared soon.
• Programs and classes that are already fully online in a traditional format will also have an extended Spring Break from March 16-20 and will resume March 23.
• Accelerated Online Programs will continue as normal and will not be affected by the extended Spring Break for students.
• Should special accommodations be needed related to online delivery, please contact your instructor.
• For any questions or concerns regarding the academic continuity plan, students and faculty may contact their chairperson and staff may contact their supervisor.  

Campus operations/Employees

• Although we are currently reviewing the situation, our current plan is to operate the campus as normal during the week of March 16-20 and until further notice.
• UTRGV faculty and staff should report to work as normal. Supervisors will work with employees to arrange appropriate social-distance measures, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Employees who need special accommodations should discuss their situation with their supervisor.
• Guidance for student employees is forthcoming and will be shared soon. 
• Our custodial staff continues to clean and sanitize all our campuses and off-campus facilities day and night, with deep-cleaning efforts taking place in those areas of high human traffic (e.g. U Central, Library, UREC, bathrooms).
• We will notify you as soon as possible should there be any change in this fluid situation.

Events

• All university-related events will be canceled until further notice. Exceptions may be made for small events where precautions can be taken to ensure social distancing, as recommended by the CDC.
• Although we are not currently cancelling commencement we will be carefully evaluating that event over the next few weeks and will provide an update at a later date.
• The Western Athletic Conference has suspended all athletics competition until further notice. This means that none of UTRGV’s regularly scheduled athletic events will be played until further notice.
• For any questions or concerns regarding events please contact the Office of Emergency Preparedness.

Travel

• Guidelines for students, faculty and staff who have traveled internationally or domestically are forthcoming.
• All study abroad programs have been canceled. For further information, please contact the Office of Global Engagement.
• University-related travel to CDC Level 2 and 3 countries is suspended.
• University-related travel to California, New York, Washington, and Massachusetts is suspended.
• University-related travel restrictions are being evaluated daily and the campus community will be notified as changes/updates arise.
• For any questions or concerns regarding travel please contact the Office of Emergency Preparedness

Visit utrgv.edu/coronavirus to stay updated with the latest information regarding coronavirus and what the university is doing to mitigate the outbreak’s impact to our campus community.

Sincerely,

 

Guy Bailey
President