Student Employees & Campus Operations
Friday, March 13, 2020 :: Office of the President
Dear Campus Community:
As a follow-up to yesterday’s message announcing the proactive measures UTRGV is initiating to mitigate the outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus) on the campus community, the university would like to provide more information regarding campus operations.
We are continuously reviewing the situation, and our current plan is to operate our campuses during the week of March 16-20 and until further notice.
Please note that our decision to move all academic offerings online (beginning Monday, March 23) was made to follow social distancing recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC recommends that people:
- Stay away from large groups.
- Avoid mass gatherings.
- Maintain distance (about 6 feet) from others when possible.
Students, faculty and staff may currently access our campuses and campus services until further notice as long as social-distance measures, as recommended by the CDC, are being followed.
Following is more information regarding campus operations as of Friday, March 13:
Student employees
- Student employees should report to work as normal, beginning Monday, March 16.
- Students (as with faculty and staff) returning to work from Spring Break travel should fill out this form and wait for clearance to return to work.
- Supervisors will work with student employees to arrange appropriate social-distance measures, as recommended by the CDC.
- Student employees with questions or specific concerns about returning to work should discuss their situation with their supervisor.
Health Centers
- Employee and Student Health Centers will keep their normal business hours and also open from 8 a.m.-noon on Saturdays and Sunday until further notice.
- Brownsville employees may use the Brownsville Student Health Center.
Student Support Services
- All student support services (Advising, U Central, Counseling, Disability Services, Veterans Affairs, etc.) will remain open.
Library
- The libraries on the Brownsville and Edinburg campuses will be closed this weekend and reopen on Monday, March 16, from 8 a.m.-4:45 p.m. Times of operation for Monday, March 23, and beyond will be announced at a later date.
Food services
- The Grille located at El Comedor in Brownsville and the Dining Hall located in Edinburg will remain open to serve residents and the campus community.
- El Comedor in Brownsville | Monday- Friday: 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
- Dining Hall in Edinburg
- Monday -Thursday | Breakfast: 7:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. | Lunch: 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Dinner: 5 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.
- Friday – Sunday | Brunch: 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Dinner: 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Child Development Center
- Services will remain available for children enrolled at the Child Development Center. Drop-in care will not be available due to limited staffing. CCAMPIS grant will cover childcare tuition starting the week of March 23rd. Please contact Child Development Center if you have any questions.
Student Union
- The Student Union will remain open for students who want to study. Group activities and programs will be suspended until further notice. Food venues and the game rooms will be closed until further notice. Events and Conferences will be evaluated on a case by case basis and approved in accordance with University directives. Coming soon: Interactive online student activities via Tik Tok and Zoom! We will keep all Vaqueros connected to campus life.
- Hours of operation for Brownsville and Edinburg Student Unions will be as follows until further notice: Monday- Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Recreation
- University Recreation located in Edinburg will close until further notice. Student employees will report as normal. During this time, we will deep clean our facility in preparation for reopening.
- The recreation facility in Brownsville is scheduled to be closed for TSC’s Spring Break until March 23.
- Please check the URec website for updates on the most current information.
Transportation
- Vaquero Express will provide modified transportation service effective Monday, March 16. VOLT service will be suspended until further notice. We will reassess demand of service based on the academic continuity plan as well as input from our transit partner, Valley Metro, and provide updates. Currently Valley Metro has no plans to cancel service on its own routes. Schedule changes to Transportation will be updated on our website. Look for the latest information on our UTRGV PTS Twitter.
Campus Stores & Vaquero Tech Center
- Operating hours for Campus Stores & Vaquero Tech Centers located in Brownsville and Edinburg are adjusted as shown below. Free shipping will be available for all online orders until further notice.
- Hours of operation: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
March 20, 2020 update from the Office of the President
Gov. Greg Abbott has issued a series of Executive Orders related to COVID-19 (coronavirus) preparedness and mitigation for the state of Texas.
Among his direct orders, Governor Abbott directed government entities, including universities, to:
- remain open;
- ask for essential employees to report to their place of work;
- and, where feasible, allow and encourage employees to work from home or other remote sites.
Telecommuting Plan for Employees
To adhere to these new directives, UTRGV is modifying its business continuity plans to help ensure the health and safety of our campus community while also ensuring that we continue to provide high quality, essential services to our students and the Rio Grande Valley community. While offices remain open, we are transitioning to a telecommuting workforce to the extent possible, shifting some of our staff and faculty from their current on-campus workplaces to temporarily working from home. Services will still be available, although many may be online, by phone, and through other technologies to prevent students from needing to come to campus.
It’s important to reiterate that, despite these new directives, UTRGV REMAINS OPEN. All courses are being offered online beginning Monday, March 23, through the end of the spring semester. All offices must continue to serve our students’ needs for this semester and upcoming semesters. Our work does not change; where and how we do it, does change.
In the meantime, every division, department and office at UTRGV is diligently working to develop continuity plans that will identify employees, including student employees, who are authorized to telecommute. All plans will go into effect by midnight Friday (March 20) — the time and date in which the Executive Orders go into effect — so they can be implemented by Monday.
Preparing for Remote Work
Supervisors and employees may refer to UTRGV’s Telecommuting guidelines for further guidance.
Additionally, our Information Technology (IT) department has provided a continuity resource webpage to help provide a smooth telecommuting transition. Please be aware that, during this transition, IT response may be delayed because of increased workload.
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.