Greetings,

Thank you for your participation in the efforts to get us Back to Campus safely and efficiently. You will find an archive of past digests at our website.

With King and Pierce counties in Phase 2 of Governor Inslee’s Safe Start Plan, we have received many questions regarding the College of Engineering’s status. UW Seattle Campus is now in Phase 2, and the College of Engineering is now in Phase 2. Phase 2 does not change significantly from Phase 1, meaning that those working remotely will continue to do so, with the exception of designated critical employees, and applies to the College of Engineering and all related departments. 

Returning to Campus

• EH&S has released the final version of the “Campus COVID-19 Visitor Policy.” 
• Face covering guidelines have been updated to include requirements for enforcement of face covering policy and guidance for accommodations. 
• EH&S recorded 90-minute webinars intended for UW personnel who are responsible for developing or implementing unit or site-specific COVID-19 prevention plans, including unit administrators, supervisors/managers and COVID-19 site supervisors. 

We have received reports of employees not being aware of the required online training or attestations prior to returning to campus. Please ensure this information is shared with all supervisors across your unit to inform relevant staff. 

• EH&S requires this online training for all persons on campus (faculty, staff, and students), even if they have already been working onsite as a critical employee, prior to returning to campus.
• Daily attestations are required for all staff and academic personnel coming to campus. 
  • For staff and student employees/supervisors
  • For academic personnel, including faculty, librarians, medical residents and fellows, postdoctoral scholars, and academic staff

Returning to Work

• On 8/10/2020, an email was sent to all UW employees and graduate students with a link to the Supporting Working Parents & Other Caregivers Needs Assessment survey. A second survey was available for supervisors. Surveys closed on Friday, 8/14/2020. Results will shape the recommendations put forth by UW COVID-19 Caregiver Task Force and will be published on UWHR’s Working during COVID-19 website.
• University supervisors, managers and unit leaders can now access a report of COVID-19 Safety Training records. 
• Wellness resources and support are offered on the Whole U website for faculty, staff and students. Supervisors are encouraged to share these resources with their staff.
• UW Carelink offers an employee assistance program, including counseling, legal advice, financial guidance, eldercare assistance, work/life solutions, and consultations for managers.
• Unit/site-specific COVID-19 Prevention Plans are required for University workplaces.
• The UW has convened a Back to the Workplace Task Force reviewing and updating University protocols for how more UW employees can return to in-person work on our campuses.

Returning to Research

• Office of Research’s Guidance for Returning to In-Person Research.

Returning to School

• With ~90% of classes remote, many of the Seattle campus’ classroom buildings will not be used for standard classroom instruction. With the focus on support of hands-on technical lab activities, 12 buildings will serve as primary locations for instruction. Enhanced cleaning and disinfection protocols and security and access control is  under development for these sites. Similar planning is in process for designated collaboration spaces outside of the classroom (Suzzallo Library, HUB, etc.). 
  • Architecture Hall 
  • Bagley Hall 
  • Bank of America Exec. Education Center
  • CSE 2 
  • Guggenheim Hall 
  • Gowen Hall
  • Health Sciences complex
  • Kane Hall 
  • Music Building 
  • Physics/Astronomy Building
  • Paccar Hall 
  • Smith Hall 
• On 8/11/2020, Big-10 and Pac-12 conferences announced they will be officially postponing all sports until 2021. The UW’s Intercollegiate Athletics Department has developed a new program to help fill the estimated $70 million budget shortfall. The Huskies All In program aims to support the 650+ student athletes directly impacted by the recent pandemic-related actions.
• The UW has convened a Back to School Task Force reviewing and updating University protocols for campus spaces including residences, classrooms, labs and libraries.

Visit uw.edu/coronavirus for the most up-to-date communications and information for our UW community. 

If you have info for us to share in the digest, or feedback or questions, you can email us at engineeringuw@uw.edu. Please note, the contents of this email do not represent the full breadth of information and resources available. If we missed something, let us know. 

Thanks,

Kristin & Lisa
College of Engineering COVID-19 Response WG