COVID-19: Working from home and other advice

This message was originally sent to employees by Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor.

We’re doing our best to help contain the spread of COVID-19 in line with guidance from the Government of Canada and Public Health Ontario.  

Collectively, leaders from across the University have been meeting – virtually – to make decisions and guide our response. We will continue to respond with urgency and care to the evolving global COVID-19 pandemic. 

I deeply appreciate the extraordinary efforts being made by our Waterloo community to support University operations, each other and our students. Simply, thank you. 

Work together to set up new ways of working 

We are entering a phase where we operate the University in new and creative ways for the foreseeable future. We are going to keep delivering on our teaching, learning and research while asking employees and students to work from home.  

Faculties and departments have started to implement business continuity plans as we anticipate and respond to emerging priorities. These plans help us maintain critical business functions while adapting to changes in delivery of work, including working remotely and changing how we deliver our services.  

You and your manager should be talking about the ways you will continue to deliver your work from home. 

In times like this, I ask that you please be flexible in the way you work and accommodate requests to support University operations. 

We will support our employees as they adapt to new ways of delivering our work including practical guides to adopting new IT solutions and best practices for working remotely. 

Microsoft Teams online training session

Information Systems & Technology (IST) is hosting an online training session on “Working remotely with Microsoft Teams” on Friday, March 20 from 10:00 a.m. to noon. Click to join the session in the Teams application or click the 'Watch on the web instead' button and log in to join.  

Working in a changed environment can be hard, but help is available 

I know that working away from your team can be hard and that your home isn’t always set up as a workplace. Our Employee and Family Assistance Partner, Homewood Health is available for any employee who wants to seek help. Call Homewood at 1-800-663-1142.  

Homewood also suggests some tips to prepare to work at home and we’ve shared these on the COVID-19 pages. 

Some buildings will stay open for student and employee access 

As we continue taking measures to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 some campus buildings are open, but only to students and employees to use if they have no other place to work.  

We want to reiterate and encourage you to stay at home. If you absolutely must come to campus, please make sure you follow guidance on social distancing – keeping at least 2 meters between people – and regular hand hygiene. 

On-campus wifi access will continue to be available. 

We’re tracking a list of changes to normal services on the COIVD-19 website. 

We’re supporting students and instructors complete the term 

We’re committed to supporting students complete their Winter Term. Starting Monday, all of our courses and assessments will resume in online or alternative formats.  

Instructors are now at work on the difficult job of redesigning their courses without in-person meetings or exams so the term can be completed. Three principles are guiding their work: 

• student and staff safety
• achieving the best results for students including allowing them to progress appropriately in their programs, and
• equity.  

We have committed to help instructors make these changes from the following units: the Centre for Teaching Excellence, the Centre for Extended Learning, Information Systems and Technology, the Library, AccessAbility Services, and the Writing and Communication Centre. Another huge thank you to people in these units for their amazing efforts. 

A plan for the Spring Term will be available soon 

Collectively we are expanding our planning horizons to include both Spring and Fall terms. We expect to share details on course delivery campus services and deadlines for Spring in the coming hours and days. 

Keep your plans to onboard co-op students for Spring Term 

One important part of maintaining our academic activity is the need to continue your plans to onboard co-op students to units across our campus.  

Our co-op team has stepped up in a huge way shifting more than 1,000 co-op interviews this week to video or telephone. This is amazing flexibility from them and employers. If you hosted co-op interviews this week by phone – great job. 

If you have plans to use co-op students this coming term you need to think about the ways they can support your work from their home. The folks at HIRE Waterloo have created a handy guide on supporting co-op students remotely. 

Thanking our on-campus employees 

Over the past week our community has been faced with an unprecedented amount of disruption and change, but I have never been prouder of how our students, faculty and staff have responded. Thank you again, everyone, for your swift action and support for one another. 

In particular, I want to thank the teams who have continued to come to campus and keep our essential operations working. To the people in the following units – we owe you our gratitude for your efforts. 

• Plant Ops and Cleaning Services  
• Residence staff and Food Services  
• Campus wellness 
• Leadership and Emergency Communications Team 

Finally – here's a fabulous example of how our University can support the community. Food Services has donated more than $5,200 worth of perishable foods (including milk, eggs, fruits, vegetables and meats) to the Food Bank of Waterloo Region. Please continue to think of people who are less fortunate than us and think of ways you can support community organizations, wherever you are. 

Please stay safe, healthy and well. 

Additional information and resources

We are keeping the University’s COVID-19 website up to date with information.    
 
If you have questions or concerns about coronavirus and Waterloo, please email coronavirus@uwaterloo.ca and our team will help find the right campus contact.