Wednesday, April 8, 2020

University updates protocol for COVID-19 disclosure

The University has updated a protocol that employees can use if individuals disclose that they believe they are suffering with COVID-19, according to a memo circulated yesterday by Kate Windsor, director of safety.

“The following protocols – for student disclosure and for employee disclosure – protect the privacy of individual health information and adhere to all applicable health legislation,” Windsor writes.

Step-by-step guide of how to navigate student COVID-19 disclosure

The updated protocol is as follows:

• Record the student's full name and updated contact information.
• Determine whether the student has contacted their local health authority for medical support
  • If they have not: Advise the student to contact their local health authority if they have travelled outside of Canada, had contact with a recent traveller (returned in the last 14 days) or close contact with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19. Otherwise, advise the student to contact their health care provider. Waterloo’s COVID-19 information page lists the numbers for Telehealth Ontario and health agencies in Waterloo.
  • If they have: Record the name of the health authority helping the student and the date of disclosure. 

• Tell the student that you will inform the University’s Medical Director and Associate Provost, Students about the situation and that these people may follow up directly. Students can expect questions about how long they have had symptoms or if they visited parts of campus while feeling ill.
• Email the information you have gathered to:
  • Medical Director – Clark Baldwin
  • Associate Provost, Students – Chris Read

Step-by-step guide of how to navigate employee COVID-19 disclosure

The updated protocol is as follows:

• Record the employees full name and updated contact information.
• Determine whether the employee has contacted their local health authority for medical support
  • If they have not: Advise the employee to contact their local Public Health authority if they have travelled outside of Canada, had contact with a recent traveller (returned in the last 14 days) or close contact with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19. Otherwise, advise the employee to contact their health care provider. Waterloo’s  COVID-19 information page lists the numbers for Telehealth Ontario and health agencies in Waterloo.
  • If they have: Record the name of the health authority helping the employee and the date of disclosure. 

• Tell employee that you will notify Occupational Health about the situation and that Occupational Health may contact them for follow up.
• Email Occupational Health with the information you have gathered.

Important: you must not share personal health information with unapproved recipients

“In using either of the above protocols, you should not provide medical advice – please ensure that individuals know they should be seeking appropriate medical help,” Windsor writes. “You must not pass personal health information to anyone beyond the identified contacts in each protocol.”

Specifically, you should not send any personal health information to anyone except:

• Medical Director, or
• Associate Provost, Students, or
• Occupational Health.

“Personal health information includes any identifiable information about the individual or information that would tend to identify the individual,” the memo concludes.

Print + Retail Solutions supports Waterloo online

A message from Print + Retail Solutions (W Store and W Print).

As an essential service to the UWaterloo community, Print + Retail Solutions remains dedicated to providing the campus with products and services during the COVID-19 outbreak. While our physical retail and print locations remain closed to the public until further notice, we are continuing to process online orders placed via wstore.ca and wprint.ca.

For as long as on-campus classes are suspended, we are offering $3 flat rate shipping for all deliveries within Ontario, and $10 flat rate shipping for the rest of Canada. All orders over $75 will automatically qualify for free shipping until May 1. Our integrated accounting infrastructure can help faculty and staff to easily procure items they might need to work from home using a department charge account.

As we position for the start of the Spring term, we ask that instructors continue to place their regular textbook orders through our website (http://www.bookstore.uwaterloo.ca/adoptions.html) or via email (textbooks@lists.uwaterloo.ca). We understand that many instructors will want to include digital options where possible and we are available to offer expert advice and support as needed.

Courseware production will also continue, using protocols established by Health Canada. Courseware order requests may be placed online at http://www.bookstore.uwaterloo.ca/courseware/order.php.

In addition to our courseware and traditional textbook services, Print + Retail Solutions has additional infrastructure in place to support your other academic needs:

• Printing and mailing physical assessments, along with prepaid envelopes for return to our secure lockup, for upload to electronic marking systems (Crowdmark/Akindi) or distribution to faculty and TAs.
• Digitizing existing physical materials with optical character recognition for electronic distribution.
• Using our inventory management and e-commerce platform to deliver any physical materials through our shipping team to students, faculty and TAs.
• Combining course notes and materials into a perfect bound book that would look and function identical to a traditional textbook.

If you have any questions, or require more personalized support, please feel free to email us at wstore@lists.uwaterloo.ca.

Supporting instructors remotely

A message from CEL, CTE, IST and the Library. 

In mid-March, in response to the COVID-19 situation and with the safety of the campus community top of mind, the University made an important decision to cease all in-person activities and exchanges, including traditional, in-class teaching. All courses, exams and academic milestones would be adapted for online delivery.  

Teaching and learning remotely is not a simple thing. Modifying and even recreating course materials for remote teaching in a very short period of time, and ensuring the proper supports are in place, poses many challenges. 

Delivering a quality University of Waterloo academic experience 

Waterloo has been engaged in distance education for more than 50 years and has been providing technology-enabled learning, both fully online and blended, since the late 1990s. The experience and expertise this has instilled in our faculty and staff, coupled with the commitment of the University community to continue to provide a full academic experience for all students, gives us the unique advantage to effectively overcome these challenges.  

A collaborative support network 

The Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE), Centre for Extended Learning (CEL), Instructional Technologies and Media Services (IST-ITMS), and the Library have formed a Teaching and Learning Support Team that will coordinate and guide the teaching and learning support services required during this transition.  

Important resources are available on the Keep Learning website. Here, instructors can find advice and direction on how to conduct remote teaching successfully, including course design, assessment options, consideration for accommodations, and educational technologies that can enhance the teaching and learning experience.  

Instructors can now also request assistance with course design, teaching strategies, or course reserves through a new, central email address, remoteteaching@uwaterloo.ca.   

As we near the end of the winter term and prepare for spring courses, the Keep Learning website, Teaching and Learning Support Team, and staff of these instructional support units will be integral to delivering a quality University of Waterloo academic experience during these extraordinary times. 

Did you know? 

Subject librarians are available to provide help with research consultations, course reserves and other learning and teaching support. Research Guides on many subjects are also available online. 

By the numbers 

Staff of these instructional support units have helped our instructors prepare to teach hundreds of in-class courses remotely and have done an extraordinary job of responding quickly and effectively to these and related support requests.  

A look at some of the stats following the decision to move courses online: 

• From March 16-30, the four-person LEARN support team received ~740 support tickets.  

• The WebEx conferencing tool was a top choice to quickly replace classes synchronously in the winter term, hosting ~500 sessions per weekday (with over 32,000 total participants in a two-week period). With more time to plan, instructors are advised to use asynchronous activities where possible. 

• Since March 9, CTE staff have done more than 450 consultations with instructors with topics ranging from web conferencing tools for online lectures to final exams.  

• Library chat hours have tripled in number to ~63 hours each week, while chat interactions have increased from an average of 80 to 230 per week.  

• CEL has received over 125 support requests of various types, including changes to grade breakdowns and assessment structures, moving winter exams and spring courses online, and requests to change or copy existing online course modules.  

Waterloo Residences makes adjustments for spring term

A message from Waterloo Residences.

In the face of uncertain times, Waterloo Residences is adapting to ensure the needs of our students come first. This means adjusting their offerings in spring term so that students in need have a place to stay.

All undergraduate and single graduate students living in residence for the winter term are allowed to extend their contract up until May 2 at no cost.

International students and Canadian citizens with exceptional circumstances with a pre-existing spring contract are permitted to stay in residence pending the approval of a petition to keep their contract active. Deadline for submission is Wednesday, April 8. Eligible students can fill out the petition form here.

In an ongoing effort to limit the number of students in our residence buildings and encourage social distancing, Waterloo Residences will be cancelling all other contracts on the student’s behalf, and no action is required on their part. All fees, including a deposit if applicable, will be returned to students through their Quest account.
 
If the situation with the pandemic evolves and students need to leave, students will not be held financially responsible and will be permitted to cancel their contract at any time. This means they’ll receive a prorated credit for the length of time remaining on their contract, as well as their deposit, if applicable. No credit will be given for cancellations made in the last 30 days of the term.

For more information, visit the COVID-19 residence webpage for the most up to date trending questions.

But wait, there's more Good Buddies of the University

"Zenny, a Siamese dumbo rat, lounges around 'in outer space,'" writes Katy Fulfer, assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy's Gender & Social Justice Program. "My morning home office is the rat room. Sometimes the rats (Zenny has three mates) help me work by nibbling on student papers or sitting in my lap while I read. In this picture, Zenny reminds me that it's important to take breaks and take care of yourself."

"My grief at losing my sabbatical term in Greece is moderated only by the fact that I could come home and have the company of my coworkers," writes Maria Liston, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology. Here Ben and Thornton are indicating that the article I am working on could be somewhat more lively and engaging. They are bracketing the Modern Greek textbook with which I am trying to compensate for all the learning I am not doing in Athens!"

"This is my co-worker, Hedley (yes, we considered renaming him)," writes Becky Wroe,  orientation & member transitions manager at WUSA. "He first ventured into the home office on March 17^th. He was fired within 5 minutes. He now resides with his other person in a separate space, but the three of us re-connect every day for lunch board games!"

"Break time, right?" writes Cathy Seitz of the Engineering Undergraduate Office. 

"Bee is my fluffy assistant, helping me keep track of meetings every day," writes Catherine Demers, research project accountant.

"This is a picture of my cat," writes Susan Willsie, learning and development specialist in Organizational and Human Development. "His name is Wolfie (or the Wolfman) and he joins me daily in my (somewhat chilly) home office in my unfinished basement. He's a quiet but diligent colleague and his company is greatly appreciated."