Thursday, September 3, 2020

Check in on campus with Campus Check-In

Beginning September 8, all visitors to campus must record visits to campus buildings as part of a Campus Check-In initiative that will help the University monitor building occupancy and trace contacts in the event of a positive COVID-19 case in the campus community.

President Feridun Hamdullahpur shared details of the University's three-point approach to supporting the health and safety of the campus community in a memo to campus circulated yesterday.  

"We have developed a tool called Campus Check-In that will help us monitor campus building occupancy levels and assist with contact tracing COVID-19 cases in our campus communities," the president writes. "This tool allows us to follow up with effective contact tracing should there be any positive cases of COVID-19 on our campus. Campus Check-In also includes a requirement for everyone to conduct a self-assessment before coming to campus."

Effective Tuesday, September 8, if you need to be on campus, you must record every visit to campus buildings using Campus Check-In. There's no app to download or install, and you can choose to log your attendance in campus buildings using the automatic or manual recording options:

Automatic recording of details

This is the easiest and recommended option. The automatic reporting option uses the eduroam wireless network. Any device (i.e. phone, tablet, laptop) you connect to the campus Wi-Fi will automatically record your username, building access point (location), and time of connection. You don’t need to do anything else if you choose this option.

Manual recording of details

If you do not have a Wi-Fi enabled device, or choose not to connect to eduroam, you must complete the Campus Check-In form. You will be asked to record the buildings you visited and the times you arrived and left. You must complete this form every day you visit campus and for every building you visit. If you don’t normally have access to any kind of device or computer that can access this tool, please speak to your supervisor about a plan to record your building visits.

In both cases above, you will get an email reminder from do-not-reply@uwaterloo.ca to complete a COVID-19 self-assessment the first time you come to campus each day.

Before you come to campus

• Each day before you come to campus, we ask that you complete a COVID-19 self-assessment.
• We also strongly recommend that you download and use COVID Alert, the federal COVID-19 app.
• Check out more tips on how to stay safe on campus in the Welcome Back Waterloo guide.

"Campus Check-In will allow us to meet guidelines from the Government of Canada for post-secondary institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic," the president's memo continues. "Reviewed by Region of Waterloo Public Health, the tool is available to all students, employees, and visitors, and will help us:

• provide students and employees with a reminder to conduct a health self-assessment each day of planned attendance on campus,
• support local Public Health authorities with contact  tracing  responsibilities,
• assist units in evaluating the success of  their  return to campus  plans,
• allow the University to identify potentially overcrowded areas, and
• support Plant Operations building management for custodial services and energy use.

Protecting your privacy

"The privacy of our community is of utmost importance," President Hamdullahpur writes. "Policy 46 - Information Management and the Guidelines on Use of Waterloo computing and network resources protect any personally identifying information that eduroam collects."

Occupancy reporting

We will make building and departmental occupancy level reports available to campus leaders to assist in evaluating return to campus plans. For privacy reasons, these reports will include only non-identifying data in aggregate form (e.g. overall number of people in a building). 

Contact tracing

In the event a member of the University community tests positive for COVID-19, Health Services and Occupational Health will use data from more detailed reports to contact anyone who may have come in close contact with COVID-positive cases in our community.

Visit the COVID-19 Information website to learn more about Campus Check-In.

You can send questions about Campus Check-In or any other campus safety issues to coronavirus@uwaterloo.ca.

Master's and PhD students are Waterloo Grad Ready for September

In the eight weeks leading up to the start of the fall 2020 term, incoming graduate students were invited to participate in Waterloo Grad Ready programming. Waterloo Grad Ready was designed to replace traditional in-person graduate student orientation, through a combination of live events and LEARN modules.

Of the more than 2,100 graduate students beginning their programs this fall, 74 per cent have engaged in Waterloo Grad Ready programming, including 13 live events, covering topics from the graduate student experience, to parenting in grad school and developing their teaching skills. Over 1,250 attendees joined live from 50 different counties, and 93 per cent of live attendees “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that the session(s) helped them gain knowledge and/or confidence that will contribute to their success in grad school.

To ensure accessibility, all live events were recorded and have received over 1,400 views. Several pieces of content were also delivered asynchronously in LEARN, including: Preparing to TA at Waterloo, Teaching Online, Living in the Waterloo Region, Health and Wellbeing, and University of Waterloo Services and Supports. Over 25 staff members, representing 13 different campus units, participated in campus partner profiles to add a personal touch to the module on campus services and supports.

During the fall term, incoming graduate students will continue to engage with “just in time” Waterloo Grad Ready programming to continue to support their transition. Topics include:

• Services fair
• Scholarships and funding
• Policies and guidelines for graduate students
• Designing you graduate degree
• Project management and writing strategies

The success of Waterloo Grad Ready over the summer months is thanks to the partnership between Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA) and many contributing units, including: all six faculties, the Student Success Office, the Graduate Student Association, the Centre for Career Action, the Centre for Teaching Excellence, Student Financial Services, and Student Awards & Financial Aid. We look forward to representatives from Human Rights Equity and Inclusion and the Writing and Communication Centre joining us for events in the fall term.

For more information about Waterloo Grad Ready, please email gradready@uwaterloo.ca.

Thursday's notes

Plant Operations has announced that due to weather, the curb replacement at the Village 1/University Club entrances of the Ring Road has been rescheduled to today. Workers will be on site to safely direct traffic as the Ring Road will be down to a single lane during the work.

The University of Waterloo Staff Association (UWSA) Staff Excellence Fund committee is looking for proposals for healthy workplace or engagement and leadership development initiatives. The Staff Excellence Fund (SEF) provides funding for projects to enhance the working environment at the University of Waterloo. These funds are allocated by the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Staff Compensation (PACSC).  PACSC actively seeks staff input on worthwhile projects to be funded. Proposals could include guest speakers or courses to enhance leadership skills among staff. Submissions are Due October 1, 2020. Visit the Staff Excellence Fund website to take advantage of this opportunity.