Fall planning for campus departments
COVID-19 Response and Recovery Task Force
To: Faculty and Staff
Dear Colleagues:
With California’s recent reopening and the L.A. County Department of Public Health lifting many restrictions, managers and supervisors are encouraged to finalize their ramp-up plans. As a resource, please review the online campus ramp-up planning guide.
The guide includes a quick-reference checklist for managers and supervisors to use in their planning process, along with guidance on topics relevant to the COVID-19 recovery. Once managers and supervisors finish reviewing the online guide, each department should complete the departmental ramp-up form as soon as possible, and ideally at least six weeks before employees are expected to return to campus. This will help ensure that support services and necessary equipment and supplies are available in a timely manner.
Below are some of the topics within the online campus ramp-up planning guide generating the most questions from managers and supervisors. Many more are covered in the guide.
Building ventilation systems
Facilities Management has evaluated all building ventilation systems on campus and the majority meet industry recommendations for air exchanges and filtration. A website has been created that lists the buildings that do not meet the recommendations and should be reviewed by managers and supervisors.
FlexWork opportunities
The continued use of FlexWork is encouraged wherever possible and practical, and when consistent with job duties and operational needs. (See FlexWork Guidance (PDF)). A planning target for departments might reasonably be 25-50% of employees working on site from July-August, and 50-75% starting in September, although for some departments their operations may come closer to approaching 100% in-person work.
On-campus work environments
New physical barriers may be appropriate in office or other settings where there are many visitors. In other cases, private cubicles that are not used every day may be converted into flexible workspaces assigned on a day-to-day basis or into communal workspaces to encourage collaboration.
Remote work environments
Departments should evaluate the equipment needs of their employees who are working mostly remotely. Central campus financial support will be available for ergonomic height-adjustable desks and chairs to be used remotely.
For specific guidance and tools on the items above and many others, please review the ramp-up guide in full. Additional questions may be directed to covid19@ucla.edu.
Recommendations from public health officials continue to change and we must also be prepared to reverse course and ramp down if case rates increase. The ramp-up guide will be updated as new information becomes available. Please review it regularly and update your ramp-up plans and department/unit ramp-up forms accordingly.
Thank you for your cooperation to facilitate a smooth return to campus.
Sincerely,
Michael J. Beck
Administrative Vice Chancellor
Co-chair, COVID-19 Response and Recovery Task Force
Michael Meranze
Immediate Past Chair, UCLA Academic Senate
Professor of History
Co-chair, COVID-19 Response and Recovery Task Force
