Coronavirus

Dear Oregon Tech students, faculty, and staff,

I hope you are staying healthy and safe and enjoying the summer with family and friends. I write to you today with an update for the upcoming fall term, including information on our current course delivery plans and related measures. Throughout the summer, we have been continuously assessing our options and analyzing the most recent data and guidance. In addition to several conversations in the COVID Planning committees, members of the executive staff and I have had numerous meetings and consultations both at the state and county levels and with colleagues on our campuses about the best path forward.

While we are keen to welcome all of our students back to-campus this fall, the changing nature of the pandemic and the status of each community where our campuses and teaching sites are located require continuing review of our plans, staying aligned with the framework provided by Oregon’s governor and the Oregon Health Authority.

As we identify avenues through which we can provide our students the best of educational experiences possible, the health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff remains our top priority. We are also monitoring the recently announced changes in the K-12 calendars and their instructional modalities. Please know that we are very cognizant that these changes impact a sizeable number of our university community members.

FALL 2020 TERM DATES INFORMATION
As a reminder, the fall term start date has been revised with the first day of classes on September 21. This will allow students at Klamath Falls to remain on campus until Thanksgiving and then finish the term, with two class days and finals completed remotely without having to return to the campus to finish the academic term. The only exceptions will be some of our allied health programs where students will return for an in person lab final. Students will be notified by their instructors if this will be the case for their classes.

CURRENT FALL 2020 CAMPUS-SPECIFIC COURSE PLANS
Portland-Metro: Out of concerns for higher infection rates in the Portland area and the Phase 1 reopening status in Clackamas County, the modality of course offerings for the Portland-Metro campus is as follows:

• Lectures will be taught through remote (primarily synchronous) delivery. Labs will still be offered in in-person format at Portland-Metro. We will continue to monitor conditions and if necessary, all labs, except for allied health programs, will be moved to remote. If conditions or guidance from the Oregon Health Authority, the Governor’s Office, or county health dictate, as the last option, we will offer all courses and labs in remote format, as we did for the spring term.

Klamath Falls: The pandemic situation and county reopening phase are very different for our Klamath Falls campus compared to Portland-Metro. Since Klamath County is in Phase 2 of reopening, the modality of course offerings for the Klamath Falls campus is as follows:

• 100 and 200 level lectures and all labs will continue to be offered in in-person format with few exceptions, while 300 and 400 level lectures will be primarily remote (primarily synchronous). All upper-division courses taught in person will also be recorded for remote delivery.
• When it comes to what to expect in the classroom, chairs will be spaced to allow physical distancing and lectures have been rescheduled into larger classrooms. Cleaning supplies will be provided in each room. Various changes are being implemented for labs – reduced number of students, staggered times, etc.
• As with the Portland-Metro campus, if conditions change, we will progressively reduce the in person teaching, first to only labs and then to only allied health labs.

Chemeketa: Chemeketa site facilities will be accessible as determined by the administration of the Chemeketa Community College. As it stands currently, lecture classes will be taught through remote delivery. Lab courses are planned to be in person, conditions and the community college administration permitting.

Seattle: The Seattle campus at Everett is waiting for guidance from the state of Washington, but hope to offer in person courses.

Provost Mott will continue to communicate with the colleges and departments as conditions evolve. Also, by Thursday this week, August 20, 2020, the class schedule posted on the Registrar’s website will show the current list of courses with a notation of ‘REMOTE” for those to be taught remotely to help you plan for the term.

STAFF SUPPORT
Given we will have students on campus, we will need some level of staff support on campus. Hence, we will not be providing all of our support through telecommuting only. It is important that we continue to remain flexible. Staff will receive continued guidance from their supervisors. Maureen De Armond, AVP for Human Resources, will soon send a separate and detailed email regarding telecommuting vs modified work arrangement as well as about some of the staff services that have to be continued on-campus.

HEALTH AND SAFETY
In the interest of everyone’s health and safety, Oregon Tech is requiring the use of face coverings, or an appropriate alternative, by all faculty, staff, students, and visitors who are physically present at an Oregon Tech location and in enclosed public or common areas. The face covering requirement will also apply when we gather outside, if a six feet physical distance cannot be maintained. Cloth face coverings, or alternative, are to be used in combination with other preventative measures, such as physical distancing and proper hand washing. There are Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about face coverings posted on the Reopening website.

To promote the face covering requirement, two Oregon Tech cloth face masks will be provided to each member of the Oregon Tech family. Faculty and staff are asked to check with their department chairs or supervisors to obtain your face coverings. Students will be able to pick up face coverings from Housing at move in and during Week of Welcome activities. Any students currently on the Klamath Falls campus can get them from Student Affairs (CU 217) and students on the Portland Metro campus can get theirs at the main desk at the Portland-Metro campus.

To promote physical distancing and discourage groups of people from congregating, common spaces on campus are being adjusted. Some tables and chairs have been removed from the Marketplace seating area and couches/chairs in the Residence Halls and in the College Union. Other Klamath Falls buildings will also have reduced seating in hallways as well as in classrooms. Similarly, furniture in Portland-Metro spaces have been spread out or removed. We ask that furniture not be rearranged. Please know that these modifications are being implemented with everyone’s safety in mind.

HOUSING AND RESIDENCE LIFE AND CAMPUS LIFE
Housing and Residence Life is open for fall term 2020 and is ready to welcome the residential students to on-campus housing. If you already have a housing assignment, please click this link to confirm your plans for fall term 2020 housing. If you do not have a current housing contract to live on campus for the 2020-2021 academic year, Housing does have space available. Please visit the housing webpage and click on the blue APPLY FOR HOUSING button to submit a housing application. If you have questions about on-campus housing or want more information about our plans for opening, physical distancing and more, please contact Housing and Residence Life via email to housing@oit.edu or call 541-885-1094.

FUTURE UPDATES TO OUR PLANS
Oregon Tech’s coronavirus site will continue to provide up-to-date information. Please also continue to read communication sent from the various offices regarding updates and guidance for the upcoming term.

A recording of a virtual campus forum for new freshman and transfer students addressing re-opening that was held on August 13 can be viewed at https://youtu.be/aPzMVr5IG9g. Nearly 400 guests participated in the virtual campus forum which included about 200 new students. We will soon be announcing a final campus panel discussion, open to students, faculty, and staff, on the topic of re-opening.

I appreciate your understanding and support in recognizing that these course modality changes and preventive measures are made in the spirit of Oregon Tech Together, to do everything that we can for the collective well-being of Oregon Tech’s students, faculty, and staff, for both the short- and the long-term.

I look forward to seeing you in-person and virtually next month. Meanwhile, I wish you a great rest of the summer.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Nagi G. Naganathan, Ph.D., ASME Fellow
President

Dear Oregon Tech Community,

As an update to my communication dated July 13th, I am pleased to share with you that the White House has rescinded the policy announced on July 6, which would have prohibited international students from remaining in the United States if they are only enrolled in online courses. This information was announced by a federal judge earlier this week in Boston.

This is good news for our international students and for our entire campus community. I know that ICE’s earlier announcement caused a lot of stress for our international students and to all of us because of the negative impact it would have had on the students and their families, and on our ability to serve and learn from a global community.

We will keep you updated on what we learn and any further changes. If you have any questions, please contact our Student Affairs office (Iona Musgnung at Iona.Musgnung@oit.edu or 503-821-1312).

Sincerely,

Nagi G. Naganathan, Ph.D., ASME Fellow
President

Dear Oregon Tech Community,

Last week we learned of the disturbing news that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) is modifying its policies regarding international students’ immigration status if they were taking online courses exclusively during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the necessity of students to take all-remote classes in Spring and Summer terms due to COVID-19, and the remaining uncertainty about the future, this policy threatens our valued international students who bring welcomed diversity and global perspectives to our campuses. The recent federal guidance would force international students to return to their home countries should Oregon Tech have to return to a fully online courses.

Oregon Tech strongly opposes this new ICE policy and will work with Oregon’s Congressional delegation and our sister universities in the state to stop this action.

Until these detrimental policies are over-ruled, Oregon Tech recommends that our international students enroll in on-campus classes for the fall. We encourage you to contact our Student Affairs office (Iona Musgnung at Iona.Musgnung@oit.edu or 503-821-1312) should you wish to discuss your options, or should you have any questions. Thank you, and stay healthy and safe.

Sincerely, 

Nagi G. Naganathan, Ph.D., ASME Fellow

President

Dear Faculty and Staff,

I hope you received my video message which was sent earlier today to all faculty, staff, and students. In addition, I am sending this memo to you on other important activities and operational matters that are or will be in front of us as we close the spring term and prepare for the summer and fall terms.

• Congratulations to Oregon Tech’s Class of 2020 who are graduating on Saturday, June 13! We are very proud of our students’ accomplishments, which we will recognize in this weekend’s virtual commencement ceremonies. The Saturday morning ceremonies will start with the College of ETM at 9:50am, followed by the College of HAS at 11:50am. The videos will be accessible on Oregon Tech’s commencement information page, and on our You Tube channel by entering Oregon Tech in the search bar. Please join us for a unique approach to our ceremonies this year, featuring photographs of our Class of 2020 graduates and other students and very special video congratulations from our faculty, staff, and alumni. You are also invited to view the 2020 Virtual Student Awards Ceremony which recognizes some of our most amazing students.
• Summer term begins on June 22, and it will continue to be delivered remotely, with the exception of some health care related degree programs which have a required practicum component. Students will be checking with their advisor or faculty instructor for details. During the summer, some offices may have limited staffing or day long closures due to furloughs. Please be sure to contact offices, in advance, for any assistance you may need.
• For fall term 2020, classes will begin earlier than the normal calendar, on September 21. Oregon Tech plans on having in-person classes on both of its campuses, Klamath Falls and Portland-Metro. Other sites, Seattle and Chemeketa, will be announced separately as these plans rely on the campuses of other organizations at which the coursework is being offered. Re-opening plans do rely on approval by state and county health authorities and other officials, but we are working very hard on preparing the campuses for a September face-to-face option. These plans put first the health and safety of our campus communities, and we will be spending the summer preparing for physical distancing, face coverings and other provisions at both campuses, to make in-person delivery of classes as safe as we can. The fall schedule is starting earlier than usual so students can remain at home after the Thanksgiving break, with finals being delivered remotely after the break. Additional updates will be provided over the summer on our website.
• We are anticipating maintaining current working schedules for most employees. We will continue to implement furloughs and for employees who have been working remotely, those arrangements are likely to continue during the summer. As we progress through the next several weeks, we will share our plans about when and how we will return remote-work employees back to campus.
• For faculty, a welcome back virtual convocation will be held on September 16. Following the early end of the fall term in December, we will offer a week of various events and sessions. We hope to return to our normal week of convocation next year. If you have questions, please email those directly to provostoffice@oit.edu.

For all of you who will spend the summer away from Oregon Tech, I wish you enjoyable months ahead to refresh and renew. For those who will be teaching remotely, thank you for continuing to excel at this delivery mode.

Please know that the Board of Trustees of Oregon Tech join me in being very proud of how each of you have worked so hard, adapted so quickly, and united as a university to get us through arguably the most challenging period of our 70+ year history. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Nagi G. Naganathan, Ph.D., ASME Fellow
President

If you are traveling overseas (to China but also to other places) follow the CDC’s guidance: wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel. Steps you can take to prevent spread of flu and the common cold will also help prevent coronavirus:

• Wash hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds (2 rounds of the ABCs song). If not available, use hand sanitizer (60% alcohol based or higher).
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid contact with people who are sick.
• Stay home while you are sick and avoid close contact with others.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing.
• Wear face coverings when out in public or away from your residence.

Currently, there are no vaccines available to prevent novel coronavirus infections. 

The best way to protect yourself from COVID-19 is to take basic precautions to prevent flu and colds.

Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is a virus strain that has only spread in people since December 2019. Health experts are concerned because little is known about this new virus. It has the potential to cause severe illness and pneumonia in some people and there is not a treatment.

Health experts are still learning the details about how this new coronavirus spreads. Other coronaviruses spread from an infected person to others through:

• the air by coughing and sneezing
• close personal contact, such as touching or shaking hands
• touching an object or surface with the virus on it, then touching your mouth, nose, or eyes

Experts are still learning about the range of illness from novel coronavirus. Reported cases have ranged from mild illness (similar to a common cold) to severe pneumonia that requires hospitalization. So far, deaths have been reported mainly in older adults who had other health conditions.

People who have been diagnosed with novel coronavirus have reported symptoms that may appear in as few as 2 days or as long as 14 days after exposure to the virus. Symptoms often include fever, cough, and some trouble breathing. Some people have mild symptoms, others can get quite sick.

Call your healthcare provider to identify the safest way to receive care. Let them know if you have traveled to an affected area within the last 14 days

Currently the risk to the general public is low. To minimize the risk of spread, health officials are working with healthcare providers to promptly identify and evaluate any suspected cases.

The Klamath County Public Health Department has confirmed that while we want to be conscientious and protect others, currently the only time self-isolation would be warranted is if: you had DIRECT contact with someone who has a confirmed case of COVID-19.

You would NOT need to self-isolate in these scenarios:

• Someone you interacted with has come in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19, but you did not have direct contact yourself.
• Someone you interacted with claims to have COVID-19 but is not confirmed.

The CDC has provided a flowchart to help in knowing when you should self-isolate – see the chart here.