Dear CSN Family,
I am pleased to inform you that our detailed Return to Campus plan was approved by NSHE on Friday. This plan, available online and outlined below, is designed first and foremost to ensure that we proceed in the safest manner possible.
Our official return to campus began this week, with my cabinet and myself. The rest of our employees will return in a gradual, phased-in approach over the next few weeks and months. Employees not identified as Essential On-Campus personnel will be provided a 10-day notice of return to campus. We want to ensure that all employees are able to properly prepare for their return to campus and coordinate any needs they may have with supervisors or Human Resources. Some employees may be rotating on campus with scheduled days on site and other days remote. Please consult with your supervisor.
Academic deans and select personnel will return to campus next Monday, June 15. A select group of support staff, faculty and lab support personnel will return to campus the week of June 22-29 in preparation for the second summer session. As we progress through our four-stage return, there will be a continued gradual phasing in of faculty and staff returns to campus over July and August, with a modified Fall Convocation scheduled for August 17. Convocation will signal the return of all faculty to campus before the start of the fall semester on August 24. Look for more information about Fall Convocation soon.
Please know that there will be significant changes to campus life, including mandatory masks for faculty, staff and students, strict social distancing guidelines, plexiglass in select areas and many more safety precautions outlined in our plan document.
All employees will be required to complete a self-assessment each day before coming to campus to help prevent the spread of disease. In addition, employees who feel sick, even mildly so, must stay home and notify their supervisor. Employees will soon receive information from CAPE on how to sign up for and take mandatory COVID-19 Prevention Training.
In addition, our Environment, Health & Safety team is working on an Employee Return-to-Campus Handbook and a Student Guide to Health & Safety to help ensure that we are all following safety protocols as we prepare for a new era at CSN.
We are also establishing strict cleaning and disinfection practices on campus. High-touch areas such as door knobs will be cleaned frequently, for example, and cleaning wipes will be made available to employees to help keep their own areas sanitized as necessary.
These measures are designed to keep the entire CSN family safe. We will alter or transform our plan should guidelines from health officials, NSHE or the state of Nevada require that. As always, your safety and well-being will remain our focus, no matter our location.
Thank you all for remaining Vegas strong and CSN proud.
Stay safe and God bless.
Federico Zaragoza
President
College of Southern Nevada