by University Communications
March 13th 2020
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Interim President Stephen Percy issued a video message to the PSU community Thursday evening that articulated the guiding priorities of our response to the coronavirus threat.
- Protecting, to the extent possible, the health and wellbeing of our entire PSU community including students, faculty, staff and administrators.
- Maintaining instruction and learning so that student academic progress and success is not disrupted, largely through remote learning.
- Being a responsible partner in our community as we all work to stop the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
While we have suspended in-person instruction and finals for the time being, PSU remains open.
Remote work
Managers are encouraged to accommodate remote work when possible. Employees should coordinate with their supervisor to determine if they are able to work remotely and make suitable arrangements. Human Resources streamlined the Remote Work Agreement approval process for employees who can do all or part of their jobs from home.
Pre-K-12 School Closures
We recognize that the closure of Oregon’s public schools until April 1 will place an additional burden on many members of the PSU community. Employees may use sick leave to care for children whose school is closed for this public health emergency. Managers will need to remain flexible during this period as many employees may need to be out in the coming weeks. Managers can use tools such as adjusting work hours, remote work and alternative ways to provide services. Human Resources is working with supervisors to provide guidance and support materials to assist with making staffing determinations. Together, employees and managers will find creative solutions to minimize disruptions to critical university operations.
Business Operations
Most university offices — including the Center for Student Health and Counseling, Human Resources, financial aid, residence halls, food service, most computer labs and other administrative offices — will remain open during usual business hours to continue to serve students, faculty and staff. We are gathering information on other university services and will provide updates early next week.
The quickly evolving coronavirus response has been challenging to track. PSU’s Incident Management Team is working daily to update the FAQ’s on the coronavirus response website. Please refer to them for additional information. Still have questions? Send them to coronavirusresponse@pdx.edu.