The following update is provided by the Return-to-Campuses steering committee.
Physical distancing continues to be a priority, and access to campus remains limited to those approved to be on campus. For now, staff, faculty and graduate students able to work from home should continue to do so. Please do not come to campus unless you are conducting approved work or research.
Planning to come to campus? Take this course first
If you are approved to come to campus for work or research, it is strongly recommended that you complete the COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control Awareness training through CourseLink before coming to campus.
To access the training, use the link above or log in to CourseLink and look under My Courses or the Self-Registration tab. A hard-copy version of the training will be available to managers and supervisors next week.
Instructors: Booking space on campus for course preparation and lecture capture
If you are ready to start recording lectures, tutorials or lab activities for fall 2020 courses, please contact your chair or director to request the Academic Activity on Campus form. This form will identify whether you need a departmental- or college-booked space or one of the centrally booked facilities available. It will indicate where to submit your completed form based on the space you require.
This standardized form will help coordinate requests for, and preparation of, shared spaces.
Instructors should not come to campus to record lectures until their booking is confirmed and further instructions are provided by their chair, director or OpenEd.
Before you come to campus:
- Take the COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control Awareness training through CourseLink
- Complete the Ontario COVID-19 Assessment Tool. Do not come to campus if you are directed to isolate.
- Bring a face covering (e.g., non-medical mask) for spaces where 2 metres of physical distance cannot be maintained or predicted.
Please note that there are many ways to record a lecture other than coming to campus. A resource on the OpenEd website describes various options.
Limiting meetings and emails on Fridays
Through the summer months, when possible, U of G employees are encouraged to avoid scheduling meetings or sending non-critical emails on Fridays and weekends.
So called “Meeting-Free Fridays” are helpful to many of your colleagues. A number of employees are choosing to take Fridays as vacation days, while some academic and administrative units are closed on Fridays as part of a four-day work week. Other areas are using Fridays as an opportunity for faculty and staff to catch up and strategize for the weeks ahead.
Adopting a “Meeting-Free Friday” approach in your own schedule, when operationally possible, and avoiding sending non-critical emails that day can help you plan for better-attended meetings and perhaps give you and some of your colleagues a chance to recharge.
Where to eat on campus
Those on campus looking for a bite to eat now have two options:
- Offering grab-and-go meals and microwavable entrees
- Monday to Friday – 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Saturday and Sunday – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Gryph N’ Grille (opening July 13 in Branion Plaza)
- Coffee, beverages and a limited menu
- Weekdays – 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Please observe signs in Branion Plaza and sit only in designated spots. Tables will be sanitized as required.
Building preparations continue
Work continues to prepare University buildings for a gradual return of faculty, staff and students to campus. Priority remains on research-intensive spaces followed by readying of spaces needed for fall teaching preparations.
Supplies to support the reopening of buildings are in high demand across many sectors and some shipments from suppliers are delayed. Physical Resources appreciates your patience as it works on interim solutions to help prepare our spaces for increased occupancy.
Research Phase-In Update
On June 29, the University of Guelph began to phase in research in University-operated facilities that had been curtailed since the declaration of the provincial state of emergency on March 17. Research will continue to be phased in according to the Research Phase-In Framework. Researchers should continue to work together with their academic units (i.e., schools and departments) and their colleges on the development and execution of Research Management Plans to phase in their research.
Since the initiation of research phase-in on June 29, more than 160 research teams, each led by a different faculty member, have had Research Management Plans approved, and are now phasing in their research at University of Guelph-operated facilities. Many other U of G researchers continue to conduct their research from a distance.
Unlike other Ontario universities that completely shut down research, the University of Guelph has sustained a substantial amount of research over the past 16 weeks. In fact, 197 research projects were identified as critical and/or time-sensitive, enabling 144 faculty members to pursue research, engaging more than 500 highly qualified personnel (i.e., undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral researchers and research staff) in more than 300 different locations.
Some 350 Office of Research staff have continued to work in place during the pandemic – running our substantial research facilities, as well as sustaining provincial testing that ensures our food supply is robust, safe, healthy and nutritious, and that livestock and other animals are healthy.
This exceptional level of research-related activities sets the University of Guelph apart from other Ontario universities – and underscores our unique, research-intensive, impactful, real-world-relevant nature.
Kudos to our researchers for managing through this challenging time.
Arena and soccer complex open for permit holders
To allow restricted use by some external organizations, the Gryphon Centre Arena and Gryphon Soccer Complex are open for permit holders only. General recreation, varsity sport and non-permitted use are not currently available. All other Department of Athletics facilities remain closed and programs cancelled until further notice.
The University’s COVID-19 website is your best source of information on U of G’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.