The following updates are provided by the Return-to-Campuses steering committee.

The University of Guelph continues to prioritize physical distancing. If you don’t need to be on campus, please stay home to help keep our community safe. Staff, faculty and graduate students able to work from home will continue to do so. 

Coming to campus? Complete the U of G COVID-19 Screening Form every day

U of G’s new COVID-19 Screening Form is an important tool that helps keep our community safe. Every day, before you come to campus or any U of G location for any reason, you must complete the screening form.

How it works

The Qualtrics-based form connects you to the Government of Ontario’s COVID-19 assessment tool and then provides you with directions and next steps depending on your results (e.g., stay home and contact your manager, or clearance to come to campus). Full terms and conditions for the form are available online.

Where to access it

You can access the U of G COVID-19 Screening Form:

• at https://uoguel.ph/COVID19Screening
• through the Safe Gryphon app
• on the Before You Return page of the Return to Campuses website

For those who are currently working on campus, this is a new step in your day. This new process helps us adapt to our changing campus environment. As a reminder, you should check the Before You Return page of the Return to Campuses website daily before coming to campus.

If you have any questions about the tool, please contact Occupational Health and Wellness at ohw@uoguelph.ca.

Time to turn off your auto-reply message

When we moved to remote work in March, many U of G employees used their email auto-reply setting to let others know that they were working remotely or were keeping non-standard business hours.

To reflect our current work environment, even if you are working remotely, please turn off your auto-reply message unless you are using it for vacation or out-of-office messages. If you are working non-standard hours or will be delayed in responding to emails, you may update your email signature block to share that information.

For example:

Name | Job title
Department | University of Guelph
Office Location | 50 Stone Rd E | Guelph, ON | N1G 2W1
519-824-4120 Ext. ##### | email address
www.uoguelph.ca
I am currently responding to emails between the hours of X and X daily.

If you are working remotely, but keeping standard hours or replying to emails frequently, you do not need to use your auto-reply setting to let people know where you are working.

Students moving into residence Sept. 3 to 6

Over the next several days, about 540 students will move into U of G residences. Residence applications were accepted from international students and those who had a demonstrable need to live on campus (e.g., a home environment not conducive to learning).

To help with physical distancing, students living in residence were required to book a move-in appointment.

Students will move into Lambton, Lennox Addington and the East Village Townhouses between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily. Roadways close to these residences are likely to be busy. Parking lots P 15, 16, 20, 21 will be affected.

You can also expect heavier than normal traffic on Stone Road, College Avenue, University Avenue, Smith Lane and Victoria Road during this time. The University will be closing University-owned roads, Dundas Lane and Watson Lane, to regular traffic.

If you have a vehicle on campus, do not park in any of the affected lots or roads. Please also avoid parking on East Ring Road.

Unless you are required to be at the University, we ask that you avoid coming to campus during move-in days.

Convocation going virtual this fall

U of G’s fall convocation is going virtual, with a special ceremony to be held online Oct. 28. Government protocols and public health concerns about physical distancing and large public gatherings continue, making this change necessary to help protect the health of our community.

The University is committed to enabling students to participate in a future in-person ceremony when it is safe to do so, perhaps by June 2021. Students who have completed their program requirements successfully and applied for graduation will still have their degrees and certification conferred on Oct. 13.

More information is available on the U of G News page.

New software can help faculty connect with students

U of G is offering alternative solutions to the teaching and learning that traditionally takes place using on-campus, computer-based labs.

• Azure Lab Services (available now): This cloud-based solution allows computer-based training to be delivered by invitation to students using virtual computers. This solution is appropriate for specialized classes that have an online training component but do not require connectivity to on-campus resources.
• Azure Windows Virtual Desktops (available Sept. 10): This cloud-based solution meets more complex requirements when connectivity to on-campus resources (e.g., licence servers) is required. This solution is the cloud-based equivalent of a computer laboratory. It can be used for student labs and for a “drop-in” lab type of service.
• LabStats Remote Access Dashboard: LabStats Remote Access Dashboard lets users safely connect to McLaughlin Library computers (macOS or Windows) and their wide range of academic and professional software. Students can use this option to get secure access to powerful software programs from off campus through remote access.

To find out more about these services and how to get started, please contact your college or department Campus IT Leaders Group member or send an email to ithelp@uoguelph.ca requesting “Information about Online Computer Laboratories.”

The University’s COVID-19 website is your best source of information on U of G’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Return to Campuses website provides essential information for those coming to campus.