Dear Team UA Little Rock,
Thank you for your incredible work over this last week. I know it has been a very stressful time, and I am proud of our UA Little Rock family for staying calm and going the extra mile to care for our students and for one another.
Information is changing rapidly. Many of you are worried about this evolving situation. While we can’t change the situation, we are working to provide you with as much accurate and reliable information as possible.
Below you will find the first in a new series of update messages that you will receive daily via email. You will receive these messages as long as the current public health emergency is active and the university remains open.
Our Office of Communications and Marketing will continue to maintain the official UA Little Rock COVID-19 website where you may find information on specific topics. The link to this site can be found on the UA Little Rock home page.
I wish everyone good health and a safe semester.
Christina S. Drale
Chancellor
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About the Digest
- The Office of Communications and Marketing must approve all UA Little Rock messaging regarding COVID-19. This includes announcements to employees, students, or the community. If you have an announcement to be included in the COVID-19 daily digest, the announcement should have vice chancellor approval and should be sent to Jeff Harmon at jwharmon@ualr.edu by 1 p.m. each day. If you have questions about what constitutes an appropriate announcement, please work with a member of the communications team.
- At this time, please refrain from posting event modifications or office closings to university listservs without the appropriate vice chancellor approval.
And now, these important messages:
- Classes at UA Little Rock will be online for the remainder of the spring semester. The extension is meant to give students and faculty as much consistency in course delivery as possible for the duration of the academic year. All on-campus residences, including rental properties, residence halls and apartments remain open as will campus dining services until the conclusion of the spring semester to accommodate students living on campus.
- Summer classes, a very popular offering by UA Little Rock, will transition to an all-online format across all four summer sessions. Registration for summer classes opens March 30 for a five-week and nine-week session that starts on May 26. Two more terms begin on June 6 and July 8. During the summer session, online courses may be modified into hybrid or in-person classes should the guidance of public health officials allow for it.
- Spring Commencement. A decision about the status of spring commencement is forthcoming.
- Health Services will provide phone-based health services until further notice, beginning Wednesday, March 18. Hours will remain Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and patients may contact Health Services during this time at 501-569-3188. Patients must first be screened by phone. After screening a patient’s issues, Health Services may ask patients to visit the office for in-person medical care and/or refer to another facility as needed.
- University Visitors. Campus officials encourage in-state visitors to take advantage of campus resources through phone, email and online communication until further notice. Business offices remain open to employees, students, and when it isn’t feasible to serve visitors via phone, email, and online, in-state visitors may also visit the campus. Out-of-state visitors are prohibited until further notice without vice chancellor approval.
- Research Continuity. Currently, research is not impacted by the move to online classes and may continue as usual. There is great uncertainty, however, regarding how the COVID-19 pandemic could affect the research enterprise in the intermediate and longer-term. As a result, each research lab should begin planning now for the potential of significant disruption. View the entire Research Continuity Plan.
- “Drop” and Withdrawal Deadline Extensions. To give students more time to decide with instructors if they wish to “drop” an individual class or withdraw from all classes, the deadlines for “drop” and withdrawal have been moved to the following dates:
For full spring 2020 term: Monday, May 4, 5 p.m.
For second nine-week (920) term: Friday, May 1, 5 p.m.
Students and instructors should keep in mind that after the first week of classes, withdrawal from any course will result in a W on a student’s final transcript. Students deciding to withdraw from a course or the entire term should also be mindful of financial aid implications.: - Clarification and Deadline Extension for Updated Syllabi (for Faculty). The deadline for faculty to submit updated syllabi/learning agreements to department chairs has been extended to Tuesday, March 31, at 5 p.m. Chairs should upload all updated syllabi here by Wednesday, April 1, at noon. Faculty need not re-create an entire course syllabus to update their syllabi. Rather, think of this document as an addendum to your original syllabus that only documents critical changes to the course and required compliance items. Here is a fictional example of a syllabus addendum that faculty may find useful to adapt.
- Employee Evaluations. With some employees working remotely due to current public health concerns the Department. of Human Resources will postpone the March 31 date that evaluations for classified and non-classified staff employees are due – until further notice.
Managers and supervisors will be notified when a new due date has been determined. Please note that administrators and faculty employees are governed by separate guidelines for performance evaluations this message addresses evaluations for staff employees.
Any evaluations that have been completed can still be submitted using the evaluation form. The portal remains available. Please remember that paper copies are no longer accepted. - The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is here to help if you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, anxious and/or depressed. Call EAP at 1-800-542-6021. Video Counseling is Now Available at eap.uams.edu
- Counseling Services. For other personal health and support services, University Health Services and Counseling Services is operating during normal business hours Monday through Friday.
- Department of Public Safety welcomes your calls for safety escort or police assistance. Call 569-3400. If you have an emergency, please call 911.
- The Trojan Food Pantry is open to assist Monday and Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m; Tuesday and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Email pantry@ualr.edu or call 501-569-3308 for more information.
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are now available and will be updated regularly. The latest additions address the top questions for work-study and international students.
