Our faculty and staff have demonstrated extraordinary commitment over the past 13 months. The pandemic presented obstacles we had not encountered before. We broke down barriers and worked together to keep the university moving forward.

Some of us worked from campus the whole time. Others of us worked from home until last summer and then returned to campus. Still others have continued to work from home.

Regardless of your work situation, I applaud all of your efforts. Together we worked to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 while continuing to support our students and campus community.

Thank you for your diligence and hard work.

Fall will look more “normal”

The coronavirus situation is rapidly improving. As vaccination numbers continue to increase, COVID-19 case numbers are steadily declining on campus, in the Springfield community and throughout the state.

Schedule your vaccine appointment

Because of this improvement, students and others will be back on campus in the fall. While I anticipate our online enrollment will remain robust, campus activities in and out of classrooms will largely return to the way they were before the pandemic.

Students are our top priority.  As they return to campus, it is critical that staff also come back to campus.

Explaining the guiding principles

To guide us through decisions about who must work from campus, who may work some days from home if their supervisor approves, and when exceptions are appropriate, the university’s leadership team has established Guiding Principles for Return to Campus in Fall 2021. I encourage you to take a moment to review these principles.

At their core, the principles lay out five basic points:

• Offices should be open for standard hours (typically 8 a.m.-5 p.m.).
• Supervisors should work from campus.
• Non-exempt employees should work from campus with regular work hours to ensure compliance with wage and hour laws.
• Staff whose job duties include face-to-face interaction with students, regular participation in in-person meetings or interactions on campus or in the community, or office reception should work from campus.
• Few staff members should be permitted to work remotely on a full-time basis.

In application, these principles require that the vast majority of university staff who worked from home during the pandemic must return to campus full-time.

Supervisors will have discretion to approve limited exceptions to these rules, and I will review return-to-campus plans created by cost center heads to ensure university-wide compliance.

Remote work arrangements

As was the case before the pandemic, supervisors will continue to have discretion to authorize remote work arrangements under section 4.11 of the employee handbook within the constraints of the guiding principles.

This policy will be updated later this year during our annual update of the employee handbook to be consistent with the guiding principles. Details about when a formal remote work arrangement is appropriate are set out in the guiding principles.

The university will continue to take a decentralized approach to formal remote work arrangements. This means some offices will allow remote work while others will not, and some employees will work remotely while others with similar job duties will not.

Wellness incentive tied to vaccination for 2022

As I mentioned in last week’s Clif’s Notes, I encourage all members of the campus community to get a COVID-19 vaccine. I have also long advocated for everyone on campus to receive an annual flu vaccination.

As an incentive to get these vaccines, we plan to connect this year’s wellness incentive to vaccination.

• Employees who complete their COVID-19 vaccination will qualify for a $20 per month discount on their 2022 health insurance premiums.
• Employees who complete their flu vaccination will qualify for an additional $10 per month discount on their 2022 health insurance premiums.

Details about the 2022 wellness incentive plan can be found online.

Plan to attend Virtual Town Hall Friday

We have scheduled another Virtual Town Hall meeting for 3 p.m. April 9. At this meeting I will:

• Update the campus community on the status of COVID-19 on campus.
• Discuss the university’s Guiding Principles for Return to Campus.
• Share the 2022 wellness incentive plan.

You will have an opportunity to provide feedback and ask questions. I hope you will plan to attend.

Additional information can be found online.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

 

Last week, I let you know that our plan is to finish the fall semester and start the spring semester as planned. Classes will resume for two weeks after Thanksgiving, the spring semester will begin Jan. 11, and holidays and spring break will continue as scheduled.

Even so, it is important for each of us to be mindful of the increase in COVID-19 in our community.

The university has partnered with federal, state and local leaders to mitigate spread of the virus. We are working with the state to increase COVID-19 testing in our community. We have also partnered to make cold storage at JVIC and in other campus facilities available for storing COVID-19 vaccine when it is distributed.

It is important that each of us stay diligent in our individual efforts as well. Wear a mask. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water or with hand sanitizer. Maintain at least six feet of distance from others. Limit your travel and exposure to others, particularly as we encounter the holidays.

Get flu shot by Dec. 1

As winter weather approaches, public health officials expect the spread of COVID-19 to remain strong. Doctors and hospitals are busy handling the virus and have less capacity to address other community health issues.

This makes it more important than ever that each of us get vaccinated for the flu. For this reason, the university is incentivizing faculty and staff by allowing them to save $30 per month on health insurance premiums by getting the flu shot by Dec. 1.

Free flu vaccinations are available through Magers Health and Wellness Center and at various locations throughout the Springfield, West Plains and Mountain Grove campuses. If you have not already received your flu shot, I encourage you to schedule your vaccination today.

Complete Open Enrollment by Dec. 1

Dec. 1 also marks the end of our annual Open Enrollment period for employment benefits.

Open Enrollment is the period where employees can review, elect, decline or make changes to their benefits for the upcoming calendar year. Once elections or changes have been made, no changes can be made during the year unless they are due to a qualifying, life changing event (e.g. marriage, divorce, birth, etc.).

This year’s benefit options are similar to the slate of options available last year.

Minor changes include an increase in rates for dependent life insurance and the availability of MO ABLE, a new benefit that allows individuals with disabilities (and their qualified family members) to save for expenses that can be used to help maintain their health, independence and quality of life.

You can find more information about Open Enrollment and the various benefit options available to you online.

To begin your Open Enrollment:

• Login to My Missouri State
• Click on Profile
• Locate the box labeled Employment Details and click on Online Benefits Enrollment

Dec. 1 also marks the deadline to enroll in the university’s cafeteria plan. Additional details can be found online.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!