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Please click the link for more information on leave and staff guidelines -

Webinar: Managing Stress Through Meditation, April 8 at 12:00 noon – click on the following link to register: What should I do if I am feeling anxious about the COVID-19 virus? Ramapo College People Operations and Employee Resources Department (POERD) offers counseling, referrals and other resources. These services are completely confidential and can be easily accessed by reaching out to: Dr. Kahn Telephone: 888-291-1524 or 973-761-5303 Email: drmjkahn1@gmail.com   Click below for some more resources on stress and coping skills: Managing Stress Coping Skills Information is also available from your healthcare provider at the following link: Some tips for working remotely are available at the following link: /hr/covid-19-working-remotely-preparedness/

Unit Business Continuity Each department is deploying and assessing their business continuity plans.Ìý All situations and circumstances are different and we request your patience and understanding as we encourage managers to implement remote work plans/flex time/staggered hours for eligible employees going forward. Fair and Equitable Division of Work Each unit must advance a fair and equitable division of work, noting that not all individuals will be able to work remotely and not all individuals will be able to be on campus.Ìý A balanced division of work that does its best to take into account individual’s professional and personal responsibilities will not be a perfect fit for all, we must accept this reality and, again, we must do our best to Ìýmaintain operations while taking every precaution to reduce the spread of infection. When the College is open, eligible employees should work from home when possible, provided it does not interfere with the continuation of essential College operations and is consistent with our Flexible Work Arrangements Policy.Ìý Eligible employees are those whose College duties can be completely or substantially performed at home, as determined by their manager. Please note: there will be times when these employees are asked to come to campus; and when the College is open, it is the expectation that units have representation on campus, therefore a rotational schedule, developed by unit managers, must be implemented. Rotational Schedules These measures are intended to protect the health and wellbeing of all employees. Reducing the number of employees in the workplace is a critical step to protect the health of our colleagues whose jobs cannot be performed from home or cannot be performed from home on a continual basis. Managers are developing plans, ideally in consultation with the unit members, to codify how they will perform their responsibilities remotely and how they will document their work, i.e. keeping a Google document or an Outlook calendar of duties performed during the day, utilizing the Outlook calendar for time management, providing details of projects worked on, etc. While we encourage telework for eligible employees, there is some work at Ramapo that simply cannot be done from home or cannot be done from home on a consistent basis. ÌýFor those employees whose duties cannot be completed at home, managers will adopt practices to minimize the spread of infection and protect the well-being of our community, including the following:

• Establish flexible office work schedules for staff where possible to reduce the number of people working near one another at the same time.Ìý Ìý Unit managers must capture these schedules in a template (Weekly Work Log-Sample) and provide it to the Divisional Vice President at the start of each new pay period.
• Implement social distancing practices while in the office meant to reduce close contact in the workplace (e.g., maintain a distance of 6 feet from others)
• Determine if alternative seating or work stations may be set up
• Consider transitioning all meetings to phone or virtual formats, such as Web-ex, Zoom, Google Chat, etc.

Please click on the following link for more information regarding leave and staff guidelines:Ìý If you get sick, stay home. Your health and the health of our community is our primary concern. Please follow the College’s sick policy, and notify People Operations and Employee Resources Department (POERD) (jcbrown@ramapo.edu) and your manager immediately if you are sick.

• If you are concerned that you may have contracted COVID-19, call your healthcare provider and they will help you to determine whether self-isolation or self-quarantine is needed and help determine if others may have been exposed in the workplace.

Self-quarantine If you are told by People Operations and Employee Resources Department (POERD) or your health professional to self-quarantine, even if you are not symptomatic, stay home. The College will provide you with self-quarantine protocols. New Leave Codes HR developed new codes to record time due to COVID-19.ÌýÌýOutlined below are the three codes with an explanation: Code SCV:ÌýShould be used by an employee who lost work hours because of theirÌýown healthÌýconditionÌýrelated to COVID-19.Ìý Meaning, you were symptomatic, you were confirmedÌýpositive for the virus, or you self-quarantined because of possible exposure. Code SCF:ÌýShould be used by an employee who lost work hours due to theÌýcare of familyÌýmember’s health conditionÌýrelated to COVID-19; or due to your dependent’sÌýschool orÌýday care center closingÌýdue to COVID-19. Code SCL:ÌýShould be used forÌýall other lost time, such as for time while working remotely that you could not perform all aspects of your job. In this instance the hours that you were unable to perform work should be coded to SCL.Ìý For example, if you worked 2 hours during the day but the remaining 5 you were unable to work because of limitations with technology or access, you will charge SCL for 5 hours for that day.  

Transitioning to remote work may be challenging but these resources are here to help. Key Guidelines for Employees and Managers ÌýAs we continue to plan our business operations remotely, we want to continue to provide resources and guidelines to fine tune your work delivery. These guidelines provide some key considerations relative to a remote work arrangement during the current COVID-19 pandemic.Ìý These guidelines are subject to update and revision. Employee Consideration Checklist

• Evaluate the core responsibilities and priorities of your position.
• What are the feasible timelines for completing some or all of your work remotely.
• At a minimum, employees need a computer, internet and phone access (as determined by the position responsibilities). You may use a personally owned computer/laptop/iPad, however, you are responsible for following all College policies. and practices to maintain security on your device.
• Set expectations with others in your home regarding interactions and availability.
• Identify what areas of your home environment is conducive to remote work.
• Provide multiple forms of contact information to your supervisor.
• Participate in all meetings as scheduled by your supervisor utilizing the tools identified for such virtual meetings.Ìý You are expected to be available for all communications as if you were working on-site.
• Discuss with your supervisor how your time and performance will be documented and tracked. Communicate regularly with your supervisor regarding your priorities, deliverables, timelines, etc.

  Manager Considerations Checklist

• Evaluate departmental priorities and feasibility of completing some of it remotely.
• Managers, in partnership with divisional leadership are responsible for the remote work plan for each department. People Operations and Employee Resources Department (POERD) is available to provide assistance in working through your plans.
• Determine if some position’s core responsibilities and the particular employee’s performance can be modified on a short-term basis to ensure efficiency.
• Ensure there is an assessment of necessary level of remote access and associated technology needs.
• Compile cell phone and home numbers for all employees you supervise.
• Determine how schedules and availability will be known and communicated.
• Determine what tools you will use when you hold meetings virtually.
• Discuss how time and performance will be managed. Ìý Ìý Ìý In general, focus on the output and the completion of deliverables when evaluating performance.

  Instructional Resources The mission of the Instructional Design Center is to guide and support faculty and staff to integrate relevant technology directed toward improving teaching and learning, or enhancing professional development. The IDC has been incredibly busy in promoting its resources and fostering a sharing of expertise during this time. Visit their website to learn more! Call Forwarding Call forwarding is primarily performed at the user’s workstation.Ìý However, if you have an urgent need to have your calls forwarded while you are working off campus, please open a ticket atÌý, assigning ‘request type’ to telecomm and provide your extension and the number you want it forwarded to.Ìý If you can’t access the site to enter a ticket, you may send a request to BOTH crickley@ramapo.edu and tbiagi@ramapo.edu with the required information. Voicemail For Cisco users:Ìý If you haven’t set up your mailboxes yet, feel free to do so.Ìý You can do this remotely by dialing 201-684-7500, press * when the greeting starts, enter your extension as the ID followed by # and then 0000 as the pin followed by #.Ìý The system will prompt you through the set up process.Ìý Please take your time and follow the prompts carefully. For Avaya users:Ìý Remote voicemail access is now a little different.Ìý To access your messages from off-campus, you MUST dial your extension (201-684-xxxx) instead of 201-684-7500.Ìý Once you begin to hear your personal greeting, press * #.Ìý When prompted, enter your extension as the mailbox number and then your security code.Ìý When on campus, you will access your messages as you did before; that process hasn’t changed. Jabber (Cisco users only) Jabber is a downloadable program that we can now use to make and receive calls from our primary extensions without the need for desk phones.Ìý You can install this on your PC, laptop, smartphone or tablet.Ìý If you want to install it on your smartphone or tablet, simply go to your app store, locate Cisco Jabber and install it.Ìý Once it opens, you will need to login using your Ramapo email address and password.Ìý Once you’ve successfully logged in, you will see a few options on the bottom of the screen; Contacts, Chats, Calls, Meetings, Voicemail. Contacts is where you can find and add people, Chats is a messaging app, Calls is where you can make outbound calls, Meetings will show whatever meetings you are involved with and Voicemail allows you to receive new voicemail messages as well as view any saved messages.Ìý It’s a very handy program especially when you are working remotely (it is also a good way to receive calls without using call forwarding). In order to receive calls, the app MUST be open.Ìý This program is connected to your extension and NOT your cellphone number.Ìý Please note that Jabber only works with your primary extension.Ìý If you have other lines that appear on your work phone, they will not appear in the app.Ìý Also note that when making an outbound call, you must dial 9-1 and the full number or it won’t go through.Ìý It works the same as if you were making the call from your desk phone.Ìý If you want Jabber on your PC or laptop, it will have to wait until we resume substantive activity on campus. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to crickley@ramapo.edu or tbiagi@ramapo.edu and we will help you the best way we can. How to Effectively Work Remotely by the NJ Tech Council A helpful 40 minute video developed by the NJ Tech Council is available at WebEx/Teleconferencing As you may already know, we have recently starting using Webex as our official teleconferencing solution here at Ramapo. IT is still working on single sign on, but until thenÌý they will need to manually add users to our account. IT will create an account for those requesting one.Ìý Soon after, you will receive an email from Webex indicating the account has been created, with a link to verify. IT has created online instructions and training materials located atÌý/idc/instructional-technologies/#webex, and of course you can always reach out to me if you haveÌýany questions. VPN Also consider if VPN is available using the P drives to share information, or if employees are not able to access our network to please use Google Drives to share information during this time.

New Jersey Please click the link for more information on leave and staff guidelines - DOL Guidance on Paid Leave Related to Covid -19 - click on New York Pennsylvania