University of Hawaii West Oahu Seal

Bulletin No. 39

Date/Time sent: 02/22/2021 8:00 am

E ala! E alu! E kuilima!
Awaken! Come together! Join hands!

*Statement of Gratitude: “Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.” A.A. Milne

Update COVID-19

Although we are experiencing delays, due to inclement weather on the U.S. continent, we continue to prepare for second shots of our 1B-2s within the next 2-3 weeks (those employees and students whose job duties have required that they be on campus three or more days per week, and faculty who are teaching in-person classes). Additionally, we are confirming our list of all remaining UH West Oʻahu, our 1B-3s who are faculty and staff who are teleworking but essential to university operations and resumption of in-person education after this semester.

There have been questions regarding managing common side effects, which may be more prominent after dose 2 (this is expected). Some people may experience side effects that include pain and swelling at the injection site, headache, fever, muscle aches, and being very tired. These side effects may start within a few hours after you receive the shot and be mostly gone by about 36 hours after the shot. It is important to know that fever is not dangerous and actually helps your body’s immune system react to something identified as foreign (in this case the vaccine). Many adults rarely experience fever, so it is common to become worried about something that doesn’t happen often. We recommend using acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil or Motrin) as needed to keep yourself more comfortable while waiting for the fever to pass. It is also a good idea to make sure you are drinking plenty of fluids because you may lose more body fluids while you are feverish.

If you would like more information about the vaccines:

  • The New England Journal of Medicine has published an article regarding the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine. It is available online here.
  • The CDC website also provides extensive information on the COVID-19 vaccine, including safety, efficacy, vaccine development, recommendations and more. Visit the CDC website here.
  • The Hawaii Department of Health has also made information available online about the vaccine and the state’s distribution plans. Visit HawaiiCOVID19.com/Vaccine.
  • The Moderna Fact Sheet is here.

Update on our Campus Work Groups

Business Model Work Group

The Business Model Work Group is midway through its redefinition of the model by providing clarity on those criteria–Customer Value Proposition, Value Chain, Strategic Position, and Optimization Formula–used to examine current and new programs. This refinement process should enable our campus to be both cost-effective/efficient and look for opportunities that maximize revenue generation to enable UH West Oʻahu to become more sustainable and solvent. They expect to produce this redesigned model by the close of this month and will forward it to the other workgroups and leadership for feedback and further development.

Student Learning Work Group

The Student Learning Work Group has been engaged in examining a pre-pandemic snapshot of our 6-year UH Academic Master Plan (2019), which was captured right before the pandemic, in relation to President Lassner’s more recent paper titled “Post-Pandemic Hawai‘i and the University of Hawai‘i.” This relook has provided a springboard for the group to re-evaluate our planned academic actions and to propose new initiatives and innovative changes, focused on student learning, in light of current and possible future conditions in our state. The group will continue to generate and develop a set of initiatives over the next several weeks.

Campus Efficiencies

The Campus Efficiencies Work Group split into 3 subgroups: Building Consolidation, Operating costs/Blended classes, and Academic Programs. The overarching objective of this work group is to review campus operational structures/processes to determine possible opportunities to better serve faculty/staff and students.

  • Subgroup #1 Building Consolidation reviewed the recommendation of the Task Force and is discussing several recommendations that would result in more effective use of our facilities.
  • Subgroup #2 Operating costs/Blended classes is focused on potential changes that may result in a reduction of operational costs to include increasing and improving blended class delivery.
  • Subgroup #3 Academic Programs is similarly focused on streamlining operating processes to maximize online/hybrid delivery of courses. (Similar to Subgroup #2)