University of Hawaii West Oahu Seal

Bulletin No. 12

Date/Time sent: 08/03/2020 8:00 am

Aloha mai UH West Oʻahu ʻOhana!

Our theme for the first week of August is ʻUmia ka hanu! Hoʻokahi ka umauma ke kīpoʻohiwi i ke kīpoʻohiwi. Hold your breath! Be of one great chest (standing) shoulder to shoulder. We will persevere by moving forward together!

REMINDERS: As we prepare for our fall 2020 semester there are several reminders:

  • Calendar our Fall 2020 Convocation, Wednesday August 19, 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., Zoom and in-person by invitation

  • Our campus is open only to employees and students. While you are on campus you must wear identification, which is your UHWO ID card preferably on a lanyard or pinned to your clothing.

  • Our daily Health Check-in App is currently being tested by a diverse group of UHWO employees. It will be launched very soon!

PREPARING OUR CAMPUS:

We have been working diligently to prepare our campus for our fall semester on hybrid classes. To learn more about our preparations please go to our COVID-19 website. There you can review our updated interim COVID Guidelines, overview how to prepare for fall on-campus, and soon a comprehensive list of FAQs will be posted for employees and students.

We have also launched our Pueo Safety Promise. We are asking all employees, students, and visitors to respect this promise as we work together, be responsible together to keep our campus community safe and strong.

The Pueo Safety Promise. I WILL

  • Stay home if my temperature is higher than 100.4 or if I have been in close contact with a suspected or confirmed case.

  • Submit the UHWO Health APP/Web-Survey prior to coming to campus.

  • Wear a face covering, maintain safe physical distance, and practice good handwashing hygiene when on campus or doing university business.

  • Remain informed about health and safety guidelines and take steps to protect our campus staff, faculty, students, and guests.

  • Be kind and compassionate, caring for the well-being of our campus community.

Sample image of the Pueo Safety Promise card.

If you are feeling ill, are being tested, or have tested positive please follow these directions:

STAY HOME if you have tested positive for COVID-19. Do not return to campus until you have been cleared to return by the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health (DOH) and/or your Primary Healthcare Professional (PHP). Call the UHWO hotline* (689-2525) we will assist you to manage your workload/course load.

All employees and students who are working on campus or attending classes on campus should follow these steps:

  • STAY HOME if you have ANY symptoms, including one or more of the following: cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever, chills, repeated shaking with chills, runny nose or new sinus congestion, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, fatigue, new GI symptoms, or new loss of taste or smell.

    • Employee: Call the UHWO hotline* (689-2525) and contact your supervisor of your planned absence or if you can continue to work remotely.

    • Student: Call the UHWO hotline* (689-2525) and contact your academic adviser and instructor(s) of your planned absence. Continue your classes online.

  • Contact your PHP/primary health care provider and self-isolate until cleared by your health provider. If your PHP recommends a COVID Test, STAY HOME until cleared to return to campus.

  • Once you have been cleared to return to work/return to classes by the Hawaiʻi DOH and your PHP:

    • Employee: Send your clearance documents to covidwo@hawaii.edu and contact your supervisor. Your case will be reviewed and clearance will come from the appropriate campus executive.

    • Student: Send your clearance documents to covidwo@hawaii.edu and contact your academic adviser and instructor(s). Your case will be reviewed and clearance to resume on-campus classes will come from the VC of Student Affairs.

All employees or students who are not working on-campus or not attending classes on campus should follow these steps:

  • If you have ANY symptoms, including one or more of the following: cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever, chills, repeated shaking with chills, runny nose or new sinus congestion, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, fatigue, new GI symptoms, or new loss of taste or smell, CALL your PHP.

  • DO NOT come to campus.

  • There is no reason to alert campus unless you have been on campus.

In these difficult times, we anticipate negative reports. Please know that notification of an exposure or positive case is handled by the UHWO COVID Response Team. The team works with the Hawaiʻi Department of Health. Only they can officially notify those who may have come into contact with a confirmed infected individual. The Department of Health is responsible for the state’s pandemic response and is following a test-trace-isolate strategy, which includes testing those who show symptoms or may have come into close contact with an infected person, isolating those who test positive, contacting everyone who may have been exposed, and continuing to test and isolate.

Again, if you have been in contact with someone who tests positive, you will be contacted by the Department of Health. If an employee or student tells you that they have COVID-19 or that they have been in close contact with someone who has it, refer them to the UHWO hotline* (689-2525) and/or email covidwo@hawaii.edu. Please remember that UH strictly follows all privacy and confidentiality laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and will not disclose any personal information.

COVID-19 Hotline
Contact us if you have:
tested positive, are symptomatic, or were in contact with a positive case at (808) 689-2525 or covidwo@hawaii.edu.

Finally, it is important to remain calm and not engage in discussing the situation with others outside of the reporting chain. We know that everyone is coming from a place of care and concern for our public health, but we need to respect the privacy and dignity of the individual(s) involved. Referral to appropriate resources is the best action we can take for the health of our community.

Our August 10 and August 17 Bulletins will include an overview of what you need to know as we welcome employees and students back to the UH West Oʻahu campus.

Approaching our Budget

Here is a quick review of the fundamental documents and on-going processes that campus leadership is using:

    • UHWO Strategic Action Plan (see Impact Strategies for Phase II)

    • RP 4.201, RP 4.202, and RP 4.203

    • Multi-Year Planning Process (Fall 2019) — see the “Wall”

    • UH-S President’s “Post-Pandemic Hawaiʻi and the U of Hawaiʻi”, and UH Officers Budget Planning Meeting Notes

    • Current IR and Enrollment data (weekly), Data from IRAOPO/MAPS

    • Data from OVP Finance, Data scans of Hawaii economic/jobs

    • On-going unit discussions:

      1. OVCAA Academic Prioritization with DCs/Faculty beginning August 17 (faculty senate executive committee has been in the discussions)

      2. OVCA focused discussion on buildings/facilities, streamlined efforts re HR procedures, improved auditing of internal business office transactions

      3. OVCSA Operational discussions but focus on recruitment/retention

Here is an overview of the Chancellor’s three-pronged approach, which is evolving and becoming more focused and concrete with every discussion:

  • Student Investment/Enrollment:

    • Continued support and partnership with EAB for FY21 — strengthened recruitment of Hawaiʻi’s high school students to UHWO through strategic partnership with DOE and Privates and Independents.

    • Strengthened high-touch with high school counselors (Hawaiʻi State Department of Education and private schools) + students/families in partnership with Hawaiʻi P-20/FAFSA focus.

    • Strengthened Career ʻAuwai (K12 to HiEd to Career) with partners Hawaiʻi State Department of Education, Kamehameha Schools, Campbell, Castle, Kapolei Chamber of Commerce, Ko ʻOlina, Hawaii Tourism Authority, and affiliates.

    • Continued targeted support of student development/leadership to impact persistence to graduation in partnership with funders.

    • Strengthened development of career-focused micro-credentials for returning adults in partnership with Kapolei Chamber of Commerce and other business partners.

  • Investment in Key Academic Programs:

    • Strategic hiring faculty/staff – currently a freeze on positions.

    • Academic Prioritization Process: Identify key target programs that seeds Hawaiʻi’s growth/recovery, identify merging programs, identify sunsetting programs, critical review of workload, strengthened strategic scheduling (online and hybrid course offerings with limited face-to-face)

    • Support for strategic program extramural funding

    • Support for scholarships/endowments/enrichment funds.

  • Investment in strategic budgeting (includes short-term but is primarily focused on long-range planning that serves a future vision for UH West Oʻahu)

    • Planning, budgeting and forecasting work to help us achieve financial prosperity.

    • Examine our critical operational needs

    • Plan RM over a five-year period.

    • Determine Revenue Generation actions.

Please check back as more information about the budget will be shared. Additionally, a high-level overview will be presented at our Fall Convocation on August 19.