Bulletin No. 8
Date/Time sent: 07/06/2020 9:45 amThe theme for my update message: “Remaining Mission-Centered in Times of Change”
As we move into our next phase of planning to reopen as well as re-budgeting given the impact of the COVID-19 disruption on our financial base, we begin by reviewing and reconsidering Phase II of our Strategic Action Plan (2020-2026). Why? Our Strategic Action Plan (SAP)—that was collectively defined in 2017-2018—will ensure that we remain mission-centered, that we maintain our guiding principles, and that our programs are driven by our value proposition. Additionally, keeping our sights on our SAP increases our alignment with the UH System and Board of Regents’ goals and objectives. Our “Impact Strategies” will continue to be the pillars that will assist us to take action to make change and measure (benchmark) the impact of those changes on our enrollment and financial viability. Just in case, here they are:
Please review our SAP at https://westoahu.hawaii.edu/
What will be reviewed, prioritized, and operationalized will be the strategic plan objectives and tactics. Earlier this year, your campus leadership (with division chairs, directors, campus management teams, students, and other stakeholders) engaged in a systematic review of the work completed in Phase I (2018-2020) to help us to determine what we look like today and where we would invest and grow over the next six years. This analysis (still displayed on the wall in the chancellorʻs conference room) is especially relevant to our work today! Among the areas of current urgent action are: student enrollment and student success, cost control, prioritization of academic programs, and data. This information coupled with current data collection will help us, in our efforts today, to define the value/relevance of UH West Oʻahu to the UH System as well as the local/state/national and global health of our communities post-COVID-19.
There is a pronounced need for urgent planning and action now. However, future planning is challenging as needs and assumptions, during this time, change quickly and unpredictably. That said, as campus leadership builds our capacities to sense, shape and adapt to our new normal we ask you, faculty and staff of UH West Oʻahu, to pause, reflect and pivot your mindset, commitments, and actions. To assist you to better understand the themes around which we are prioritizing our actions please read the UH Presidentʻs paper, “Post-Pandemic Hawaiʻi and the University of Hawaiʻi” that he has shared widely. I am sure you will find multiple ideas that can build, contribute, and align with you individually and with your program/s.
To be absolutely clear, we must all acknowledge and accept the “magnitude” of this crisis. A colleague of mine (Professor Emeritus, Sr. Economic Policy Analyst now at Stanford) shared with me this past weekend that inertia, staying the course (being “tone deaf”) will lead to the collapse of higher education. We are on an unsustainable path if we do not focus on both our revenue and costs. Any algorithm we use must include both in the solution. Please understand that this is not a commentary on the good work that we do (faculty, staff, and student performance) but a blunt reality check that we have become too reliant on public funding and tuition revenue – both currently unpredictable sources. Our UH System is working hard to turn this behemoth of a ship (apologies for the metaphor); accordingly, UH West Oʻahu must align our waʻa (our flotilla of boats).
Ahead, I will provide updates in our process to prioritize what we do (and don’t do) to ensure we make smart investments now that will address both our short-term needs AND will harness our capabilities that can facilitate a strong UH West Oʻahu in a post-pandemic time.
Mahalo nūnui for your efforts and your commitment to UH West Oʻahu!
E mālama pono!
Maenette Benham, Chancellor
UPDATES:
Wednesday July 1: The UH System published the Interim COVID-19 Guidelines
Thursday July 2: UH West Oʻahu published the campus Interim COVID-19 Guidelines
These Guidelines provide a framework to resume the on-site delivery of classes, advising, student services, research, and other activities. They shall remain in effect until and unless revoked by the Chancellor of UHWO and/or the President of the UH System, in consultation with state and county officials.
Unless otherwise stated, these Guidelines apply to all UHWO operations and all students, employees and visitors to the UHWO campus. While much has gone into this effort, it ultimately requires all members of the UHWO community – students, faculty, staff and visitors alike – to take responsibility for their own health and safety and act in a manner that demonstrates respect and consideration for those around them. No community as large as the University of Hawai‘i can guarantee an environment free of COVID-19, but the measures described in these Guidelines seek to implement the latest national, state, and local guidance.
Our knowledge and understanding of the COVID-19 virus continues to evolve, hence our guidelines and plans are subject to change based on our developing knowledge of COVID-19; COVID-19 activity; and evolving federal, state, and county guidance. Our guidelines will be updated as appropriate.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
I. Personal Safety Practices: Everyone’s Kuleana – Employees, Students, And Visitors
III. Institutional Safety Practices – Facilities & Spaces
IV. Institutional Safety Practices – Students & Classes
V. Institutional Safety Practices – Services & Events
VI. Institutional Safety Practices – Staffing & Work Schedules
VII. Promoting Wellness and Mental/Behavioral Health
VIII. Enforcement of Guidelines
IX. Guidelines to Scale Back Campus and Academic Operations Should There Be A Resurgence
Our guidelines for stairways says: Post signage to keep to the right. The guidance is implemented in one of the stairways in A-building.