August 12 • Health Assessment, Campus Access & Campus Events

From Administrative Services

As you are settling back into your offices, we would like to provide an update on a few items:

Daily Health Assessment

Per District’s guidance, all persons who visit campus must complete the Daily Health Assessment. This assessment must be completed every day you come to campus. You should complete the assessment prior to arriving to campus.

• If you receive the green check mark you are cleared to enter campus.
• If you receive a red x, you are not allowed on campus and, must leave immediately if you are on campus. You should notify your direct supervisor as soon as practical if you received the red x.

Campus Access

The campus access protocol has been eliminated and the campus is now open to everyone. Building access may still be restricted based on service hours. The Welcome Center has been serving students in-person since 8/5/21. Admissions, Records, and Financial Aid Offices are planning to open to in-person services on 8/16/21. Should you be inviting any students or visitors onto campus,  please remind them to wear a face covering indoors and complete the daily health assessment.  

Campus Events

We are excited to have events on campus again! We have made updates to our facility request process for events.  The updated Facility Request Form is posted on the Administrative Services webpage under Forms & Procedures.  All Facility Request Forms must be signed off by the department administrator and the Office of Administrative Services.  The Office of Administrative Services will review all event requests to provide proper guidance for gatherings (especially indoors) and COVID-related measures.   Please send all forms electronically via DocuSign to your administrator and Brian Shively ([email protected]). Don’t forget to copy your room scheduler -

• For student services related - Zita Melton, [email protected]
• For Instructional related – Genina Gonzales, [email protected]
• All other departments - Brian Shively, [email protected]

If you have any questions, please reach out to: Danny Nguyen, Brian Shively

July 27 • Return to In-Person Services

From Brad Davis, Chancellor

I write to you today regarding our plans for returning our teams more fully to in-person work at both colleges and the district offices on August 9.  Our migration to online learning in the face of the pandemic last year was perhaps one of our most difficult challenges. Certainly, our return to campus presents many equally daunting challenges. Yet I am confident that we have done the preparation necessary to return safely and will manage this transition with thoughtfulness and compassion for our colleagues. As we transition back to in-person teaching, working, and learning, the district will continue to follow state and local public health guidelines, while prioritizing the health and safety of our community and maximizing the academic experience of our students.

This fall we will reopen our doors to about 25 percent of our students for in-person classes. As such, it is imperative that we be present and engaged in service to the students who benefit from our personalized service as they navigate our campuses. Like most colleges across the country, we have seen a sharp decline in our enrollment, and I believe that our commitment to providing outstanding teaching and learning, along with knowledgeable and dedicated student services, safe and beautiful campuses, and an emphasis on inclusive, equitable communities will inspire students to return in greater numbers.  It is no secret that we employ more classified professionals, administrators, and faculty than any community college our size in California, and it is my hope that our personalized, high-touch environment will continue to enhance success and retention at a time when our students are most vulnerable.

We first informed our labor union partners on July 19 that we will be returning most of our classified employees beginning August 9.  We also prepped our administrative teams on the nuances of implementing the new contract language and developing telecommuting agreements last week.  Although many of our classified colleagues worked in person throughout the pandemic, some have not been on campus since last March, and will need adequate time to prepare.  We chose this date because it allowed us to first return administrators and confidential employees on July 12 to ensure that we were prepared to welcome back our classified colleagues; to give us sufficient time to meet the newly negotiated 10-day notice provisions of the WVMCEA collective bargaining agreement before making any changes to telecommuting schedules; and to ensure that we could open vital services to students in preparation for the semester when so many of them are seeking guidance on everything from financial aid to student health to disability accommodations. 

Our union partners understand that this date is not negotiable but are very much interested in working with us to ensure that the new contract terms are followed and that we work together to allay concerns from our employees about ventilation, masking, and other safety measures. We will be sitting down with them this week to discuss the impacts of a return and to share all our safety protocols. WVMCEA has had widespread discussion with its members about this date, and although some employees may still have reservations, I am confident that we will resolve most concerns by working closely together.

In order to manage this return effectively, it is incumbent upon each of us to examine the business needs of our individual department and work together with our classified colleagues to create working schedules in accordance with the Telecommuting Agreement. We should all acknowledge how difficult this change may be for some of our classified employees and demonstrate appropriate flexibility in designing alternate work schedules and telecommuting. I ask that we pay special attention to our colleagues with pre-existing medical conditions, religious objections to vaccinations, or who may be wrestling with the demands of childcare, as they may require greater flexibility. I emphasize that this is not a one-size-fits-all arrangement and that some employees may be needed to return sooner or with greater frequency, and others based on the needs of the department may continue to be productive working remotely. Managers should also consider the needs of their department as a whole and determine whether sufficient in-person service may be provided to students by staggering classified schedules. Should you have questions, please ask our human resources department, we are here to help you.

Although California is fully reopened, our district has taken substantial efforts and invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to ensure that our campuses are safe for a return. Should you or a member of your team have questions or concerns about safety protocols, please visit the district and college resource pages at https://wvm.edu/covid-19/Pages/default.aspxfor up-to-date information about all we have done. If you have suggestions or requests for equipment or barriers, please work through your appropriate administrator or your college vice president for administrative services. We will continue to provide enhanced cleaning services and make wipes and masks available to any employees who need them.

Individual managers shall have discretion in determining how best to staff their departments, but it is important that we facilitate a dialogue with every classified employee and clarify the terms of any telecommuting schedules before August 9. I know many of you have already finalized your schedules as the telecommuting forms have been making their way to human resources, and I applaud your ability to so delicately balance employee flexibility with student needs.  Should an administrator be unable to accommodate an employee’s request for telecommuting, please be sure to provide them a brief, written justification in an email for their records. It is a good practice to revisit the schedule frequently to ensure that it is working for the department and the employee, and to provide appropriate notice of any changes. I expect that in the months and years ahead, our ability to work collaboratively with our teams on flexible work schedules will enhance the morale of our employees and contribute to the greater good of our region by reducing traffic congestion and pollution.

On behalf of the entire executive management team, please accept my thanks for all that you have done, and will continue to do, to support our classified colleagues, benefit our students, and strengthen our community.