Sept. 17 - Where faculty can find resources for fall quarter instruction
Section 1
UCI students moving into campus housing yesterday. Courtesy of Corey Tull
Each day, a UCI expert will answer one of your questions about COVID-19, vaccinations, variants or the future of work. Submit questions via email.
For today’s Ask the Expert, we are providing some additional information on classroom instruction policies for faculty.
Where can I find everything I need to know about teaching this fall quarter?
For all updates on the evolving guidelines around teaching, faculty can visit the UCI Teach Anywhere website, which has details on everything from recording and distributing lectures to developing standard syllabus language. The site also has detailed information on resources and expectations for this quarter, including answers to questions such as whether instructors must wear masks (yes) and what to do about students who refuse to wear a mask (dismiss them from class). Links to additional information are posted on UCI Forward.
CAMPUS UPDATES
Today is Constitution Day
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” More than 230 years ago, this preamble introduced this country’s primary governing document. On this day, we commemorate the drafting of the U.S. Constitution.
Staff and faculty: How to use ZotPass to ensure student COVID-19 policy compliance
The ZotPass program can be used to confirm a student’s compliance with the UC COVID-19 Vaccination Program, the Daily Symptom Check and any applicable testing requirements. When the student submits their Daily Symptom Check, they will receive a confirmation ZotPass by email or through the ServiceNow App showing their status for the day. If you are considering using the ZotPass system for an event or program, check out these FAQs for Faculty and Staff.
Campus mail delivery to resume Oct. 4
At the same time that USPS mail delivery to on-campus mailboxes begins, package pick-up at the North Campus Distribution Facility will end, and packages delivered there will incur standard or oversized package delivery fees. Prior to Oct. 4, start addressing all deliveries to your office or lab location and modify delivery times from third-party carriers (such as FedEx, UPS and DHL) to match on-site staffing.
On-campus dining updates
Dining locations will be opening on a rolling basis as Dining Services seeks to hire additional student workers. Contactless pickup and delivery options are also available via the Grubhub or Starship Robot Delivery smartphone apps.
UCI ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS
Data collection, reporting gaps harm Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander health
Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are one of the fastest growing populations in the U.S., but their health data is too often not separated from the larger “Asian” or “Other” categories. Data disaggregation for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders has been required by federal law since 1997, and this information omission leads to structural racism, asserts a new study led by Brittany Morey, an assistant professor at the UCI Program in Public Health.
UC NEWS AND GENERAL NEWS
Friday fun fact
At UCI, total student enrollment has grown from under 10,000 in 1980 to more than 35,000 today. Check out the new UC Information Center dashboard with UC enrollment growth by campus for more details on UCI and the other UC campuses.
CDC says COVID-19 and flu vaccines can be co-administered
It’s especially important to get the flu vaccine this year because substantial flu cases occurring alongside COVID-19 cases could overwhelm healthcare systems, a CDC official told Medscape Medical News. This has influenced the CDC’s decision to recommend that COVID-19 and flu vaccines can be administered at the same time.
Biden administration negotiating buying another 500 million Pfizer doses to donate overseas
The doses would bring the total number of planned donations to 1.15 billion doses, or about one-tenth of the world’s need, The New York Times reports.
EVENTS
Library Resources to Save You Time and Money
Tuesday, 11 a.m. (sponsored by UCI Libraries)
Visit today.uci.edu to see and submit event listings. Events of general interest will be shared in UCI Digest two days before they occur.
UCI IN THE NEWS
Op-Ed: In Haiti, the battle for leadership is really a battle for loot
Los Angeles Times, Sept. 16
Author: Amy Wilentz, professor of English
Afropessimism and Its Discontents
The Nation, Sept. 17, 2021
Cited: Frank B. Wilderson III, professor of African American Studies
These Unheralded Workers Are Helping Prevent the Next Wildfire
Sapiens, Sept. 15, 2021
Author: Salvador Zárate, assistant professor of anthropology
COVID-19 NOTIFICATION AND RESOURCES
New campus case
One on-campus student tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. For more information, visit the UCI COVID-19 dashboard.
Remember to upload your vaccine record
Vaccination is a critical step toward our campus's fall return. Help our community by uploading your vaccine record.
Potential workplace exposure
UCI provides this notification of a potential workplace COVID-19 exposure. Employees and subcontractors who were in these locations on the dates listed may have been exposed to the coronavirus. You may be entitled to various benefits under applicable federal and state laws and University-specific policies and agreements. The full notification is available on the UCI Forward site. If you have been identified as a close contact to a COVID-19 case, the UCI Contact Tracing Program will contact you and provide additional direction.
For COVID-19 questions
UCI Forward - information on campus status and operational updates
UCI Health COVID-19 Updates - important information related to UCI Health
UCI Coronavirus Response Center - available at covid19@uci.edu or via phone at (949) 824-9918
Contact Tracing and Vaccine Navigation Services - assistance with vaccines and vaccine uploads; available at contacttracing@uci.edu or via phone at (949) 824-2300
Program in Public Health chatline - answers to questions about COVID-19
For questions specific to your personal health situation, please contact your doctor or healthcare provider.