At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, SUNY Empire State College quickly transitioned to 100 percent online and distance learning and instituted a series of support initiatives to keep our students on track despite new disruptions to daily life. In anticipation of sufficient levels of COVID-19 immunity, reduced infection rates, and appropriate and sufficient data and safety protocols, SUNY Empire will resume safe onsite operations and work practices in preparation for the 2021 Fall Semester. As we prepare to return to teaching and learning at our locations, SUNY Empire has begun to reimagine a new normal after more than a year of instructing and working remotely. Knowing that we need to be flexible and adapt if circumstances change, the college will continue to closely monitor and evaluate the situation as we move forward with our planning.
Phased-in Approach from June through August
Return to academic instruction offered onsite, online, or both
Downstate faculty returns or moves into new locations, site-permitting
Full operations at our Saratoga administraive locations, along with weekly pool testing
With the portion of the state telecommuting agreement for COVID-19 and Vaccinations extended until October, 12, 2021, and the fall term beginning September 7, the phase-in window is small. To best accomplish a phased-in return to onsite work, we asked supervistors and department leaders to place staff into two groups in each location: Group A and Group B. In order to better accommodate employees and reduce building density, groups will go to work on consecutive two-day blocks. To facilitate a smooth return, we have developed the following guidelines and phases:
Who:
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Faculty on reading period may remain on reading period and are expected to return to their onsite locations at the end of reading period. However, faculty are welcome to use their offices as needed. For access, please email: COVID@esc.edu.
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Meetings may take place, and should be limited to room capacities and socially distanced. See NYSDOH Guidance.
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The current state telecommuting agreement for COVID-19 precautions and vaccinations has been extended as of September 3, 2021: Updated Telecommuting for COVID-19 and Vaccination (PDF 124kB). This allows employees given COVID-19 remote work accommodations to continue to telecommute through October 12, 2021. The deadline for SUNY Empire employees to receive at least one does of a COVID-19 vaccine has also been extended to October 12.
The Governor’s Office of Employee Relations (GOER) has approved SUNY Telecommuting Policy (PDF 57kB). This now allows SUNY Empire State College to move forward with a campus-level telecommuting option from September 7 through December 31, 2021. Key aspects of the policy include:
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Locations in Transition:
During the past year, SUNY Empire has closed certain locations. If you have a question regarding your new onsite location, or are not certain about where you should report, please reach out to the Office of Human Resources.
We are currently finishing construction projects at several new locations, which may cause a delay in opening at these sites specifically:
Exceptions:
ADA Accommodations:
For ADA accommodations, please contact the Office of Human Resources. Requests for accommodations will be granted based on ADA federal guidelines. Please complete the
ADA Application for Reasonable Accommodation and submit for review.
At this time, SUNY Empire requires all faculty, staff, students and visitors to wear a mask inside its locations, regardless of vaccination status. For further information on masking guidance, please consult the updated Return to Work Plan 8/21 (PDF 706kB).
SUNY Empire State College leadership continues to monitor the evolving response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued updated masking guidance, recommending fully vaccinated individuals resume wearing masks indoors in areas of substantial or high transmission. This comes in response to an increase in what are known as “breakthrough infections” as a result of the Delta variant now circulating in the United States. Several of our sites fall within the “substantial or high transmission” zones.
In late July, Governor Cuomo announced that all 130,000 state employees will be required to receive a full regimen of a two-dose or single-dose COVID-19 vaccine by Labor Day, September 6. With the extension of the portion of the state telecommuting pilot program related to COVID-19 accommodations and vaccinations, this date has now been extended to October 12, 2021. This includes faculty and staff here at SUNY Empire. Faculty and staff who do not get vaccinated, whether by personal choice, or for medical or religious exemptions, must undergo COVID-19 testing once a week. The state is currently working with our respective unions to finalize an agreement on this program.
All state employees, including those at SUNY Empire State College, have been asked to read, sign, and return a form to human resources, entitled Revised Guidance for State Agencies Affirmation (PDF 167kB). The form was drafted by the New York State Department of Health and outlines minimum guidelines that all employees must follow regarding masking, social distancing, and other health and safety protocols based on their vaccination status. By signing this document, you acknowledge the updated health and safety protocols. Employees will not be required to show proof of vaccination status. However, if you are unvaccinated or do not submit proof of vaccination status, you will be required to participate in weekly pooled or individualized testing depending on your campus location.
After reading the form carefully, you must sign it at the bottom and return it to hrdepartment@esc.edu or Kyle Parker at kyle.parker@esc.edu in human resources. Signed forms must be submitted by July 9, or no later than three business days after an employee returns to work.
Yes, if you are accessing SUNY Empire in-person, you must receive a COVID-19 vaccination with limited exceptions.
With the FDA's full approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, SUNY policy requires students attending in-person classes or receiving any in-person academic services and supports to be fully vaccinated. Students remaining fully remote or online will not need to submit proof of vaccination, but will need to agree to not access our locations in person. Students may also seek medical or religious exemptions. Virtual supports will remain.
Our students play an important role in keeping the SUNY Empire community healthy and safe. In this unpredictable and ever-changing environment, we ask that you check our website and your email regularly to stay up to date on our protocols. Please take these protocols seriously and help in every way you can. We’ve asked the same of our faculty and staff.
Beginning on August 23, most SUNY Empire locations will reopen to students for full in-person services, by appointment only. Students may then resume in-person course instruction from the start of the Fall 2021 semester on September 7. Some SUNY Empire locations are in a transition phase and/or undergoing renovations. Those locations are as follows:
We will update you on the reopening status of those locations.
First, please contact your faculty member or mentor to schedule an appointment, either via email or phone call.
Then, you must complete the Empire Entry procedure, powered by the Envoy app, to enter a location. After downloading the app to your smart device, simply log in using your SUNY Empire username and password, and register at the location you would like to enter by responding to the COVID-screening questionnaire in the app. Once you’re registered, you must sign in at your designated location in the app, and sign out upon leaving.
If you do not have a smart device, you may complete Empire Entry upon arriving at your location by accessing the iPad kiosk at the building’s main entrance.
Fully vaccinated employees will be exempt from mandatory weekly testing, once they provide documentation showing they’ve completed a full vaccination series. Employees can provide proof of vaccination by scanning and submitting a COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card or proof of vaccination from the NYS Excelsior Pass to Kyle Parker (kyle.parker@esc.edu) in the Office of Human Resources.
Weekly COVID testing will be required for ALL onsite employees and students who are not vaccinated. Test kits will be made available to all employees and students per set schedule outlined below. Per SUNY guidelines, COVID testing will need to be submitted once a week. Tests are submitted to testing labs. Depending on the size of your location, you will be using either a pooled or individual testing protocol.
Pooled testing combines test swabs from several people, which are then tested in a single batch. Here is the process for pooled testing:
You will be notified only if your pool tests positive.
If your pool tests positive, you will hear from a contact tracer and be required to quarantine until the positive test(s) is identified, which usually takes a day or two. Positive tests will be reported to your county health department. Those who test positive will be interviewed for contact tracing purposes and required to quarantine at home for 10 days from the date of the positive result. If you are negative in that pool and were not in close contact with the positive test, you may return to work the next day.
Anyone identified as being in close contact for a prolonged period with the individual who tested positive will be required to quarantine for 10 days, unless vaccinated and showing no symptoms (based on current guidance).
Individual testing is done on one person at a time. The process is:
You will be notified only if your pool tests positive.
If your individual test comes back positive, you will hear from a contact tracer and be required to quarantine. Positive tests will be reported to your county health department. Those who test positive will be interviewed for contact tracing purposes and required to quarantine at home for 10 days from the date of the positive result.
Anyone identified as being in close contact for a prolonged period with the individual who tested positive will be required to quarantine for 10 days, unless vaccinated and showing no symptoms (based on current guidance).
If you are required to quarantine due to a positive test, or through contact tracing, you should work with your supervisor to determine whether you can continue to work while quarantined.
If you are not able to work while in quarantine, you should contact the Office of Human Resources about how to use COVID-19 leave, based on the most recent Department of Labor (DOL) guidelines. The COVID-19 leave eligibility is still in effect. It can be used for those placed in a mandatory or precautionary quarantine and do not have the ability to continue to work from home for up to 14 days. Any questions should be directed to the Office of Human Resources.
Effective May 10, 2021, SUNY Empire State College transitioned to a new Empire Entry procedure powered by the Envoy Protect app. The app is a quick and convenient way to sign in and out of our campus locations, ensure faculty, staff, and students are healthy and symptom-free, and monitor capacity and visitor activity, all while eliminating the use of shared pens, notepads, and other items. Empire Entry is part of our ongoing effort to keep employees healthy and safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Each time you wish to enter a SUNY Empire location, you will be required to complete the Empire Entry process. Simply access the Envoy app on your smart device and register at that location at least one hour before arriving by completing the health assessment. You must attest that you are free of COVID-19 symptoms to register and enter.
The Envoy app can be downloaded to either your Apple or Android device. If you don’t have a smart device, or are unable to register before your arrival, you will have the option to register by accessing the app via an iPad kiosk at the main entrance of each location.
You may also schedule your arrival at a site up to 24 hours in advance on the app. Employees who need to enter multiple locations on a given day will have to submit a new registration for each location and must sign out upon leaving. For further instructions on how to use the app, please review this guide.
To be eligible to work or attend classes onsite, employees or students must be free of ANY symptoms potentially related to COVID-19 or have had an evaluation and been cleared by their primary care provider. The CDC has provided the following list of potential symptoms:
If you answer “Yes” to any of these questions on a day you are scheduled to report to onsite work, you will not be able to report to onsite work and your supervisor will be notified. If you are unable to report to work, proper leave time will have to be charged.
If the answer is “No” to all of the screening questions, you will receive the “Green Check” to enter work. Detecting these symptoms or potential exposures early, before the employee/student even arrives onsite, will help reduce potential exposure to, and spread of, the virus.
The Daily Health Report is electronic and easily found by using the Envoy App. You can download this app to your smart phone or tablet. This app will also be helpful to receive updates and any announcement notifications.
At this time, SUNY Empire requires all faculty, staff, students and visitors to wear a mask inside its locations, regardless of vaccination status.
All staff share the responsibility of educating and informing visitors (including students) of our COVID protocols. Students should be told of our expectations from the start. Simply offer one of our disposable masks to anyone who is not wearing a mask. Any student or visitor refusing to wear a mask in a classroom setting is in violation of our protocols and should be asked to leave.
Students failing to comply with COVID protocols are to be referred to the student conduct officer David Caso david.caso@esc.edu for further action. We do not anticipate confrontations at our locations, but if you encounter a situation that becomes confrontational, you should immediately remove yourself and notify your supervisor. Employees failing to comply with COVID protocols will be referred to the Office of Human Resources.
All guests and students should enter through the building’s main entrance. This will ensure proper sign in and health reporting at the tablet kiosk.
Other signage:
For additional location-specific plans, please review SUNY Empire's Return to Onsite Work Plan: Return to Work Plan 8/21 (PDF 706kB).
Under the direction of the SUNY Empire State College cabinet, the Return to Onsite Work Committee was charged with providing college leadership with a recommended framework, operational plans (including safety protocols), communications plans, and minimum staffing plans for the fall 2021 term for the following scenarios: 1) ~100% return to onsite operations; 2) ~40%; 3) ~25%. Under the direction of co-chairs Tai Arnold and Jeff Kurto, the committee, consisting of representatives from across the college, evaluated these contingencies, presenting their recommendations to cabinet on April 5.
Tai Arnold
Lexie Bonitatibus
Eric Bridges
Joseph Centanni
Diane Conard
Joan DuBois
Joshua Fleming
David Fullard
Julie Gedro
Treavor Gilday
Andrea Hennessy
Lindsay Holcomb
Jillian Johnis
Jeanine Jones
Jeffrey Kurto
Deborah McEligot
Todd Myles
Robin Oliver
Constance Rodriguez
Sadie Ross
Debbi Staulters
Kim Stote
Solomon Syed
Leetoya Young
COVID Response Group: covid@esc.edu
Students: Contact the Student Information Center at 1stop@esc.edu or 1-800-847-3000, ext. 2285.
Employees: Contact Director of Facilities Joshua Fleming at joshua.fleming@esc.edu.
Media: Contact Assistant Vice President of Communications and Marketing Solomon Syed at solomon.syed@esc.edu.
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