Winter 2021 Operations Plan

Our winter semester is designed to consist of a mixture of both in-person and remote experiences designed to deliver the top-quality education NERS is known for, structured to reflect our commitment to public health. Following guidance from the University and the College, we’ve built an operations plan that balances normalcy with safety. The NERS Re-entry Team (Todd Allen, Rob Blackburn, Besnik Topulli, and Sara Norman) will be continuously checking in with the University and the College, and reassessing this plan to determine if any restrictions need to be reevaluated. 

While we navigate the challenges that this semester will undoubtedly present to each of us—from homeschooling our kids to learning new technologies—let’s be understanding and continue supporting each other in the way that the NERS community always has. Reach out to your advisor or supervisor if you need to make special arrangements.

QUICK LINKS

Re-Entry Checklist | Health/Safety | Building Access | Designated Common Areas | Front Office | Students | Staff | Faculty | Research | International Students | Updates | Feedback | Remote Resources

IMPORTANT: NERS students, faculty, and staff who report to campus—we are counting on you to follow these guidelines:

Daily ResponsiBLUE Screening Check

• Everyone: take the ResponsiBLUE Screening Check using the website or the app before entering a U-M building or property. Before entering a NERS space, take a screenshot of your results and save it for random spot-checking.
• Visitors and vendors: use the guest version of ResponsiBLUE whenever you come to campus.
• The screening check results are valid for 18 hours. Unless you are on campus for longer than 18 hours, you only need to complete the screening check once each day that you report to campus.

Re-entry Checklist

• Undergraduate students: All undergraduate students who live, work on, or enter campus buildings are required to complete weekly mandatory COVID-19 testing through the university.
• Graduate and professional students: Beginning on February 16, all graduate and professional students who live, work on, or enter campus buildings are required to complete weekly mandatory COVID-19 testing through the university.
• Faculty, staff, postdocs, and graduate students: before your first time coming to campus this school year, complete whichever of these two training modules that you prefer: COVID 19: Working Safely in U-M Research Areas or COVID-19: Working Safely at U-M.
• All students: please review the “Pre-Arrival Information” from the University.

Health/Safety

• In case of emergency, contact, U-M Division of Public Safety and Security (DPSS) at (734) 763-1131. Additional emergency contacts can be found here.
• Michigan Medicine COVID-19 Vaccination Planning FAQs
• If you feel sick, stay home and away from others, and alert your instructor/supervisor. 
• If you think you have been exposed to/have COVID-19 in the last 14 days, follow these directions from the University and notify Besnik Topulli. 
• Use the U-M COVID-19 hotline (734-936-7000) for resources and support during the pandemic. The hotline provides a triage structure that allows community members to reach the appropriate unit based on their COVID-19-related needs and follows the recommendation of the Campus Health Response Committee.
• Information from the University about testing can be found here.
• Information from the University about travel can be found here.
• Follow the University face mask policy. This means wearing a mask anytime you are on campus, including when giving instruction.
• Follow 6-foot social distancing guidelines and pay attention to distance markers on the floor.
• Wipe down any surfaces you’ve used with the provided cleaning supplies in each room. 
• If reasonable ADA accommodation is needed to follow the guidelines laid out in the operations plan, contact Besnik Topulli.
• Report public health concerns by calling the COVID-19 Concerns Reporting Line at 734-647-3000.
• Additional health and safety information can be found here.
• Health/safety questions: Besnik Topulli (NERS Department Administrator) 

Building Access

• U-M strongly encourages that all activities that can be performed remotely are done so. NERS is only permitting access to our buildings for purposes related to research, instruction, or student services.
• You will need your Mcard to enter any CoE building. All CoE faculty, staff, and students will have 24-hour access to CoE buildings.  Non-CoE persons have access to CoE buildings Monday–Friday, 7am–midnight, except holidays and season days.
• The Cooley Building has designated entry and exit points. When using the front door, follow the signage for entry/exit.
• Room Access Information.
• Until January 19, NERS buildings are open only for approved research activities, remote-instruction, and faculty “mission critical” activities. 
• Access questions: Rob Blackburn (NERS Facilities Manager)

Designated Common Areas

• All designated common areas require a reservation.
• Follow capacity limits, stay for only your reserved time (max. 2 hours), only sit at designated desks, remain seated at one desk, and wipe down your desk and chair with the provided cleaning supplies after use. Furniture is positioned to follow six-foot social distance guidelines and may not be moved. Marked whiteboard areas are treated as a single desk space that one person may use at a time. 
• The Cooley Baer Room will be reservable as a student study space. (Max: 19)
• The NEL King Collaboratory will be reservable as a quiet student study space. (Max: 13)
• The Cooley Small Conference Room (Max: 4) and the NEL Cohn Room (Max: 8) are available for student/staff/faculty use. To reserve a room, contact Jennifer and provide the date/time and a list of the people who you plan to invite. Hold the meeting only during your reserved time. Participants may only sit at the 6’ separation chair locations around the tables or labeled on the floor and furniture may not be moved. Attendees must stay seated during the meeting as room limits are based on limited motion. Remember to keep your mask on and social distance. Wipe down the tables after with the provided cleaning supplies. No eating or drinking. After your meeting, send Jennifer a list of everyone who attended.
• Learn about the designated common areas for studying and eating provided by the University and CoE here.
• Please consider eating outside (weather permitting). However, if necessary, you may remove your mask in NERS reservable common areas (Baer Room, King Collaboratory, Graduate Student and Postdoc Offices) to quickly eat or drink.
• Graduate Student and Postdoc Offices are open with restrictions. Reservations are required and you may only reserve a time slot if the desks adjacent to yours are empty during that time slot. If you are unsure which desks are adjacent to yours, please contact Rob Blackburn. Each office has its own reservation spreadsheet which can be located through this document.
• The Cooley Student Lounge is open only for ANS Pantry access with a max capacity of 1.
• Designated Common Area questions: Rob Blackburn (NERS Facilities Manager)

Front Office

• The front office is open Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, from 10am–2pm to answer general questions and receive packages.
• Instructions for shipping to the front office can be found here. 
• All purchases that are shipped to non-university addresses need an exception waiver prior to the purchase for each instance. Exception waiver requests should be sent to procurement.services@umich.edu with a cc to Rebekah Smith in CoE (rebsmith@umich.edu) and Besnik Topulli in NERS (btopulli@umich.edu). The request must contain the following:
  • Vendor name
  • Items to be purchased
  • Business purpose (make sure you point out why this is essential, e.g, essential for teaching, research, etc.)
  • Indicate that NERS UA approves of shipping to non-university addresses when doing so is reasonable and efficient (e.g., working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic).
• Front office questions: ne-officecoverage@umich.edu

Students

• All advising requires an appointment. Graduate student advising is held remotely. Undergraduate student advising is held remotely, with an in-person option on Mondays only.
• Todd Allen will hold office hours for graduate students by appointment on Fridays.
• Additional resources for students from U-M and CoE.
• Graduate students and postdocs can request to check out office equipment here.
• Undergraduate and Engineering Physics questions: Michelle Sonderman (Undergraduate Program Manager)
• Graduate student questions: Garnette Roberts (Graduate Program Manager)

Staff

• Scheduling was worked out to have as few staff members on campus as possible.
• Administrative staff can view individual staff schedules and the front office staff schedule. 
• Current A-Z List for New Faculty and Staff.
• Additional resources for staff from U-M and CoE.
• Staff questions: Besnik Topulli (NERS Department Administrator) 

Faculty

• Faculty office use is only permitted for “mission critical” activities that cannot be effectively accomplished at home. Faculty offices may not be used simply as a matter of convenience.
• Research activities that can be performed remotely should continue to be conducted remotely.  
• Faculty who are teaching an in-person course should check from time to time that their students have completed the daily ResponsiBLUE Screening Check. 
• Current A-Z List for New Faculty and Staff.
• Additional resources for faculty from U-M and CoE.
• Faculty questions: Todd Allen (NERS Chair)

Research

• Research operates according to the Office of Research Research Re-engagement Guidelines.
• Research activities that can be performed remotely should continue to be conducted remotely. 
• Adding personnel to labs is per the discretion of the PI/Lab/Unit director. NERS is required to maintain an accurate list of researchers added to our labs on or after April 1, 2021, so please email Besnik Topulli when new students or researchers are added to your labs.
• Out-of-state field research requires College approval with this form.
• Local and in-state field research requires department approval with this form.
• All travel should continue to be kept at a minimum and, when approved, should be entered in the U-M Travel Registry.
• Safety-related research questions: Nick Jordan (NERS Associate Research Scientist)
• General research questions: Besnik Topulli (NERS Department Administrator)

International Students

• Guidance for international students from U-M can be found here. 
• International student questions: U-M International Center 

Updates

• A log of all changes in operations can be found here. 
• NERS Chat questions: Cherilyn Davis (NERS Administrative Assistant)

Feedback

• Concerns and ideas can be submitted with this form.