COVID-19

For the most up-to-date University of Arkansas information regarding COVID-19, please visit health.uark.edu.

Safety Guidelines & Requirements
Testing, Reporting, & Tracing

Printmaking remote learning for Fall 2020
Our approach to courses has been impacted by COVID-19, and we are rethinking and restructuring it in a way that mindfully reframes and expands the learning objectives while not placing an undue burden on you, the student. This time asks us to be creative, flexible, kind, and find new ways to preserve the sense of community that we would normally develop in the lab and in face-to-face classes. In terms of concrete alterations to the courses, this means that our original mandate to engage directly with print media in a more traditional and media-specific sense will be broadened to incorporate other methods and ideas.

Classes will exist as remote classrooms which differ from online courses. Classes will meet as a group during the posted class times per the University course catalog. Class times will be used for demonstrations, group synchronous conversations, feedback sessions, resource sharing, presentations, visiting artists, and scheduled calls with individual students. Demonstrations will be recorded and posted online later, but you should make every effort to be present at the scheduled meeting as editing and uploading videos will take extensive time for your instructor. In the event of severe, prolonged illness or other difficulties that inhibit you from being present in class or completing the coursework, please contact me as soon as possible.

Spring 2020 Archive:

_Medical + Testing
From Pat Walker Health Center Instagram: In conjunction with opening the Washington Regional Coronavirus (COVID-19) Screening Clinic on Monday 16 March at 10:00 A.M, Washington Regional will also activate a Coronavirus (COVID-19) Screening Hotline, staffed by experienced healthcare professionals.

This hotline will allow community members to call and complete a coronavirus screening. If it is then determined further evaluation or testing is necessary, the appropriate referrals will be made.

Community members can call 479-643-2055 to access the Washington Regional Coronavirus (COVID-19) Screening Hotline, beginning Monday 16 March at 8:00 A.M.

The hotline will be open seven days a week from 8:00 A.M. – 8:00 P.M.

_Mental Health Resources + CAPS
CAPS is not officially closed, but please check the CAPS website for updated information about their services in response to the University’s shift to remote learning.

CAPS emergency services are available 24 hours a day at 479-575-5276.

CAPS Publishes Self-Guided COVID-19 Anxiety Workbook; Launches Daily Anxiety Webinar

“Virtual Coffee Hour” is a new informal outreach initiative to give students the opportunity to drop-in and chat virtually with a CAPS mental health clinician. Virtual Coffee Hour is hosted via Zoom:

zoom.us/j/300164825
Meeting ID: 300 164 825

Students do not need to enter their real name, or have to use their webcam when prompted to enter the Zoom meeting. Students can also just use the chat function to ask questions.

Graduate Interns are no longer allowed to work at CAPS and CAPS staff are in the process of calling all individuals who have on-going appointments with the graduate students. If a student hasn’t received a call already, they should reach out to CAPS and let them know. They realize the abrupt stop to counseling/therapy is not good. However, they are working as quickly as possible to resolve the issue. If students have on-going appointments with professional clinicians at CAPS, they will continue seeing individuals.

_Other Mental Health Resources
Psychology and Counseling Associates in Fayetteville holds Zoom and phone appointments here.

Talk Space has a $100 discount with code 1004U

Crisis text line: text HOME to 741741. This provides help to anyone in the U.S. about any type of crisis. A live, trained crisis counselor receives the text and responds quickly.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA’s) Disaster Distress Helpline: 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746. (TTY 1-800-846-8517)

More information for managing stress and anxiety can be found here.

Northwest Arkansas Mutual Aid prioritizes community engagement, sharing skills, and mutual aid efforts.

_Financial Support
Unemployment information for Arkansas can be found here.

Scholly Student Relief Fund.

_Freetalk Fridays
Starting Friday 3 April Donna Jones, Director of Recruitment and Outreach, will have open Zoom hours from 9:00 A.M. – 10:00 A.M.
3 April 2020 09:00 A.M. Central Time (US and Canada) until Friday, May 22nd, 2020:
Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/402772566
Meeting ID: 402 772 566
Students can also schedule Zoom appointments or phone appointments with Donna any other time throughout the week! Email donnas@uark.edu.

_Food
There is now an outpost of the Full Circle Food Pantry at the Ceramics Studio. A representative from the School of Art or Food Pantry will be there each day for several hours to help. All you need to do is come by the Ceramics Studio, 326 Eastern Ave. It will be open when hours are posted on social media and by email each day. Each bag of groceries supports 2 people. You can take more than one each day if you have more than 2 people.

_Campus Housing
Students who would like to petition can send an email to housing@uark.edu. You will need to include your name, ID number, and explanation of why you need to stay. Housing has a lot of information about what is happening right now at https://housing.uark.edu/live-here/coronavirus-covid-19-plan.php.
If you have had any trouble submitting your petition to stay on campus past 3 April, please reach out to donnas@uark.edu.

_Transit
Saturday Non-Peak Service is in effect beginning Thursday, March 19, at 1:00 P.M.. Razorback Transit will transition to our Saturday Non-peak schedules with limited frequency on the routes 13, 21, 33, 35, 44 and 48. Please check transit.uark.edu for updated schedules. This service will be available from approximately 7:00 A.M. – 6:00 P.M. Monday through Saturday following the 2019-2020 Days of Operation Calendar. Razorback Transit will be closed on all days that are labeled “No service.” This includes Friday, March 27 and Saturday, March 28, Spring Break week.
Because of the timing of the schedule change today, March 19, Razorback Transit will have staff available until 11 pm for on-demand transportation from designated bus stops to designated bus stops for any passenger that calls in a request to our 479-575 RIDE(7433) line.
To follow social distancing recommendations Razorback Transit will be implementing a rear door service policy. Ambulatory passengers will use the rear door for boarding and exiting and need to sit in the back half of the bus. Passengers that need to use the ADA ramp to access the bus or with limited mobility will be permitted to use the front door and should be seated in the front half of the bus. We ask the public to choose seats that permit as much social distancing as possible. Razorback Transit will monitor capacity levels and adjust resources as possible to accommodate service needs.

Printmaking Courses + PRES Lab Access

Until further notice, undergraduate and graduate student, faculty, and staff access to Printmaking facilities and equipment at the PRES lab is closed.

Wednesday 18 March 2020 4:45 P.M.: Letter from the Chancellor regarding campus updates to safeguard the University of Arkansas community. Access to PRES and Printmaking facilities are closed until further notice.

Monday 16 March 2020 5:00 P.M.: access to PRES and Printmaking facilities is closed to all students, faculty, and staff until classes resume on 30 March 2020. Access to PRES to retrieve personal items or projects will occur at a later time, date, and location.

Thursday 12 March 2020 5:00 P.M.: all in-person Printmaking courses will shift to alternative delivery methods. This is unprecedented and very new territory for us all to navigate, so please be patient with us as we are all working to develop new strategies for finishing up the semester. Please feel free to email your instructor at any time, and about anything.

Printmaking Courses

Printmaking faculty are rethinking the approach to instruction and restructuring courses in a way that reframes and expands the learning objectives while not placing an undue burden on you the student. This time asks us to be creative and find new ways to preserve the sense of community that we have developed in the lab and in our classes.

In terms of concrete alterations to our classes, this will mean that our original mandate to engage directing with print media in a more traditional and media-specific sense will be broadened to incorporate other methods.

Classes are transitioning to remote classrooms. This is different from an online class where content is accessible 24/7. You will continue to meet as a group during your posted class times per the University course catalog. Class time will be used for group hangouts, feedback sessions, resource sharing, presentations, and scheduled calls with individual students.

We will meet for class remotely via Cisco Webex. Additionally, we are setting up a Slack community so all may keep in touch, and potentially across classes. You will need to use the web browser version or download Slack and Cisco Webex apps for desktop, tablet, or phone.

We are aware that you are likely receiving a lot of information from many people/faculty, so we are trying to be mindful/flexible as we all adapt to this new situation.

Other School of Art Lab Access

Non-essential lab access is closed until further notice. This includes the School of Art wood shop, metal shop, AT2D, and AT3D.

Digital Tools + Software + Hardware

_Communication
Classes will communicate via Slack community, Skype for Business, and Cisco Webex. Please download any desktop, tablet, or phone app for all, as desired.

Slack will be used for ongoing communication for classes and community.
Skype for Business will be used for office hours with faculty. To add your instructor or others, go to Contacts and Search for Contacts to add.
Cisco Webex will be used for class meetings.

In an effort to minimize the stress of everyone checking and catching up with e-mail, please use the class Slack channel to share and discuss with others. You can also direct message your faculty or classmates there if needed. Please check in with your instructor via Skype for Business during their virtual office hours.

_Software + Digital Tools
The University of Arkansas Fulbright IT and UITS are working to provide access to a number of essential software and digital tools for classes.
To access a number of Adobe CC software, you can access them through the Remote Lab Virtual Desktop via VMware Horizon.
Instructions:
_Install the VMware Horizon Client. This application is required for launching virtual desktops and apps.
_Open your web browser and log into apps.uark.edu with your UARK username and password.
_Click the Catalog tab to see all of your options.

_Software + Digital Tool Alternatives
In the event that you do not have access to the above VMware Horizon option or do not have access to Adobe CC, the following are free/open source and can be used to maintain your studio practice and classwork.
GIMP [Photoshop, desktop]
Krita [Photoshop, desktop]
Photopea [Photoshop, browser]
Inkscape [Illustrator, desktop]
Vectornator [Illustrator, tablet]
Scribus [InDesign, desktop]

_Hardware
We understand there are some School of Art students in need of MacBook’s or iPad’s to be able to function in an online classroom. The school has taken measures to have their own checkout process as we do have availability and we understand the high volume of requests the University is receiving.

For students to check out a MacBook or iPad:
_Email Lea Sutherland (lcsuther@uark.edu) and Donna Jones (donnas@uark.edu) with the request and set a pick-up date and time
_Pick-up location is in the Fine Arts Center, Room 103
_Students will need to sign a standard digital equipment registration agreement
_All equipment is due back to the School of Art by May 8

Internally we are taking precautions as we plan for students to pick up needed equipment by:
_Staggering pick-up times to ensure limited to no lines
_Pick-up area will be sanitized in between pick-up’s
_All equipment that is being handed out has been sanitized
_There will be no handshakes or physical contact between students and staff

We are here to help make this process as easy as possible. If there is anything else we can do to assist you during this time, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

From the Chancellor: 18 March 2020

Dear University of Arkansas Community,

While no members of the University of Arkansas community have been diagnosed with COVID-19, you may be aware that the first presumptive positive case has been confirmed in Northwest Arkansas. Our primary concern is to reduce the spread of the virus while continuing to serve our campus community to the best of our abilities.

Many students are already in the process of leaving campus for spring break, which begins this weekend. Others, especially our international students, may not have appropriate alternative options. We will continue to make housing available to these students.

Some faculty and staff are already working remotely after our recent transition to an online method of class delivery for the remainder of the semester.

We are now moving forward with additional steps to protect our campus community:

While online course instruction will continue, all on-site campus events are canceled until further notice.

All university operations and activities – other than essential operations – should be shifted to online or other remote means to the maximum extent possible, effective immediately.

Certain limited university operations that need to occur on-campus, including public safety, health, dining and transit, will continue at this time. In these spaces and everywhere, we must adhere to social distancing and other preventive measures at all times. University staff and contractors will continue to tirelessly work to keep surfaces clean and disinfected.

Due to the emergency caused by the outbreak, students with active housing contracts will not be able to return to the residence halls, apartments, or Greek houses managed by University Housing after Friday, April 3. Students may petition for an exception with University Housing for reasons including personal safety, access to Internet, no other available housing, academic distress or other legitimate reasons. University Housing will provide additional information directly to impacted students. More detailed information is available at housing.uark.edu/coronavirus.

Some computer labs will be closed from 5 p.m. Friday, March 20, through March 29, the end of spring break. Information about open labs will be added soon to the university’s Coronavirus Update site.

Pat Walker Health Center remains open. If you experience symptoms common to COVID-19, immediately call your medical provider or the health center at 479-575-4451. Please call before showing up at the health center or at any other health care facility. This will ensure your provider can take special measures to protect other people in the clinic.

Deans may only authorize the continuation of essential research if the principles of social distancing are strictly adhered to (in cases where research may involve more than one individual). For additional details from Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation Dan Sui, please read his letter to campus.

For employees, the university is implementing the updated campus policy 409.5 Acute Communicable Illnesses: Protective Measures and Leave Procedures in the Event of Outbreak with some modifications included below.

Beginning Thursday, March 19, employees will work remotely or from-home unless directed otherwise by their supervisor until further notice. All employees will continue to be paid. Employees are designated – by supervisors – into the following three categories:

Working remotely/work-from-home: The vast majority of university employees are directed to conduct work from home or other remote means off campus unless otherwise directed by their supervisor.
- Remote work assignments during this declared emergency situation may include regular job duties, online training, alternative duty assignments or similar arrangements. Further, if potentially beneficial, alternate schedules or flexible hours should be considered.
- Employees working from home may only use equipment necessary for this purpose and that has been specifically approved by supervisors.

On-Site Mandatory: A limited number of employees who are considered on-site mandatory employees will be asked to work on campus in either a full-time or part-time capacity in order to continue essential services including housing, transit, health care, utilities, IT operation, public safety, care of animals, etc.
- These are employees whose presence on-site is necessary to carrying out authorized University operations.
Available: A very limited number of employees who are unable to work remotely and do not have job responsibilities pertaining to essential operations (on-site mandatory roles) will be classified as “available” to assist as needed.
- Supervisors must consult with and obtain approval by Human Resources prior to designating employees in this category.
- The University plans to continue paying federally funded work-study students for the hours they are scheduled to work for the remainder of the semester.

Please consult with your supervisor if you have any questions, concerns or would just like to confirm your designation and immediate next steps.

While we will continue to keep you updated across a range of platforms, I want to remind you that the best source for the latest news and information is our Coronavirus Update site.

Please remain vigilant for any signs and symptoms of illness. In the absence of symptoms, continue taking preventive measures like social distancing. Mostly I want to encourage you to be patient, be careful, and be empathetic to others who may be dealing with this virus and the difficulties it brings.

In the weeks and months ahead, your compassion and understanding will be remembered and appreciated as we work through this challenging period.

For now, please stay safe and use caution.

Sincerely,

Joe Steinmetz, Ph.D.
Chancellor

From the Chancellor: 12 March 2020
University Suspends In-Person Classes, Will Begin All-Online Course Delivery Starting March 16th

Dear University of Arkansas Community,

Your health is our top priority. While no members of the university community have been diagnosed with COVID-19, we continue to prepare for that potential while working to complete the current academic semester.

With this in mind, we are suspending in-person classes effective immediately and will move to an all-online or other alternative method of course delivery starting Monday, March 16th and continuing through the remainder of the semester.

To be clear, this is not a closure. University operations continue. Housing, dining and other services continue to be provided. However, students may choose to return to their family residence for the remainder of the semester.
…
We should also all work to minimize unnecessary gatherings of groups of people on campus for the remainder of the semester. I understand that this move will create many challenges for us all. The coming weeks will require a great deal of flexibility and understanding as we all work through this together. Please remain supportive, respectful and empathetic to one another as we move forward.

And continue to practice preventive measures to protect yourself and others from the virus including practicing social distancing. Health, wellness and prevention information, FAQs, and the latest updates continue to be added to the university’s Coronavirus Update site:https://health.uark.edu/coronavirus/.

I appreciate all you do,