Schedule for Repurposed Flex Day & Classified Professional Development Day

Dear SMC Colleagues:

We have had a very busy start to the Spring 2020 semester. This communication serves as an update to the memo I sent yesterday, Sunday, March 8 (“Flex Day Update.”). To reiterate: Santa Monica College is repurposing tomorrow’s Institutional Flex Day and Classified Professional Development Day to allow us to participate in training and/or to plan in our respective departments and program areas for any eventuality with regard to a potential COVID-19 related closure.

Below are the options for training for each constituency group for Tuesday, March 10:

Faculty

To prepare for the possibility that you might have to move your instruction, counseling, or library services online, a series of workshops has been developed:

1. Review the workshop schedule

2. Register to attend any session that will be relevant and/or helpful to you.

Note that some of these workshops are in-person, while others are available via Zoom.

View the workshops schedule: “Flex Day Workshops for Instructional Continuity.”

Additional options for faculty:

• Work individually to migrate course content online

• Collaborate with members of your department on activities to plan for online delivery of course material or services

• Review online training material that has been made available in the Instructional Continuity Plan

IMPORTANT: Remember to log your chosen activities in the online Flex system available in mProfessor to receive credit for these hours.

Classified Employees

Classified staff should report to work as usual. The Classified Professional Development Committee is rescheduling the workshops that had been initially planned. Classified employees in those areas for which work could move online in the event instruction is moved entirely online or the campus is temporarily closed might find one of the trainings scheduled for faculty useful; please note, however, that classified professionals are requested to coordinate with your immediate supervisor regarding your participation in any training tomorrow.

Swing shift and night shift employees are welcome to participate in any relevant training. They should discuss with their supervisor how their time may be flexed to allow participation without incurring overtime.

Managers

Managers should support staff participation in trainings if appropriate for their respective areas. Tomorrow’s Classified Professional Development Day is being repurposed to allow areas across the college to develop contingency and business continuity plans. A business continuity plan template was sent to you from Michael Tuitasi, Vice President of Student Affairs earlier this afternoon. You will be receiving further updates regarding business continuity plans from the Emergency Operations Team later this week.

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Other March 10 Updates for All Employees

Food. Boxed meals—breakfast and lunch—will be available in the cafeteria for employees. Breakfast will be available 8 a.m. – 10 a.m.; lunch 12 noon – 2 p.m.

SMC’s senior administrators and the SMC Emergency Operations Team are working actively to follow recently released guidance from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and LA County Department of Public Health, and to update SMC plans, protocols, and procedures related to a possible local infectious disease outbreak. You will continually be updated with the latest and best information we receive. Please refer to SMC’s consolidated webpage: smc.edu/coronavirus for information, including FAQ, resources, and more. If there are questions and areas of concern not addressed in the FAQ on the webpage, contact your department chair or supervisor.

Please note that, at this moment, there is no cancellation of classes (including on-ground ones, on any SMC campus) and no reduction in campus operations. There are no confirmed cases at SMC at this time, and, per LA County Public Health, the risk is still considered low.

I appreciate your flexibility and cooperation in helping to make Flex Day and Classified Professional Development Day a beneficial and meaningful experience.

Kathryn E. Jeffery, Ph.D.
Superintendent/President