Department of Music COVID-19 Updates

Update from the University, May 21, 2020:

The first day of classes for the fall semester will be on Aug. 10, and final exams will be completed by Nov. 24. Students will not return to campus after the Thanksgiving holiday. Plans for New Student Convocation (Aug. 9) and Winter Commencement will be announced at a later date. The University will observe Labor Day (Sep. 7) and University Day (Oct. 12), but will eliminate fall break (Oct. 15-16) this year. More information is available in a recent campus message.

From the Department of Music:

Our faculty and staff are working diligently to devise safe and meaningful educational experiences for all of our music students this fall. These plans are still in progress, but we will update you as soon as possible. Stay safe and stay healthy, Tar Heels.

Update from the University, April 2, 2020:

To continue to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and keep our campus safe, all summer 2020 courses be delivered only through remote instruction. Read the full announcement here.

Update from the University, March 20, 2020:

Spring Commencement and doctoral hooding has been postponed. Members of the Class of 2020 will be surveyed about alternative dates and other options.

Update from the University, March 17, 2020:

Dear Carolina Community,

As COVID-19 continues to spread across our country, we are seeing a dramatic shift in the way we are conducting daily life in order to slow the spread of the virus. The situation is evolving quickly, and today the UNC System instructed all System institutions, including UNC-Chapel Hill, to significantly reduce all operations on our campus. Protecting the health, safety and well-being of our campus community is our first priority; and secondly, we need to provide the best possible student experience that we can under the circumstances.

Below are changes that will affect all UNC-Chapel Hill students, faculty and staff, so please read this email thoroughly.

Following the UNC System directive to significantly reduce campus operations and services, many of Carolina’s buildings will be closed and in-person, non-essential services will be suspended effective 5 p.m. Friday, March 20.

Exceptions will be made for a small number of emergency staff, administrators and researchers, as well as for students who are granted special circumstances waivers to remain in campus residence halls.

Information for Students

Residence halls are closing to the majority of students

• Carolina’s residence halls and Granville Towers will be closed to all residents for the rest of the academic year, with few exceptions.
• For students currently on campus, we are encouraging you to begin moving out as soon as possible, but no later than Saturday, March 21, by 5 p.m.
• A schedule for those currently away from campus who need to complete their move out will be made available soon. Guidance will come to residents directly from Campus Housing.
• Those who need to remain due to special circumstances will be able to apply for a waiver.
  • Waivers will only be granted to those residents who complete an appropriate health screening and clearly establish that no other practical alternative is available.
  • Please fill out this survey to request a special circumstances waiver.
• All other students should remain at or return to their permanent off-campus residence.
• Counseling and Psychological Services will continue to be available for students via the CAPS 24/7 line at 919-966-3658. A mental health professional will work with you to determine if an in-person or remote appointment is needed.

Carolina Dining Services will be limited to take out

• Campus residential dining operations will be reduced to limited locations and will only offer takeout meals to the limited number of residents granted special circumstances waivers.

Accommodations are available for remaining students to quarantine and isolate

• The University will make accommodations for the quarantine and isolation of remaining students if directed by a healthcare provider. This will be made available only for remaining residential students who have been granted a waiver to live on campus or students who live off-campus and use Campus Health as their primary healthcare provider.
• Carolina will make provisions for handling the quarantine and/or isolation should the need arise.

Campus Health will remain open

• Campus Health will remain open for limited services. Call 919-966-2281 before going to the office in person.
• Facilities that support the academic and recreational pursuits of our students, faculty and staff will be closed, including the UNC Libraries (online consultation and services available), Campus Recreation, Carolina Union, Student Stores (extremely limited operations), classroom buildings, etc.

Remote instruction will commence, as planned, on March 23

• Faculty will confirm details for specific course remote instruction. If you have questions regarding specific course instruction, please contact your instructor.
• As part of the remote instruction commencing March 23, labs associated with coursework will no longer meet in person. Faculty will send students guidance on how that instruction will be delivered.

Decisions on refunds will be made by the UNC System

• Any decisions regarding potential refunds for housing or dining fees will be made by the UNC System after April 1, or after the universities are beyond the immediate challenges being faced regarding the spread of COVID-19.
• We will share more with you when we receive that guidance from the UNC System.

Information for Faculty

While there is still work to be done this week, we currently estimate that 95% of our courses will be ready to be taught remotely starting Monday, March 23.

• Faculty are encouraged to deliver this remote instruction from off campus, if at all possible.
• If you are concerned about adapting your lab or course to remote instruction, please contact your dean for further guidance.
• While there has been no decision regarding a potential extension of the academic calendar, we are working with the UNC System and SACSCOC for guidance to ensure faculty retain discretion for their specific courses.

Information for Graduate Students and Post Docs

• For graduate students and post docs whose work can be conducted remotely, telework options should be implemented, and work should begin away from campus immediately. See the below Employee section for teleworking and leave guidance.
• The Graduate School will provide guidance for thesis and dissertations.

Information for Researchers

• The University plans to keep critical research operations (as determined by the Vice Chancellor for Research), labs and related facilities operational until further notice.
• Vice Chancellor for Research, Terry Magnuson, will follow up with additional guidance.

Information for Employees

• For this COVID-19 issue, the UNC System has changed the definition of mandatory employee to: employees who are directed by their supervisor to report to work, at a designated university worksite other than their personal residence, at specific dates and times. It is possible that an employee will have a portion of duties that are on campus and can fulfill the remainder of their duties remotely.
• Effective immediately and until further notice, only mandatory employees under this new definition who need to report to work on campus should do so. All non-mandatory employees – including temporary employees and student workers – will continue to be assigned work and will be expected to work remotely to the fullest extent possible.
• Supervisors are responsible for designating mandatory employees, and for assigning and tracking their non-mandatory employees’ remote work. To be clear, these changes do not remove employee’s responsibilities to complete their work assignments. Supervisors should work with HR Representatives to ensure mandatory employee designations are logged in the ConnectCarolina system.
• Mandatory and non-mandatory employees – including temporary employees and student workers – who cannot work remotely for either of the following reasons will receive paid administrative leave until March 31, 2020, for the period of time they are unavailable to work.
  • Because of childcare or eldercare needs due to COVID-19-related school and facility closings; or
  • Because their position duties cannot be performed remotely and no alternate remote work is available or feasible.
• This guidance, which is provided by the UNC System, is effective immediately through March 31, 2020 and will be revisited as the situation evolves. Further updates will be provided.
• Employees who are sick due to symptoms of a cold, flu, or COVID-19 or who are caring for a dependent with such symptoms will receive paid administrative leave for any time lost through March 31, 2020.
• More information about the new COVID-19 Leave Provisions, as well as additional guidance from the UNC System, is available on the Human Resources Website.

Campus Parking Guidance for Students, Faculty and Staff

• Beginning Wednesday, March 18, on-campus parking is available in parking lots throughout campus for mandatory employees and students reporting to work.
• To ensure access in the event of an emergency and to maintain specific campus services, parking is not available in fire lanes or in accessibility and reserved spaces without the appropriate credential.
• The Dogwood Deck and Ambulatory Care lot are expressly reserved for patients and visitors only. To accommodate the many health care providers with UNC Health and the School of Medicine, these employees will be directed to primarily utilize Craige, Dogwood, Jackson and S-11 decks due to the close proximity to the medical campus. With this information, please plan accordingly with daily shift changes.

Information regarding Commencement

We have not made a decision about our Spring Commencement ceremonies on May 10. We will be seeking input from our graduating seniors should we need to make a change to our current plans.

Carolina is, at its heart, its people

As we mentioned earlier, this is an unprecedented time for our campus. We realize this update presents challenges for everyone. This is not the Carolina experience we wanted for this semester, especially for our graduating seniors and graduate students.

We appreciate your patience and flexibility as we make decisions for the health, safety and well-being of our community. Please stay safe and make it a point to stay informed on a daily basis. We will provide updates on a regular basis.

Carolina is, at its heart, its people. So many of you have come together to help our campus through the last few weeks, and together – even if remotely – we will work through these challenges and continue to thrive.

Sincerely,
Kevin M. Guskiewicz
Chancellor

Robert A. Blouin
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost

Update from the department, March 13, 2020:

Dear Friends of UNC Music,

In order to minimize the health and safety risks of COVID-19 to our community and in accordance with the University’s recent decision to cancel all University-affiliated events of 50 or more people, we are canceling all remaining Spring 2020 events. Read the full University statement here.

We know this decision is disappointing and we do not make it lightly. We prioritize the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff, and community above all and appreciate your understanding during these extraordinary times. This is a rapidly evolving situation and we will strive to keep you updated to the best of our ability. For the latest updates from the university, please visit unc.edu/coronavirus.

While we hope that some of these can be rescheduled, we know that many cannot. If you purchased a season pass and would like a refund for the events remaining on that pass, please email us at music@unc.edu.

The impact of COVID-19 and efforts to mitigate its spread will undoubtedly have financial effects on many of you, just as it will our department. We humbly ask that if you were planning to attend a ticketed event this spring, you consider a tax-deductible donation to the department instead. As many of you know, our Scholarship Benefit Concert series sales go towards department scholarships. Our budget for these scholarships is going to be affected by these cancellations, and any donations will be of great help to current and future students.

Outside Groups
In agreement with our department event cancellations, we have canceled all outside group reservations during the same timeframe. This includes their rehearsals, concerts, and meetings. This does extend to our Community Music School, which will operate remotely as much as possible.

Facilities
While the university and department remain open and operational, we are reducing on-site operations as much as possible to help mitigate the risks of the virus. We are currently not accepting any room reservations prior to Commencement Sunday.

This reduction of on-site operations includes shutting down all practice rooms, beginning today. Again, the health and safety of everyone in our department is the most important thing at this time.

We recognize that many of you will have questions. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at music@unc.edu or (919)962-1039. In order to keep our staff safe and healthy, they will be working remotely for a large portion of their time, but the voicemail for (919)962-1039 will be regularly monitored.

While our events have been canceled, classes will go on remotely and we plan to keep these biweekly newsletters running. We’ll be sharing the ongoing research and music-making with you and highlighting past performances and projects. We hope you will keep reading!

We thank you, as always, for your support of music at Carolina. Our students, faculty, and staff work hard every day to bring music into our community and you play a big role in the life of our department. We hope to see you again very soon.

Stay safe and healthy,

Allen Anderson, Professor and Chair

For the latest University updates, please visit unc.edu/coronavirus.