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Dear University community,

As we end a pivotal week, I’m so proud of the exceptional creativity and flexibility I’ve seen from faculty and staff who are adapting to the new environment in which we’re working. I appreciate the changes this has meant for your professional and personal lives, and I’m grateful for your contributions. Your efforts mean that we’re able to continue advancing student education and Missouri’s well-being. Thank you for your incredible work, even in these challenging and uncertain circumstances.

To meet the varied needs of faculty and staff, I want to remind you of the centralized resources you have available to you, not only for telework and online instruction support, but also for personal wellness and professional development. The resources detailed below are available systemwide and serve as a supplement to any existing or forthcoming resources provided by your university. Please make use of them and share them with your colleagues who may also need support.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a situation of unparalleled difficulty. However, I’m appreciative that despite our challenges, we can draw strength through our systemwide collaboration and coordination. I feel confident that we will emerge even stronger and more resilient.

Regular updates to the systemwide resources and COVID-19 updates can be found here: .

Sincerely,

Mun Y. Choi
UM System President

Human Resources policies, telework guides and tips
Access information about work continuity, telework and leave policies in the Working Through COVID-19 guide. The guide also contains telework tips for supervisors and employees.

Remote and online instruction resources
The provides resources for transitioning to remote and online instruction. are available for faculty and instructors, in addition to training and webinars. Check back to this site often for updates.

This week’s new updates include:

Alternative assessments
The provosts are encouraging faculty and instructors to move away from proctored exams during the remainder of this remote learning semester. There are a number of alternatives to in-class and live proctored quizzes and exams. More on these ideas is available at the section of the .

Proctorio available now
If you cannot move away from proctored exams for the remainder of the semester, Proctorio is now licensed systemwide as an automated option for proctoring. There are limitations for some, so please check out best practices for on the Keep Learning site to understand if this will work for your needs. *UMSL Faculty: Proctorio is available for use in your summer 2020 courses provided students have the option for taking the exam at an in-person testing facility and that your syllabus clearly outlines the technology and space requirements.

For daily tips and tricks for online instruction, follow .

Personal wellness
From having to rapidly flip a course online to adjusting to life in a (perhaps makeshift) home office, COVID-19 has required a lot of our employees. This isn't easy, and it's important in times like these to make sure you're taking stock of your well-being. These resources can be helpful to anyone, whether you're feeling overwhelmed or isolated or simply looking to be proactive about staying engaged and healthy. 

These include:

• , a free app subscription available for any student, faculty or staff member with a University email address. The app has tools to create a mental health roadmap and track the progress of a user’s journey.
• Free weekly Zoom sessions for mindfulness (.) and yoga (. and .) available to all faculty, staff and students.

In addition, the University’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offers free, confidential professional services to eligible employees and their dependents. University employees may schedule confidential EAP counseling/crisis intervention sessions via phone or video conference. This service is available to employees across the four universities, MU Health Care and UM Extension employees in association with the university in the areas where they live or work. For more information on EAP services, please visit their website.

Professional development
Training to enhance remote work productivity and build new skills is available through the Learning Recommendations webpage, which includes remote working learning programs, resources for technical skill enhancement, information on certifications in myLearn and more. The site also provides information on Success Factors that are part of staff performance evaluations. Now is a great time to review the Success Factors and dig into the myLearn recommendations for skill building.

Stay up-to-date
University leadership continues to actively monitor the outbreak of COVID-19 and work closely with public health officials to follow guidelines that will help protect our community. You can always find the latest information about specific precautions and how we are addressing COVID-19 concerns at MU, UMKC, Missouri S&T and UMSL by accessing our 2019 Novel Coronavirus landing page. You’re also encouraged to stay up-to-date with the latest recommendations from  and .