Updates as SJSU Begins Spring Break

Sent: March 30, 2020
From: San Jose State University

SJSU campus community,

With spring break beginning today, consider where you may be planning to travel, whether it is in the U.S. or abroad. Not only is it important to keep yourself and your family safe, but we also have a social responsibility to engage in practices that can help flatten the curve of COVID-19. We wish you a safe and healthy week. 

SJSU also has updates that pertain to employee options given the extension of K-12 school closures until May 1 and events for the rest of the spring semester.

Employee Options Given School Closures

Although the Santa Clara County shelter-in-place order is currently set to lift on April 7, six counties have informed students and their families that K-12 public schools will remain closed until May 1. If there are changes to the shelter-in-place order, we will advise employees of options that are available to them depending on the nature of those changes.

The Chancellor’s Office has enacted an administrative leave program, effective March 23, providing 128 hours of leave to all benefits-eligible employees (not including auxiliary employees) and all student employees. For those with childcare responsibilities, this leave can be applied when an employee is required to be at home with a child or dependent, and it is not operationally feasible for the employee to work remotely or in conjunction with the childcare commitment.

Events

Events scheduled for April and May have been canceled. The only exceptions are events that were previously postponed or have moved fully online, like Admitted Spartan Day. In addition, Hammer Theater will continue to live stream some of their events, while others have been canceled.

As the month of March comes to a close, here are a few reminders regarding support for remote work, paychecks, Zoom-bombing and facilities closure.

Support for Remote Work

Telecommuting employees are responsible for their home workspaces and services. The computer lab on the first floor of Clark Hall is closed until further notice. To facilitate working remotely, employees may borrow laptops and peripherals from SJSU IT. More information is available at SJSU Work Anywhere.

To borrow SJSU property directly from departments, employees must complete the Property Checkout Form [pdf] and receive authorization from the department/unit manager. Any requests for purchases would need to be approved by the department and follow the Office of Procurement purchasing guide before purchasing. 

Before making any purchases for equipment related to remote teaching and learning, faculty must have approval from the dean's office or division VP.

Paychecks

A reminder that March (live) paychecks will be available for pick up on Wednesday, April 1. Employees with direct deposit will continue to receive their pay as scheduled. For those who do not have direct deposit, University Personnel South (UPD Building/3rd Floor) will be open daily (Monday through Friday) from 9:00-10:00 a.m. for employees who wish to pick up their live paychecks. Employees must bring a photo ID and may only pick up their own check. To avoid delays in pay, we strongly encourage signing up for direct deposit. For any questions about live paychecks, please call 408-924-2250.

Zoom-bombing

As mentioned in a March 27 message to campus, “Zoom-bombing” has become a new trolling attack in the wake of a switch to teaching, learning and working remotely. In response to complaints about Zoom-bombing, Zoom recently changed the default setting of scheduled Zoom meetings for educational customers. Zoom changed the default screen sharing setting from “All Participants” to “Host Only.” People hosting the meetings (including existing scheduled meetings) may always, within their meeting, grant any or all attendees sharing rights after the meeting has started or override the default when scheduling by clicking the “All Participants” button.  

Zoom has provided documentation on how the change works and what it means for you. 

Facilities Closure

Student Union

The Diaz Compean Student Union will be closed during Spring Break (March 30-April 3) and will reopen April 6. Due to the closure, the Spartan Food Pantry will also be closed this week.

Clark Hall Computer Lab

The Clark Hall computer lab will be closed until further notice.

As a reminder, please continue to visit the SJSU Health Advisories website for information, advisories, FAQs, and resources regarding COVID-19.