Kansas State University

Dear K-State Employees:

The COVID-19 situation continues to evolve quickly and a national emergency has been declared. On Saturday the university began to significantly reduce operations on all campuses in order to protect our faculty, staff, students, and communities. You should have already received an email alerting you to new restrictions, including for travel and in-person meetings.

Kansas State University is moving to a limited operations status for all campuses, effective Monday, March 16. Details on how this will be implemented are still being worked out. Please use your supervisor as the first source for information on reporting to work on Monday. All employees (including student employees) will continue to get paid at regular rates during this emergency period. 

We will follow the principles of social distancing and limit person-to-person contact as much as possible. Research shows this is one of the most effective ways to mitigate the effects of this pandemic. We ask all employees for their cooperation and support in an unprecedented emergency situation.

Our priorities are to teach and advise students through the semester and spring graduation, continue to recruit and enroll students for the next academic year, and conduct limited mission-critical research and engagement. 

In the next few days, we need to work together to understand how we will operate in this new environment. We must drastically reduce the number of employees on our campuses to help mitigate the spread of this virus. We need to identify those employees who must be physically on a campus to perform essential operations which cannot be done remotely. 

Effective immediately:

• The university will transition from in-person classes to remote teaching, with classes resuming through distance methods on March 23. Online classes continue as scheduled.
• All employees who are able to work remotely via telecommuting or other methods should do so as soon as possible. Your supervisor will help work through the details on this, including when to come to your workplace to get materials or equipment you may need. Those working remotely should follow guidelines for data security.

• All unit heads have been asked to identify mission-critical functions or services that require people to report to campus. Supervisors and department heads should notify and communicate with these employees early next week to let them know if they are expected to be physically present. In all situations, proper social distancing guidelines should be followed.

• All searches must be suspended, postponed, or completed remotely.

• If you are supported on a Teaching Assistantship, please check with your teaching supervisor about her/his needs to prepare the class for remote instruction. If you are a Graduate/Research Assistant, you should discuss remote work options with your graduate advisor or PI, discuss the issues with your Director of Graduate Studies, or consult with your department/lab’s administrators.

• You should continue to enter your time as usual, we will provide further instruction for this in the next few days.

Do not return to campus if:

• You are ill or have a chronic health condition that puts you at greater risk of the effects of COVID-19.
• You have traveled internationally or domestically to areas with outbreak or have potentially been exposed to someone with COVID-19. Please follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for self-quarantine for 14 days.

Our goal is to make this transition as quickly as possible, with the expectation that roles and responsibilities may change as the situation warrants. Please refer to our updated FAQ for the most recent guidance. 

Richard B. Myers
President