May 25, 2021
These past 14 months have been challenging for everyone at UCF and beyond. We sincerely appreciate your innovative, high-quality work and Charge On spirit during the pandemic, and we are thankful for how you have supported our students and upheld our core mission of teaching, research and service. We appreciate you and are grateful you are at UCF.
Thanks to you, our remarkable culture of innovation, collaboration and inclusiveness drives our success, and we must continue to prioritize building and enhancing that culture.
Starting June 23, UCF will begin operating more aligned with the way we did before the pandemic. This date is a few days before the start of Summer B, when we will be further expanding in-person activities, and well in advance of our normal mix of in-person and online classes this fall. Specifically, we expect all staff members either to return to their pre-COVID schedules and on-campus workspaces by June 23, or by then have in place an approved alternative work arrangement that follows UCF’s Remote Work Arrangement Policy.
We are still learning lessons about working virtually, and we know that flexibility and remote work can help our employees achieve better work-life balance. However, decisions about remote work arrangements must consider the effectiveness of the individual to perform their work assignments remotely and the impact it has on their team and the institution.
It is critical for our students that we are prepared to welcome them back and provide the in-person services that contribute so much to their success. Full staffing also will facilitate our expansion of classroom capacities.
Our instructors, lecturers, assistant and associate professors and professors will return to pre-COVID schedules beginning in Summer B if they are teaching a face-to-face course during that term or August 8 if they are teaching in the fall.
To assist supervisors and employees with conversations about returning to campus, UCF’s expectation is that remote work arrangements should be at most two days remote and most often only 20 percent of a week. Full-time remote work will be approved only in rare situations.
Not all employees will have the opportunity to work remotely given their roles and responsibilities, including the need for on-campus, in-person interactions. Any such arrangements require the approval of an employee’s dean, director or department head.
We recognize the value of some of our virtual services, and flexibility may mean flexible hours and workdays to support our students and faculty better by continuing to offer them. Offices should individually assess whether offering later hours, additional days or expanded virtual services will better support our campus community.
We encourage supervisors and managers and their employees to have direct conversations about what this means for them and their areas. For more information about remote working arrangements, frequently asked questions and resources to support supervisors, visit HR’s website.
We all thank you for all you do to support our students and faculty, one another and our core mission. Together we will make UCF an even better version of itself and become the world’s top metropolitan research university.
Alexander N. Cartwright, Ph.D.
President
Michael D. Johnson, Ph.D.
Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
and Members of Cabinet