City of Fresno's "shelter-in-place" Order

March 18, 2020

Dear Campus Community:

As you may know, the Fresno City Council, today (March 18) urged City of Fresno residents to shelter in place to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, COVID-19. The announcement, which takes effect at 12:01 a.m., Thursday, March 19, asks people to remain in their homes and away from others as much as possible through March 31, though it may be extended. The announcement allows for certain essential services to continue, such as doctor’s appointments, picking up medications, grocery shopping or going to work.

The implementation of these shelter-in-place orders will lead to some additional impacts at Fresno State. As you know from the actions we have taken already, we strongly support efforts to slow the spread of infection by increasing social distancing and minimizing gatherings of people.

The immediate impacts for our Fresno State community are detailed below.

STUDENTS

Student residents (i.e. those who live on campus) are strongly encouraged to return home as soon as possible, and housing staff will facilitate the quick and orderly departure of students from campus housing. As communicated previously, students who leave will receive a pro-rated refund for housing and meal plans. For students who do not have another primary home, they may remain in Student Housing while adhering to social distancing requirements. Please reach out to the Student Housing Office with questions: housing@csufresno.edu.

Virtual instruction for classes will continue as planned, beginning Friday, March 20, and continuing throughout the spring semester, ending May 22, 2020. For more information, including preparing for virtual instruction, see yesterday’s campus announcement.

EMPLOYEES

All managers and staff who have been approved to work remotely should do so at this time, or until the “shelter in place” is lifted. For guidance on telecommuting, please see this Technology Services website, or contact your supervisor for further instructions.

While many job responsibilities lend themselves to working from home, other work must be performed physically on campus. Therefore, a limited number of employees will remain on campus in order to provide essential services. The following areas have been identified as essential functions to support virtual instruction, student support and critical campus operations: Admissions and Enrollment Management, Auxiliary Services, Center for Faculty Excellence, College/School Offices (e.g. academic advisers), Dining Services, Environmental Health and Safety, Facilities Management, Faculty Affairs, Farm Laboratory enterprises, Financial Services (including student accounts), Human Resources & Payroll, Library (limited services to support virtual instruction), Public Safety, Student Health and Counseling Center, Student Housing, Student Services (e.g. Financial Aid, Student Cupboard, Services for Students with Disabilities, Registrar and advisers), Technology Services and University Communications. For more details, please click here.

We will continue to assess what essential services require an on-campus presence, and managers will be in contact with employees as additional information becomes available.

Our campus will continue to operate on a limited basis, and most University buildings will be closed and accessible only to those with Fresno State ID card access or a building key. If you will be working on campus, please remember to keep your Fresno State ID card with you at all times. All emergency personnel will remain in place to maintain a safe campus community.

We will continue sending regular updates to keep you informed, but please check your email and the University’s coronavirus website regularly for updates and refer to the FAQs section for guidance.

This is an unprecedented time in our nation’s and our University’s history, and, together, we will work through it as one Fresno State family. The health and safety of our students, staff and faculty remains our main focus, and we will do our best to support you in any way we can.

Sincerely,
President Castro