March 24 Message from Chancellor Rachel Solemsaas

/ 25 March 2020

Aloha mai kākou,

On Monday, March 23 Governor David Ige announced a stay-at-home proclamation to take effect on March 25, 2020 at 12:01 a.m. While the emergency orders include exemptions for government employees and/or employees of educational institutions, Hawaii CC and UH are continuing our efforts to reduce the number of people on our campuses and increase social distancing.

We want all employees who can work from home to do so while ensuring that we continue critical activities and meet the needs of our students urgently striving to complete the semester. As always, this may change so we appreciate your patience.

Based on the new order and our goals of both safety and meeting the educational needs of our students, starting on Wednesday, March 25, Hawaii Community College’s physical campuses will only be open for:

Services essential to online delivery of classes;
Tasks that need to be done to fulfill compliance obligations;
Services related to registration for summer and fall classes. (UH is reviewing registration deadlines, and as those change we can re-evaluate).

Again, all employees are encouraged to work from home if they can.

Employees whose jobs fall into the above categories, but who can’t work from home, should work with their supervisors to establish plans to come to campus to perform their duties while managing social distancing.

If your position does not fall into the above categories and you cannot work from home, please know that the university is now working to add COVID-19 related leave code in the UH online leave system. As we hear more guidance, we will let your supervisors know.

In all cases, you must work closely with your supervisor, and if you are unclear, please ask your supervisor. There are many different situations and no one answer that will resolve all questions.

Work From Home Documents

Employees who can work from home should, if they have not already, processed a Work From Home Request and Agreement (“Request”) (PDF) form along with an informal written description of the duties he or she is able to perform from home—via email or other documentation. Employees may start to work remotely immediately upon approval of their request and the employee and supervisor must formalize a more detailed work plan (PDF) (template) within 5 working days.

Mahalo again for your patience as we work through this challenging situation.

Chancellor Rachel Solemsaas