Month: July 2020

August 26 Update:

With several school districts, including Dallas ISD, recently moving to extend on-line virtual ONLY learning until later in the year, we wanted to provide an update on options for employees as you navigate the ever-changing environment created by the pandemic. SMU will continue to offer flexibility and options to support parents with some slight adjustments to what had been communicated earlier this month.

Here are the options available.

1. If the K-12 school district your child attends is offering only online learning for an extended period of time, please work with your supervisor to craft a feasible telecommuting option, if possible, considering your job responsibilities.
2. If your school district offers/will offer both in-person and online learning, and you choose to remain home with your children during all or part of your normal working hours to support online learning, you may:
   • use vacation time
   • choose to take part or full time leave un the Working Family Leave option.

Working Family Leave offers employees either full- or part-time unpaid administrative leave through December 2020 to cover your time away from work:

• Your position will be held for you during this time.
• You’ll maintain current SMU medical and dental plans with SMU covering the full expense.
• For part-time leave, employees must work a minimum of 20 or more hours per week on campus, but schedules may be flexible to allow for work hours before 8:30 a.m. and after 5 p.m.
• Current vacation balances can be applied before the unpaid leave goes into effect, if you choose.
• Vacation and sick-leave hours will not accrue during an unpaid full leave. Vacation and sick-leave hours will accrue at a prorated amount for those on unpaid part-time leave.
• Approval from the appropriate vice president or dean will be necessary for all telecommuting and unpaid leave options.
• To start the process, fill out this form. For more information please contact returntowork@smu.edu.

Please discuss these options with your supervisor at each stage as you decide the best solution for your child’s health and education. SMU will continue to review and respond to the changes that affect our employees and their families during this pandemic.

Posted July 24, 2020:

Dear SMU staff,

We understand the difficult choices that parents face during these uncertain times – in particular as you attempt both to care for your children and fulfill your professional responsibilities. We want to support you in addressing the challenge of providing child care when schools are closed or operating only online because of the decisions of local authorities during the pandemic. School districts with children of SMU employees have reached different decisions. For example, K-12 public and private schools within Dallas County will not be allowed to hold in-person classes until after September 7, and schoolchildren in Tarrant County will not be returning for in-person classes until September 28.

Under these exceptional circumstances while K-12 is required to be online or experiencing a delayed start for in-person instruction, please work with your supervisor to craft a feasible telecommuting option if that is possible considering your job responsibilities.

We realize that even when K-12 schools in your child’s school district open again for full-time, in-person instruction, some parents might choose to keep their children at home. If your choice at that time is to remain home with your children during all or part of your normal working hours, you may use vacation time or take unpaid leave to cover the time away from work while also retaining benefits. Available options include either full- or part-time unpaid administrative leave. Employees may take such leave through December 2020, and your position will be held for you during this time. For part-time leave, it is expected that employees work a minimum of 20 or more hours per week on campus, but schedules may be flexible to allow for work hours before 8:30 a.m. and after 5 p.m.

Current vacation balances can be applied before the unpaid leave goes into effect, if you choose. Vacation and sick-leave hours will not accrue during an unpaid full leave. Vacation and sick-leave hours will accrue at a prorated amount for those on unpaid part-time leave. While on full- or part-time leave to accommodate your child’s remote learning, employees currently on the SMU medical and dental plans may retain their current benefits with SMU covering the full expense. 

Please discuss these options with your supervisor at each stage in deciding the best solution for your child’s health and education. As local authorities issue or amend orders, the fluidity of this situation dictates that these arrangements be reconsidered each month to ensure they meet both your family’s needs and the needs of SMU in supporting our students. Approval from the appropriate vice president or dean will be necessary for all telecommuting and unpaid leave options. To start the process, fill out this form. For more information please contact returntowork@smu.edu.

Dear SMU Community,

It cannot be said too often that the health and well-being of our faculty and staff are of vital importance to me and to the University we serve. We value your work, your sense of mission, and the individual talents you bring to the table. As we complete the first cycle of staff telecommuting arrangements, SMU remains committed to adjusting our campus operations, as needed, to meet the changing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and to best support our community.  To reflect the most current guidance from the CDC and the State of Texas, the University is revising and expanding its guidelines for flexible work arrangements. Please access the new information here.

I want to thank you again for the careful and supportive way you have helped SMU prepare for the resumption of on-campus instruction this summer and fall, working with us to follow evolving CDC guidelines and governmental instructions.  While a relatively modest number of students will join us on campus in July, we have every indication that our students are eager to return to campus in the fall. Our planning reflects the energy our students are sharing, with the understanding that we may need to adapt to future changing conditions.

I also want to thank the University community for engaging in meaningful dialogue to help members of the President’s Executive Council refine our processes. It is our goal to be prepared for a strong, well-attended fall semester beginning in August.

I am proud of the SMU family and look forward to our continuing work together as we meet these extraordinary challenges.

Sincerely,

R. Gerald Turner

President