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Update corona measures start of the academic year
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Dear colleagues and students,
Recently, both the government and UM have issued a great deal of information on how education will be organised in the new academic year. Although there are guidelines in place, this does not automatically mean everything is straightforward. We would therefore like to explain once again the rationale behind the current measures. We have also outlined the rules in the event that someone with symptoms appears on campus, and we will let you know what the measures are regarding research and events. Finally, we leave you with some additional practical information.
What are the current rules on social distancing and facemasks?
In our lives outside UM, the 1.5 metre rule still applies, and we only wear facemasks on public transport. For higher education, the government has decided to relax the 1.5 metre rule, but you must wear a facemask when moving around in our buildings. We can imagine that this may be confusing. Why one set of rules at UM and different rules at the supermarket? The answer is that the government is—by way of exception—relaxing the 1.5 metre rule for students on the grounds that after 18 months it has become an absolute necessity for them to be able to move around on campus again, follow face-to-face education and have social contact. This means we now have the freedom to deliver education entirely on campus again.
But with this freedom, the government requires us to pay close attention to potential risks. To ensure that students and lecturers can come together on campus safely (and continue to do so), we will have to wear masks when moving around and ensure that the appropriate hygiene measures, ventilation and walking routes are in place. In addition, there will be a maximum group size of 75 students per room. As of 20 September, exams are an exception to this rule: no maximum group size, as long as the 1.5 metre rule can be adhered to.
Incidentally facemasks mandatory when seated There may be circumstances in which you have to wear a facemask while seated (in some cases a medical facemask). For example, if a tutor explicitly requests it for medical reasons, or if insufficient distance can be maintained between tutor and students, a facemask may be mandatory in certain educational setups. Also when working with test subjects, facemasks may be mandatory for a specific part of your education or research.
Are certain problems preventing you from coming to campus? As a student, you can contact your study adviser. As an employee, please get in touch with your manager or the company doctor.
Teaching staff on campus, while others continue to work from home?
Why one group and not the other? The return of our students to campus means that our teaching staff need to be here too—without them, there can be no education. But the exception that the government is making for higher education applies only to academic and support staff with education-related duties. Colleagues who are not directly involved in the education process will, as advised by the government, continue to work from home. If you are not involved in education but your presence on campus is nonetheless necessary, please discuss this with your manager.
What about researchers?
Employees whose research has to be done on site were already permitted to be on campus. The previous agreements about this remain unchanged.
What if someone on campus displays cold symptoms?
We understand that some of you may have qualms about returning to campus. As previously communicated, employees can discuss any concerns with their manager or the company doctor; students can turn to their study adviser. To make the campus as safe as possible, we have drawn up guidelines to help employees deal with people who are present on campus with common cold symptoms. First and foremost, we appeal to everybody’s personal responsibility by asking staff and students who come to campus to do the health check, self-test twice a week and follow the hygiene measures.
But what if someone does show up coughing or sniffling in a tutorial group or study room? What do you do if they say they have been vaccinated, or have a chronic condition with similar symptoms? Should you ask them to leave the campus? Employees will receive advice on such situations from their own unit. For students who encounter this problem, please report to your lecturer or study adviser.
What does all this mean for on campus meetings and events, and catering?
In the most up-to-date version of the so-called Service Document (Dutch only) the government uses a maximum group size of 75 for all on campus meetings and events (with the exception of exams, see above).
The guidelines for catering within UM buildings are as follows:
- For takeaway locations, there is no maximum number of visitors
- Cafeterias are subject to a maximum of 75 people per room, with fixed seating
- Catering may be provided at meetings with fixed seating. The same rules apply as for education
- All other occasions (e.g. drinks, receptions, dinners, conferences) may only be held in UM buildings (and therefore have catering) if there is fixed seating and the 1.5 metre rule is observed. Upon entry of guests, the caterer must perform a health check. These measures are in accordance with the hospitality guidelines
- Entertainment is prohibited in all cases
Finally
More study places available
From Monday 30 August, the University Library will open more study places, taking into account the safety requirements. In total, more than 2,200 study places will be available on the UM campus.
Approximately 50% of the study places in the inner city library and 20% in the Randwyck library can be reserved. No reservation is needed for the other study places, or for the Paul-Henri Spaak learning spaces, UM SPORTS, the Tapijn site and Tapijn Loods V. Don’t forget to bring your UMcard to gain access to the locations. View the opening hours and the University Library FAQs for more information. And remember to wear a facemask when you enter and move around the building. You can take it off again once you are seated.
Online workshop for employees: ‘Back to the new normal’ If you need support in returning to campus or would like to prepare for the new hybrid form of working for the longer term, you can join the short online workshop ‘Back to the new normal’ offered by the Staff Career Centre in collaboration with HumanCapitalCare. There are three variants: for managers (1 hour), for entire teams (1.5 hours), and (from the autumn) on the basis of open registration. Managers who would like to participate can send an email to staffcareercentre@maastrichtuniversity.nl. Employees can contact their manager to discuss whether they should register with their entire team or individually via the open registration.
UM parking spaces accessible with UMcard from 6 September
The barriers of the UM car parks are currently open. As of the start of the new academic year (6 September), the usual admission rules will apply once more. This means the car parks will only be accessible with a UMcard for employees with parking rights. You can read more here, including about applying for parking rights.
Facemasks still available at receptions Forgotten your facemask? For the time being, you can obtain one from the receptions of the UM buildings.
Questions? Do you have Covid-related questions? Please visit the website or ask your manager. If you cannot find the answer to your question, send an email to the UM contact point: corona@maastrichtuniversity.nl
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