{"id":122055,"date":"2020-04-24T08:56:51","date_gmt":"2020-04-24T14:56:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=122055"},"modified":"2020-05-08T08:11:30","modified_gmt":"2020-05-08T14:11:30","slug":"virtual-town-hall-answers-covid-19-questions-from-campus-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=122055","title":{"rendered":"Virtual Town Hall answers COVID-19 questions from campus community"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Chancellor Reddy and campus leaders address questions from campus during the April 23 virtual Town Hall.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Chancellor Reddy and members of his Cabinet addressed faculty, staff and students at an Apr. 23 virtual Town Hall, the first that UCCS has held since it moved to remote operations on March 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his introductory remarks, Reddy thanked the UCCS community\nfor making the quick transition to remote teaching, learning and work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe live in a world full of digital and virtual tools. And\nour community has used this technology for something simple and profound:\nstaying connected with each other and taking care of each other,\u201d he said. \u201cIn\na difficult time \u2013 like the current crisis \u2013 our instinct has been to reach\ntowards each other and not away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA global pandemic couldn\u2019t stop our students from learning,\u201d\nhe continued. \u201cIt couldn\u2019t stop our faculty members from teaching and\nconducting research, and it couldn\u2019t stop our staff from showing up, day after\nday, virtually of course, to keep UCCS running.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reddy also outlined the results of financial scenario analysis\nhe and campus leadership have conducted to guard against the economic impact of\nthe COVID-19 pandemic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The analysis shows that UCCS could face a budget shortfall\nof more than $6 million by the end of the fiscal year. With Colorado\u2019s state revenue\nforecast anticipating a $3 billion shortage, several potential scenario\nanalyses take into account reduced funding from the state, lower enrollment\nnumbers in the summer and fall terms and different modes of academic class\ndelivery for the coming fiscal year. Reddy explained that although there are\nmany unknown factors yet to shape UCCS\u2019 financial standing, the impact of\nCOVID-19 on the university\u2019s budget could exceed the 2019\u201020 budget deficit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reddy then shared tools that the university is using to stabilize the budget as well as anticipated windfalls. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act recently established a higher education emergency relief fund which will provide UCCS with $4 million in emergency aid for students and another $4 million to reimburse institutional expenses related to COVID-19. Departments have minimized expenses, all university-sponsored travel has been halted and, as it begins a hiring chill, the university will only fill mission-critical positions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Provost Tom Christensen, interim vice chancellor for student success Carlos Garcia and vice chancellor for administration and finance Chuck Litchfield also delivered updates in their respective areas. A panel of campus leaders then responded to questions submitted by faculty, staff and students prior to and during the Town Hall. You can listen to a response to each question below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reddy concluded the session by offering a timeline of next steps for the campus\u2019s budget analysis scenarios, which will include use of the federal emergency relief funds being made available to UCCS in the near future. He also shared that campus leadership is preparing to open UCCS for the fall semester if circumstances allow, and that efforts are being made to further strengthen UCCS\u2019 online offerings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He acknowledged the joint efforts of individuals across the CU system, from the members of the Board of Regents to shared governance leaders on campus, and expressed gratitude for their efforts to tackle difficult questions and support UCCS’ students over the past weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you for your thoughtful questions, and thank you once again for the tremendous leadership and compassion you are showing each and every day,” Reddy remarked. “While we face a challenging situation, we are stronger because we are facing it together. I truly believe that we will emerge stronger, more innovative and more resilient than we have ever been before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members of the UCCS community who would like to submit additional questions<\/a> may do so online. They may also fill out a survey response<\/a> to the event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below, listen to the response to each question answered in the virtual Town Hall session.<\/strong> You can jump to an individual topic using the list below.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n