THOROBRED STRONG:How Kentucky State University is Responding to COVID-19

M. CHRISTOPHER BROWN II, EIGHTEENTH PRESIDENT

APRIL 23, 2020

Kentucky State UniversityRemains Thorobred StrongIn early March, based on from guidance of public health officials and the Office of the Governor of the Commonwealth, Kentucky State University made the historic decision to suspend on campus learning and move to remote instruction. On March 3, we began mass communicating with our stakeholder community our campus plans eight days before the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus (COVID-19) a global pandemic. Every action thereafter has centered on Kentucky State University’s critical readiness, readiness, and response actions.

Kentucky State University benefits from an extensive network of professional organizations and relationships with peer institutions and are exchanging information and best practices to stay ahead of this health

concern. On campus, our Emergency Management Team is coordinating plans to address scenarios that could impact the health and safety of faculty, staff and students and campus operations.

Despite the challenges associated with the COVID-19 outbreak, I have never been more excited for the future of our great University. As we have made difficult decisions for the sake of our health, safety, and viability. The students, faculty, staff, and stakeholders of our University has displayed incredible resolve and strength. Kentucky State University remains operationally strong.

The Kentucky State University Board of Regents have been great thought partners and supporters in the campus commitment to fulfill our mission in these unprecedented times. The campus administration has been working day and night to craft solutions to vexing logistical problems, legal challenges, and a budgetary context never before imagined, much less experienced. The faculty, staff, and students have moved headlong into unchartered territories with creativity and resolve. Kentucky State University has built a new normal for our present situation and is laying bold plans to design and implement a dynamic learning community that will be resilient to change, responsive to context, and reliable for centuries to come.

In the pages that follow, Kentucky State University provides a general summary of the actions taken to ensure the health and safety of our students and our campus community while simultaneously providing continuity of instruction, fiscal control, governmental engagement, and brand identity expansion. The campus has taken sure steps to reify academic effectiveness and operational efficiency.

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the world as we knew it, however Kentucky State University is Thorobred Strong. The campus will not only survive our present reality – the campus will also thrive because of timely administrative decision-making. Granted these are uncertain times, but Kentucky State University has responded with skill, discipline, and thoughtfulness.

We solicit patience as we work through a plethora of unknowns. Kentucky State University is committed to doing the right thing for our stakeholders and delivering on our historic mission to the best of our ability.

We remain Thorobred Strong.

M. Christopher Brown II, Ph.D.18th PresidentKentucky State University

ACADEMIC INNOVATION

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DELIVERABLES• Within 48 hours of learning of the expec-

tation to transfer curricular content to an online learning format, Academic Affairs moved immediately into training faculty members in teaching online. By the num-bers, the University stood up 515 individual courses for Spring 2020

o Faculty were prepared for onlineteaching with instruction in the Quality Matters curriculum development model for online learning

o Specific resources including trainingfaculty to teach students with dis- abilities and in universal design were made available for all faculty through the Blackboard

o Advising, as offered by UniversityCollege, and student learning support, as provided by the Thorobred Learning Center (TLC), were migrated to virtual appointments and library resources were enhanced to support academic research

o On April 13, a student experiencesurvey was launched and will remain open until April 23 to capture student perceptions of online learning, details about their experiences in learning online, and challenges they have or are facing in the online learning environment

• The University has updated academic policies through close collaboration with the Faculty Senate:

o Extended the course withdrawalperiod

o Proposed and finalized an extension to the Pass/Fail grading policy o Adopted the Continuity of Instruction

Policy that lays out the procedures for moving to alternative course delivery modalities

o Launched the student evaluation ofcourses on the established schedule with the option for faculty to “count” the evaluations in their performance reviews and evaluations

• The University moved forward with the application to the SACSCOC to offer its curriculum fully online. The waiver request was approved and SACSCOC has extended the initial period for the waiver to December 31, 2020

• Completed online and face-to-face schedule of summer courses in all academic areas at the undergraduate and graduate levels

• Continuing to offer dual enrollment to students and engage with the local school districts for continuity of instruction in the high schools

CHALLENGES• Establishing outlets for student teachers

and students in co-ops and internships to complete their co-curricular and professional training

• Accreditation activities for the Social Work and Public Administration programs have been postponed or will be conducted virtually

• Finding software programs to support lab and music courses

LONG-TERM OPPORTUNITIES • Ability to preview learning software

programs such as Respondus and Labster for potential adoption; recognition of gaps or places to extend software licenses for learning

• Extending our plans for online degrees and certificates by December 2020

• Better understanding of student and faculty readiness in online learning

• More sophisticated opportunity to discuss and budget for online learning in terms of personnel, training, and technological tools

• Ability to extend the strategic plan to a broader understanding of the “campus” with a more fully fledge online curriculum

PROBLEMS SOLVED• Transferred the entire curriculum online in

a 72 hour work day window• Distribued devices and wifi access to

faculty, staff and students• Adjusting campus policies on withdrawals,

grading (P/F), and other routine tasks done F2F that needed to be amended to remote enviroment

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FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ANDCAMPUS CONTROLS

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DELIVERABLES:• The purchasing department was direct-

ed to work with Campus Life and Auxilia-ry Services to assist with meal/dining ar-rangements for students who remained on campus during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dining on campus (via our campus ven-dor partner Sodexo) has been suspended during this COVID-19 pandemic therefore students cannot utilize on campus dining. This deliverable was met by issuing each of those students an American Express Go Card where purchasing would load daily per diem for dining

• Federal Work Study Student Payment o In collaboration with the KSU Financial

Aid office, we continued payroll pro-cessing for Federal Work Study students in accordance to federal guidelines

• Performed increased sanitizing of buildings by outside vendor, CEMEC

• Timeframe for FY2021 Budget has not been affected. Meetings have continued and budget will be ready for review by the President and Board of Regent according to the dates indicated on the FY2021 Budget Cycle Calendar

• Increased the number of Virtual Private network (VPN) licenses (allows users to connect to resources that are available on campus or restricted by KSU’s security protocols). Ellucian has provided free VPN access to Banner during this pandemic and employees are using this service

CHALLENGES:• Coordinate work of capital project

contractors and activities on campus to reduce conflicts between them and KSU Staff throughout campus where work is being performed to ensure social distancing is maintained

• Purchasing a more user friendly, secure remote assistance software that will allow us to connect to our distributed work force

• Setup KSU’s main phone number and the Help Desk phone number as virtual phones to allow the phone lines to be answered remotely and roll to multiple technicians when one phone line is busy

LONG TERM OPPORTUNITES:• Plexiglas/faceguards will be needed for

cashier and Bursar office windows • Non Federal Work Study o Non Federal Work Study students are

not paid through the payroll process unless true hours worked are submitted for payment. This has presented challenges for students as they may not qualify for unemployment and can potentially create a hardship. In the interim and in collaboration with HR, it has been determined they may qualify for Emergency Sick Leave Pay as outlined in the new CARES ACT legislation

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o Example: One of our students ex-pressed she is unable to work as she is currently taking care of her father that is ill due to COVID-19. It was deter- mined due to this circumstance, this student qualifies for the emergency sick leave, has completed the new forms put into place by the KSU HR Office and will receive payment through the payroll process

• The main entrance to place a gate on the exit side so that control of entry of campus is totally maintained, have had several subjects go around gate because they did not know if it was manned or not. Placing a gate at exit forces them to drive to booth

• Virtual Grant Training in May (professional development for grant staff; paid for by TIII professional development fund)

PROBLEMS SOLVED• IT has provided a total of 12 laptops to

students who informed us that they did not have computers. Of the 12, we have shipped 5 laptops to the students who live out of state (2 FL, 1 OH, 1 MI and 1

SC). Students who were in Frankfort either came to the IT office before the campus was restricted or picked up the laptop from the guard station after the restriction. Additionally, graduate students who were conducting research on campus and were no longer able to do so, IT provided them with a license to KSU’s virtual private network (VPN) so that they could remote to the servers or computers on campus where their research was residing and/or gain access to the software needed to continue their research

• A parent of prospective student reached out to us regarding potential admissions and affordability of her daughter’s education. We discussed the Thorobred Scholarship award with her, connected her with the nursing department, and sent her an application for tuition waiver for foster children

• Kentucky State University has successfully renegotiated contracts with University vendors that result in a win-win proposition for both parties. If the parties failed to come renegotiate the agreement, both parties would have faced significant difficulty in meeting the terms of the contract

GOVERNMENTAL ENGAGEMENT

DELIVERABLES• Successfully advocated for federal fund-

ing included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES)

• Successfully advocated for FY 2021 state funding before KY General Assembly

• Provided Institutional Review Board (IRB) webinar training to agriculture extension staff

• Participate in CHFS long-term planning sessions for COVID-19 program mitigation

CHALLENGES• Access to database of research data• Banner system training for new Title III

staffer• Transition of online programming for land-

grant stakeholders• Transition of meetings with external stake-

holders to online formats

LONG-TERM OPPORTUNITIES • Economic development expansion through

federal funding o List of needs including infrastrucutre o Build relationships with key federal and state agencies• Development of online tutorials for small

farmers

• Lobby for increase of federal funding to Kentucky State University

o Increase for Kentucky State University research funding and expansion of research grant portfolio o Expanded flexibility of Title III funding

PROBLEM SOLVED• Kentucky State University launched

KSU Healthy Food Initiative: Helping in Uncertain Times. This initiative seeks to provide access to healthy foods through educational opportunities in nutrition, producing your own food, and job training/scholarships with an emphasis on assisting socially disadvantaged and limited resource individuals. Specifically, the initiative will provide:

o Nutritional programing important tohealth and wellness issues and financial planning

o Information on how to grow food safely to help feed yourself and your family o Training on how to find positions in

the agricultural industry and assistance in applying for the 1890 Scholarships Program

o Provide produce from demonstrationplots for a number of food shelves, faith-based partners, and non-profit organizations helping stakeholders

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SUPPORTING STUDENT SERVICES

DELIVERABLES• Provided 32 virtual campus life programs

to date for over 1,500 participants to engage students meaningfully as well as 5 virtual programs for over 60 staff/faculty on issues related to diversity and inclusion

• Successfully implemented the process for students to continue accessing health services and mental wellness services from our Nurse Practitioner as well as the three counselors in the Center for Emotional Wellness (“Counseling Center”)

• Coordinated the process for assisting students in the residence halls to return home or find alternate housing when possible, while still accommodating 11 students on a longer-term basis who did not have any place to go; the original number after Spring Break was 113 students, which necessitated a response to de-densify residence halls to minimize risk for students and staff

• Disability Resources offered valuable support for students and faculty throughout the transition to modified online instruction

• All SECL staff continue to be available — with senior staff being accessible around the clock — for a wide variety of students needs

CHALLENGES• Ensuring that the greatest number of

students are accessing services being provided

• The virtual format itself has limitations for rich student engagement

LONG-TERM OPPORTUNITIES• Expanding the realm of “what’s possible”

for meaningful student engagement• Increased time for planning and organiza-

tional development• Heightened awareness of student realities

PROBLEMS SOLVED• Ensured that a student had a safe place

to live during the pandemic by assisting the student with retrieval of items from residence hall, and provided funds for transportation and groceries. Since that time, the student reports being in a much improved state of mind and is performing well in his classes

• Due to the global pandemic, Student Government Association elections moved online, resulting in virtual campaigns

• Kentucky State University created a work placement for a former non-immigrant student who was struggling to find a computer science placement in part because of COVID-19. Without the placement, KSU’s former student would have been out of compliance with his F-1 visa and would not have been able to fly home

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BRANDING THE THOROBRED VIRTUAL REALITY

DELIVERABLES• Provided accurate and reliable informa-

tion through website and other official communication channels

• Disseminated safety precautions and communicated the efforts of Kentucky State University in advance of the global acceptance of the COVID-19 pandemic

• Created numerous, memorable mate-rials that communicate the University’s mission, values and reflect its identity and continuous advancement of the institu-tion’s reputation

• Established the COVID-19 website and frequently update information to keep the campus community informed

• Launched the COVID-19 emergency fund• Designed COVID-19 publication• Created eight COVID-19 posters• Updated 20 webpages• Designed 16 banners• Managed and designed 113 print

collaterals• Completed 51 copywriting/editing requests• Utilized Photoshop to enhance seven (7)

photo projects• Wrote 21 stories• Distributed 41 email communications• Wrote, produced and edited seven (7)

videos• Added new commercial via YouTube• Posted 77 photos/videos to Instagram• Engaged with audiences via Facebook

and posted 35 updates• Created 47 new tweets and engaged

with publics via Twitter

• Managed two (2) photo shoots• Designed three (3) new t-shirts • Originated five (5) Zoom backgrounds to

keep employees and student connected to Kentucky State

• Ordered 3000 bottles of hand sanitizer• Designed, ordered and mailing more

than 1800 Thorobred Strong wristbands and letters to campus community

CHALLENGESThe Kentucky State University Emergency Response Team was on official spring break when the pandemic was accepted worldwide. With team members scattered across the nation, many in different time zones and away from vital resources, aligning efforts and disrupting essential staff on spring break was difficult and uncomfortable.

• No COVID-19 Policy/procedures o Telework guidelines• Limited resources o Slow internet connectivity o Hot spots o Computer access o Video equipment• People o Disruption of spring break o Essential services o Essential staff o Managing work deliverables o Establishing telework efficiencies• Campus access

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LONG-TERM OPPORTUNITIES• The major area of opportunity for Brand

Identity is to leverage media/creative ser-vices, knowing the best strategy is a co-ordinated, collaborative communications digital approach to continuously promote the great happenings at Kentucky State while impacting the University’s enroll-ment goals and brand recognition

• Digital marketing• Media and public relations• Social media advertisements• Telework may have created new operat-

ing environment opportunities• Talent recruitment

PROBLEMS SOLVED• No policy on telework or procedures for

managing employees’ telework outcomes o Brand Identity and University Relations

worked with Human Resources to guide the creation of a telecommuting policy and agreement. Brand Identity also established the form and process for reporting telework

• Students have dire financial needs due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.

o Established the COVID-19 Student Emergency Fund and committee to assist students with urgent temporary financial needs

• Campus access o Restricted campus access working

with EVP Allen to reduce the number of interactions on campus, slow the rate of transmission, and protect and care for the well-being of our campus community

• No avenue for students to communicate COVID-19 concerns or questions

o Created COVID19@KYSU.EDU as a one-stop communication channel for stu- dents to engage with Kentucky State

• Students had questions and needed reliable information

o President Brown organized and man-aged in collaboration with the Student Government Association President a virtual Town Hall meeting

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OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

president@kysu.edu | 502.597.6260 | Hume Hall, Suite 201400 E. Main Street | Frankfort, KY 40601

KYSU.EDU