Welcome A&F Update — Spring 2020

Light it Blue to Thank You

Light It Blue to Thank You was an effort to recognize and thank all first responders, health care and essential workers who have been providing support, guidance and care for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Several buildings and landmarks on campus, including the Recreation Center, Performing Arts Center and Grand Avenue entrance to campus were illuminated with blue lighting. The Cal Poly “P” was also painted blue. The lights came on at dusk each evening beginning Monday, March 25 through Sunday, May 31.

Emergency Operations Center

More than 50 members of Cal Poly’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) have been working for months on plans and strategies to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic while continuing to support student success and ensure the health and safety of the campus community.

The EOC centralizes planning and response efforts by bringing together employees from areas across campus. This ensures coordination and efficiency as the team works on strategies and recommendations for university leaders to consider.

Approximately 20 different task forces are working on various plans to support the campus in the coming months. Groups have worked on plans to provide face coverings to on-campus employees, worked with the county to prepare the Cal Poly Alternate Care Site, support employees with emergency pay and temporary paid administrative leave, transition to contactless ordering for on-campus dining venues, and developed a social media campaign to respond to anti-bias incidents.

Administration & Finance COVID-19 Information

Many Cal Poly employees have remained on the job during this COVID-19 situation, working on campus and remotely, to ensure that operations of the university continue to function and to make sure that resident students and faculty and staff are safe and healthy.

A University webpage has been created to serve as a hub of information for faculty, staff and students throughout this time. In addition, there was a webpage created to house information related to A&F services including, information about telework and services available as well as hours of operations for Student Accounts, Cal Poly Police Department, Facilities Management and Development and Distribution Services. There is a link to the Employee Assistance Program with information about confidential support services available for a variety of concerns, including emotional, relationship, health and legal. Tips and FAQs about procurement, payments, shipping and travel are also available.

Please check https://afd.calpoly.edu/coronavirus/ and be sure to let us know your questions and any information that you think would be helpful for us to provide. This page is updated regularly as we strive to communicate and be transparent while we are not together on campus.

Human Resources

Employee and Organization Development

In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis and transition to remote work, Employee and Organization Development (EOD) is meeting urgent and in-the-moment learning and development needs while positioning themselves to strategically meet future learning and development needs as the situation on campus evolves.

Through engaging learning and development content, EOD is doing its part to give Cal Poly employees the means and skills to perform their job well, and ensure their safety and security as they continue to learn and grow in a remote working environment.

Current learning and development offerings include live learning opportunities for employees to grow and connect in real time such as online book and learning circles and staff learning communities where employees can meet to discuss specific topics spanning productivity, work/life balance, leadership, and communication skills. EOD also offers live Open Labs and Learning Hub support, providing employees with tailored consultation to meet their specific learning needs.

The new Learning Café is going virtual and offering employees and managers 1:1 development consultations via Zoom.

Additionally, EOD offers a wide variety of on-demand learning solutions to support employees whenever their schedules allow it. EOD maintains 20 Toolkits with curated, on-demand resources covering a wide variety of employee and organization topics such as the Working Remotely and Mindfulness. The EOD team also supports learning and development efforts of other departments including designing online training courses for the Talent Acquisition Recruiter Training and the Poly Travel Program.

EOD continues to develop exciting new opportunities for fall including the transition of additional online learning workshops such as New Employee Orientation and Principles of Supervision.

To keep up with the latest learning and development events, join the Learn & Grow Newsletter.

Strategic Business Services

To assist in this new remote working and learning environment, SBS would like to offer a few tips and Frequently Asked Questions about Payments, Procurement, Travel, and Distribution to help alleviate burdens and streamline your department’s operations in these areas.

For FAQs about procurement, payments, travel and Distribution Services, visit the A&F COVID-19 page at https://afd.calpoly.edu/coronavirus/

Facilities Management and Development

Facilities Management and Development (FMD) has been busy this spring quarter. The Environmental Health and Safety team has worked closely with academic departments to develop safe processes for lab demonstrations and practices during virtual instruction. Facilities Operations has continued to maintain essential operations supporting the campus response to COVID-19 while operating under staffing rotation with reduced staff on campus. Among other projects underway Facilities Operations has also completed a critical electrical utility infrastructure repair and improvement in the Poly Canyon area. Construction continues on the William and Linda Frost Center for Research and Innovation as well as the new Cal Poly Plant Conservatory. While some work has been paused during the shelter-at-home order, time- sensitive major construction projects such as these have continued to progress on schedule. Click here for additional construction project updates. The Facilities Customer and Business Services team continues to move forward with the implementation of the new work management system, Planon, and remains on track for a late Fall release. In exciting news on the sustainability front, Cal Poly was awarded CalRecycle grant funds to help improve recycling signage and purchase new exterior waste bins which will support Cal Poly’s zero waste goals. Perhaps most exciting, the Board of Trustees has approved the Cal Poly master plan following a five-year long process that involved input from the campus and community at every level.

Financial Services

Direct Deposit Paystubs

Effective with May 2020 pay period’s Monthly Master Pay, the State Controller’s Office (SCO) will suspend the printing of direct deposit advices for all campuses. This will include suspending the printing of direct deposit advices for all daily pay cycles. Employees enrolled in direct deposit may download copies of their direct deposit advices through Cal Employee Connect (CEC). All employees have access to earnings and deduction information electronically through CEC. The SCO will continue to print live warrants for employees not enrolled in direct deposit and the University Cashiers Office/Student Accounts office will continue to disburse them.

To enroll in direct deposit, you can access the form here. For more information on CEC, including a registration step-by-step guide, you can visit our website here.

Cal Poly Police Department

Public Safety Report

The Cal Poly Police Department continues work and patrol throughout the COVID-19 situation on campus. Officers have been vigilant in their duty to ensure the safety of all employees and resident students. Safety and security services to the campus will maintain 24/7 with support from dispatch communications. The Lobby remains open 24/7 for police assistance by utilizing the lobby phone for direct contact with a police dispatcher.

This year the emergency dispatchers have been busy! Calls for service were up nearly 5 percent in 2019 over 2018, while arrests were down 20 percent. The department continues proactive community engagement including hosting 13 Coffee with a Cop events across campus and launching new programs like Chief George Hughes’ Walkie Talkie Thursdays that give participants an inside look at the department.

The K9 team is growing with the addition of K9 Valor who is now on campus with Officer Reiley. Officer Pipan and K9 Zeus recently took first place in Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) vehicle searches at the state’s K9 competition held in Bakersfield. She and Zeus took third place in building searches and fifth overall. Congratulations!

Department of Emergency Management (DEM)

Our Department of Emergency Management has worked tirelessly since February managing Cal Poly’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. DEM has guided the university through the current situation, working closely with Campus Health and Wellbeing, University Housing and Campus Dining, to coordinate efforts to keep students, faculty and staff healthy.

Transportation and Parking Services

In January, Cal Poly was given national recognition for Best Workplaces for Commuters. The elite designation is given to organizations that offer outstanding commuter benefits. Additionally, the License Plate Recognition transition has been smooth and all on-campus commuters are now using the system. This spring, TAPS is transitioning Emeritus permits to virtual permits.