Dear KGI Community,

The COVID-19 Task Force met this morning and assessed the current and evolving situation. This communication will serve to inform you of important information involving all KGI students, faculty and staff.

The Task Force evaluated important information from various government agencies and decided to expand our definition of “community” as it relates to our decision matrix to include a 50-mile radius from KGI.

    • This elevates KGI from Scenario 1 to Scenario 2.
    • As a result, we are expanding the response to students, faculty, and staff, which is outlined below.
    • We followed the recommendation by the department of health for colleges and universities not to make closure decisions in isolation. We had a call with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to discuss our plans as outlined below.

 

Students

Decision: Effective March 23, 2020, all KGI courses will transition online and will continue as such through May 15, 2020. In-person classes are being held March 12 and March 13. KGI students are on spring break from March 16 through March 22.

Zoom will be utilized as the online platform. Students on rotations or internships should follow the guidance of their worksite. Decisions regarding student events for the remainder of the semester will be made after April 6, 2020. Students will receive a document with instructions on how to access Student Affairs resources through May 15. If you do not have access to a laptop with a webcam, microphone, and off-campus Wi-Fi, please contact helpdesk@kgi.edu. There will also be an FAQ for students on the kgi.edu/coronavirus webpage.

 

Faculty and Staff

Decision: Effective March 16, 2020 through April 5, 2020, all faculty and staff are encouraged to telecommute.

Zoom will be utilized as the online platform for communication. This decision was made to encompass the first week of Spring Break and the following two weeks to allow for an isolation period in case anyone in our community decides to travel during Spring Break. If faculty or staff are critical to the operations of KGI or prefer to work on campus, they may do so at their own discretion and in consultation with their supervisor. The Task Force will evaluate the situation before April 6, 2020 and communicate if faculty and staff should report to the workplace on April 6. Faculty and Staff will receive the teleworking policy from Human Resources and a technology resource document from IT. If you do not have access to a laptop with a webcam, microphone, and off-campus Wi-Fi, please contact helpdesk@kgi.edu. There will also be an FAQ for faculty and staff on the kgi.edu/coronavirus webpage. Individual supervisors will work with their staff to determine the best way to work remotely as a team.

 

Events

Decision: All planned KGI student, faculty, and staff events scheduled to be held on campus should be postponed until after April 6, 2020.

A decision has not yet been made regarding commencement and other events throughout the remainder of the semester. After April 6, 2020, the Task Force will send information regarding end of the year events decisions.

 

Visitors

Decision: No outside visitors should be invited to campus until April 6, 2020 or later.

 

Information and Communication

The KGI COVID-19 Task Force will continue to meet weekly to evaluate the situation and make sure that we are assessing the appropriate responses for the community. Communication to our community will summarize those meetings, and regular communication as necessary will continue. The KGI COVID-19 response page on our website is where we will be providing all current information as it becomes available. Additionally, FAQs will be updated as we receive questions from the community. If you have any questions beyond the information on the webpage, you can submit them to healthupdate@kgi.edu.

 

Summary

We appreciate your cooperation as the Task Force thoughtfully developed, evaluated, and adjusted our institutions decision matrix to make sure our decisions were based on facts, guidance, and consultation with the health department.

We take our responsibility seriously in doing our part to slow the spread of COVID-19 and we believe our decisions today support that. We are committed to ensuring the quality of the KGI curriculum and student services is not compromised during this time. Your health and experience at KGI as we fulfill our mission is always our top priority.

Kelly Esperias
Vice President of Institutional Development

Back to kgi.edu/coronavirus page