March 11, 2020

Dear UM Family,

We have been hard at work to anticipate and address issues related to COVID-19 and the potential impacts to our university, our community and beyond. I want to quickly and succinctly summarize the key points around our university response. Please read this brief message in its entirety.

I want to emphasize right up front that this is an issue that affects not just UM and the broader Montana University System, but our entire community and state. We are preparing for multiple contingency scenarios here at UM, and we are doing so in close coordination with MUS leadership and with state and local government officials. Any decisions about operations at UM must and will be made in coordination with MUS and state and local government leadership. 

This morning, I met with Cabinet leadership and shared the following key points:

• While there are still no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Montana, we are taking this situation very seriously. While health officials have advised that completely preventing the spread of coronavirus may not be possible, our goal is to take appropriate actions to mitigate its spread as best we can so that if coronavirus becomes established, we hopefully can lessen its impacts.
   
• Our top priority is the health and safety of the UM Family and mitigating risk to vulnerable populations in particular. At the same time, it’s important that we do everything we can to enable our students to continue to make progress in their programs.
   
• We are taking proactive measures to prepare for the possibility of remote instruction. We’ve asked all faculty and deans to develop plans to deliver their courses remotely, and we’re working with accrediting bodies to ensure that any potential plans would be consistent with standards. We may not be able to deliver all education in a remote format, but our goal in such a scenario would be to reduce aggregation in large groups as much as we can.  
   
• To be clear, moving to remote instruction would not mean a campus closure. The residence halls, dining halls and services here on campus would remain operational. Research efforts would continue. We are, however, exploring remote work options for employees, and, as part of our normal practices, employees who may be vulnerable can always seek an accommodation.

To conclude, MUS and state officials have not made a decision regarding a change in University operations, and we remain in frequent, daily contact with them to ensure we are taking the appropriate steps. As this situation continues to evolve, we will continue to share information broadly so that everyone can prepare appropriately.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Seth