Welcome to Issue 24 of Recap, MICA’s regular communication on the College’s progress and planning around campus.
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Welcome

Welcome to issue 24 of Recap, MICA’s regular communication channel.

Recap was created during the COVID-19 pandemic as an informal channel to quickly build shared understanding among the MICA Community. As we move beyond the pandemic, the ongoing need for an official College communications channel has not diminished — and Recap will carry on to build shared understanding as One Team MICA.

We encourage you to use the Comment on This Topic button at the end of each story, and be sure to use the suggestion section at the end of each Recap not only to suggest ideas for future issues, but also topics for future One MICA Town Halls as well as feedback for previous ones.

And as always, some information may not apply to all programs and constituents, such as Open Studies. For specific information, please use the departmental directory at the end of this issue.
In This Issue:

  1. Recap Reminder: What OM5 Will Look Like This Fall

  2. Deeper Dive: Campus Restructuring

  3. More Details: For our Immunocompromised Community Members

  4. What If: What if Monkeypox continues to spread widely in Maryland?

  5. Transparency Report: A Snapshot of Responses from the Previous Issue of Recap
RECAP REMINDER
What OM5 Will Look Like This Fall
With the start of the Fall 2022 underway, MICA has released the Fall 2022 Campus Guide. It’s filled with helpful resources for students, faculty, and staff returning to campus including additional details around Operational Mode 5 as well as an updated OM5, COVID-19 Exposure Guidelines page. We encourage everyone to review them, but here’s a rundown of the key elements, tl;dr style.
MASKS
  • MICA remains a mask supportive environment, but is no longer requiring masks on campus in most spaces. Four spaces on campus — the Student Health Center, the Student Counseling Center, the Fitness Center, and the Office of Accessibility and Disability Services — still have a mask requirement.
    • Masks are not required, but are appreciated, in spaces open to the public, including the MICA Store, Postal & Print, and exhibitions that are open to the community.
    • Surgical masks will be provided in these spaces to have on hand for anyone attending.
 
QUARANTINE AND ISOLATION
  • The quarantine and isolation policy for employees will now be 5 days, in accordance with CDC guidelines.
    • Due to the residential nature of student housing, MICA has made intentional decisions to be more conservative and keep the student isolation amount to 10 days.
    • MICA maintains quarantine and isolation space on campus for students who test positive.

Make sure to check out the updated COVID-19 Exposure Tree to better understand what to do if you test positive.
 
TESTING
  • MICA will continue to test unvaccinated community members with previously approved exemptions.
  • MICA will continue to test symptomatic students.
  • MICA will not require students, faculty, and staff to test before or upon returning for the Fall 2022 semester.
 
VACCINATIONS
    • As previously stated, MICA requires up-to-date COVID-19 vaccinations — which the College defines as the original primary series vaccination plus one booster — for all community members. This includes staff, faculty, and all students. Only approved exemptions for medical and religious beliefs are permitted.
      • At this time, MICA is not requiring boosters beyond the first booster shot, but continues to monitor best practices and check in with our consulting epidemiologists on the matter.
    • Flu shots will also be required again this year. Information around the deadline, as well as the on-campus flu vaccination clinic, will be provided at a later date.
     
    DINING
    • Dining will be available at all open campus locations at normal density. Grab and Go options will be available as well and outdoor seating in Cohen Plaza and expanded outdoor seating at Glace Grill.
    COMMENT ON THIS TOPIC
    DEEPER DIVE
    Campus Restructuring
    As recently announced, the College-wide restructuring detailed in both the August 17 One MICA Town Hall and subsequent August 18 memo, has been finalized.
    Make sure to check out both the town hall replay and complete memo — which provide more specific details and rationale for the changes.  Here is some of the key information.
    ELIMINATED POSITIONS
      A final total of 19 positions — 15 staffed and 4 unstaffed — have been eliminated. They are as follows:
       
      WHO TO CONTACT FOR WHAT
      • Admission’s limited scope of transfer recruitment is being incorporated into other undergraduate recruitment roles, and their events will be handled via a team approach.
      • Outreach previously to Center for Creative Citizenship should be directed as follows:
        • All requests related to CAC (Community Art Collaborative) and AmeriCorps can be directed to stuberville@mica.edu, now under Graduate Studies.
        • All Voter Access Initiative (VAI) requests can be directed to mpatters@mica.edu.
        • All other requests can be directed to provost@mica.edu.
      • Outreach for Events should go to the Office of Events (at events@mica.edu).
      • Questions about applications for the Fulbright Program will now be handled by the Office of International Education (at internationaleducation@mica.edu).
      • Outreach for Research should go to the Office of Research (at officeofresearch@mica.edu) for assistance.
      • Requests previously handled by the Manager of Content and In-house Creative in Strategic Communications should be directed to the Creative Director of Strategic Communications (at lbadger@mica.edu).
      • Requests previously handled by the Office of Strategic Initiatives should be directed to the Director of Strategic Projects (at kgriffinmoreno@mica.edu); that position is joining the Office of the President.
      • Previously a part of Strategic Initiative, the Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is joining People, Belonging & Culture with the same contact information (at singram@mica.edu).
       
      HIRING FOR OPEN POSITIONS AND ABSORBING ADDITIONAL WORK
      • The most critical vacant positions will be filled when hiring is jointly approved by the area vice presidents and People, Belonging & Culture.
      • Because most positions that are vacant will be frozen and unable to be filled during this fiscal year, a realistic assessment of the workload for existing staff should be done between staff, supervisors, and area vice presidents.
      • People, Belonging & Culture (PB&C) will work with the MICA Staff Union to address workload adjustments for positions in the bargaining unit.
      • While some reduction in service is unavoidable, the student experience remains a priority.
      COMMENT ON THIS TOPIC
      MORE DETAILS
      For our Immunocompromised Community Members
      In an effort to better support our immunocompromised members of the MICA community, Academic Affairs and Student Affairs are finalizing a new, first of its kind for MICA Short-Term Health Leave attendance policy, which will allow for short-term medical leaves and provide greater clarity to faculty and students. Here is what you need to know, tl;dr style.

      • Students who are advised by a licensed health care provider to NOT attend class for any reason, may be issued a short-term health leave by Student Development in the Office Student Affairs.
      • All faculty of record and the designated vice provost will receive email notification of the short-term health leave that includes start and end dates, if available.  
        • No further information can be shared unless the student gives permission.
      • NOTE: Short-term health leaves DO NOT apply to individual class absences, which means they are additional excused absences.
        • During the regular semester, if a student with short-term health leave misses more than 30% of the course meetings (this would be the fifth class for a regular 3-credit offering), medical withdrawal will be strongly recommended.
        • If a student fails to attend any class in the first seven weeks of the term for a health reason and accumulates a substantial absence record, the faculty member has the right to recommend medical or administrative withdrawal for non-attendance.

      To further help our immunocompromised community members, Health Services will be able to refer immunocompromised students for appropriate treatments.
      COMMENT ON THIS TOPIC
      WHAT IF
      What if Monkeypox spreads widely in Maryland?
      As a reminder, What if? is an ongoing feature of Recap intended to help create a shared understanding by posing real-world “what if” scenarios submitted by the community.

      First, a bit about Monkeypox. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Monkeypox virus is part of the same family of viruses as variola — the virus that causes smallpox. The symptoms are similar but milder, and monkeypox is rarely fatal.

      Symptoms of monkeypox can include:
      • Fever
      • Headache
      • Muscle aches and backache
      • Swollen lymph nodes
      • Chills
      • Exhaustion
      • Respiratory symptoms (e.g. sore throat, nasal congestion, or cough)
      • A rash that can look like pimples or blisters and may be painful or itchy

      MICA is monitoring cases on-campus and is prepared to follow both city, state, and national guidance for higher education institutions that may be released. The College will apply the experience and lessons-learned from effectively implementing our on-campus public health protocols for COVID-19 for Monkeypox if it becomes necessary. Read a memo the Student Health Center recently shared regarding Monkeypox.

      Currently, the vaccine for Monkeypox has a low supply, but is being administered to certain sections of the population. For more information about vaccine appointments in Baltimore City,       visit the Baltimore City Health Department’s website.
      COMMENT ON THIS TOPIC
      TRANSPARENCY REPORT
      A Snapshot of Responses from the Previous Issue of Recap
      As mentioned previously, we’ve included the ability for you to submit comments on individual topics for each issue of Recap in order to help provide an open dialogue around the complex and evolving issues of mounting the 2022 semester.

      We thank all of you who have submitted thoughtful comments from past issues. Those comments are used to inform future issues, raise awareness on topics, and ultimately help build shared understanding as One Team MICA. We encourage everyone to submit their comments and questions. We really do use them to help develop content for upcoming issues. We want to make sure we’re creating shared understanding within the entire MICA community.
      COMMENT ON THIS TOPIC
      DEPARTMENTAL DIRECTORY
      Please address specific questions to an appropriate departmental contact.
      Graduate Studies: graduatestudies@mica.edu

      Undergraduate Studies: ugstudies@mica.edu

      Student Affairs: studentaffairs@mica.edu

      Open Studies: openstudies@mica.edu

      Technology: helpdesk@mica.edu

      Strategic Communications: communications@mica.edu

      People, Belonging, & Culture: pbc@mica.edu

      Advancement: advancement@mica.edu

      Admission: admissions@mica.edu

      Parent Relations: parentrelations@mica.edu
      That’s it for this installment of Recap. Thank you for your engagement in this ongoing dialogue and building of shared understanding. If there are any topics you would like to have addressed in future installments — or in future One MICA Town Halls — please provide your ideas here.

      Stay safe and be well.


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