While many businesses and industries struggled to adjust to the sudden onset of COVID-19 in March 2020, Colleges of the Fenway staff were excited to launch new and innovative ways of supporting our five members. As our campuses focused on the health and safety of students, an unexpected post-Spring Break move-out, and offices moving remote, COF quickly began the intentional pivot of programs, events, and services. As the institutions focused on recovery and reopening plans, the COF staff ensured students remained engaged, international students were supported and able to repatriate to their home countries, and the campus task forces were updated with expertise from our Director of Emergency Management and Director of Environmental Health & Safety. Core to our work is bringing together Communities of Practice and we saw a significant increase in colleagues wanting to meet, discuss, and share best practices. Some highlights of our work include:
Global Education Opportunities (GEO) Center:
- Assistant Director, Douglas Upton, presented a national webinar “Leveraging Technology to Monitor Student Welfare” in partnership with TerraDotta, that highlighted the COF and GEO Center’s rapid pivot to automate health and welfare check-ins with the J-1 Exchange Visitors during the pandemic. Register here for free to listen to the full webinar.
- Converted the “in-person” pre-departure orientation to an online platform, which was delivered on April 28
- Advised on repatriation of J-1 visiting students and scholars
- Negotiated a 82% discount on travel security and insurance program for FY’21
- Continued to provide ongoing and updated global travel warnings and policies
- Authored and submitted two reports to the U.S. Dept. Of State updating them on operational changes for the Colleges of the Fenway Exchange Visitor Program
- Scoped counseling services and mental health support for international students studying remotely outside of the US
“Over the past few months, The GEO Center has been extremely proactive in communicating with our exchange students. They quickly created a system to efficiently reach out to and document check-ins with exchange students who were not able to return home.” – Amy Holland, Study Abroad Adviser, MassArt
Emergency Management and Environmental Health & Safety:
- Convened institutional leaders to create the COF Pandemic Response and Recovery Task Force, which has met consistently throughout the pandemic to coordinate efforts, share information, and to identify resources and solutions
- Coordinated PPE supply donations to LMA hospitals through MASCO
- Coordinated hospital bed requests with COF institutions
- Consulted on COVID-19 policy creation, outbreak response, and other COVID related safety needs
- Convened Student Health Directors to discuss best practices in implementing testing programs at each school
- Crafted templates using WHO and CDC recommended protocols for contact tracing and a process for how schools can manage future cases on campuses and decontamination practices for facilities and health precautions for people
- Continue to engage and serve as resources to institutional response and recovery committees
“We have relied on our partners at the Colleges of the Fenway for assistance with emergency planning, environmental safety, and business efficiencies for many years. However, their partnership and guidance since March has been a life-saver. As we attempted to sort through volumes of information, data, opinions, and spreadsheets, we came to rely on the COF team more and more. We literally would not have been as prepared for the 2020 fall semester without their assistance.” – Laura Brink, Vice President of University Real Estate and Facilities Management, Simmons University
Center for Performing Arts:
- Produced “Exquisite Distance” collaborative dance video, which has 1100+ views
- Extended 4 COF dance classes into June; Open to COF alumni and incoming first-year students as well
- Created 30 Day Mini Music Challenge for COF Jazz Band, Chorus, and Orchestra
- Moved COF Theater online to include: play reading, scene work, acting for the camera, design challenges, and playwriting prompts
- Inaugural launch of student spotlights on social media to highlight graduating seniors
“I loved having virtual COF classes in June, it was an amazing way to connect with my favorite instructors and COF friends while I was back at home. I returned to my summer job as a grocery store associate in May so having the opportunity to continue dancing helped reduce my stress, especially during the high stress time.” – Emily Waterhouse, Simmons University ‘21
Intramurals and Recreational Sports:
- Delivered several virtual programs including: 5K Walk/Run, 10 Mile Bike Ride, Trick Shot Contest and a Sports Trivia Game
- Partnered with Simmons, MCPHS, and Wentworth to offer esports leagues during incoming Student Orientation
- Developed and implemented plan to increase social media following
- Raised COF profile with Mission Control esports vendor by serving on Founders Council
“When COVID hit and we weren’t able to return to campus, it was hard not being connected with everybody. When COF Intramurals announced the online trivia games, it enabled me to reconnect with some friends. It was a really fun opportunity and gave everyone something to look forward to. Being one of the winners even made it more fun!” – Andrew Kalpakian, Emmanuel College ‘21
Training & Development:
- Partnered with AllOne Health to offer 3 webinars for COF faculty and staff: Grace Under Pressure: Stress Management; Mind/Body Connection; and Fatigue Management and Emotional Well-Being; Over 180 faculty and staff members attended one of the three sessions.
- In June, the HR Committee launched an inaugural Remote Managers Series which included 4 sessions: Mental Health Awareness, Managing Communication, Making Teams Work and Managing Up, Down & Across; 67 individual managers participated
- Introduced Ever-Fi Return to Work/Campus Course for Simmons and MassArt
“This spring our employees were asked to pivot in ways that they hadn’t had to before. The COF Training & Development sessions were critical in supporting their efforts and provided opportunities for our employees to pause and refocus on what is really important, learn strategies on how to cope, and how to manage themselves and others in these extremely challenging and unprecedented times.” – Nicole Wright, Director of Benefits, MCPHS University
“The Remote Manager Series provided me with concrete steps I could take to assist my team with the switch to fully remote work. Specifically, the session inspired me to create a team charter that reviewed joint expectations of how we would work together as a team.” – Barbara Zerillo, Director, Career Education Center, Simmons University
Center for Sustainability & The Environment:
- 39 COF Environmental Forum students and 9 community partners reexamined 11 service learning projects for feasibility. Some were completed in March and others were altered in favor of design rather than fabrication
- Moved Muddy River Symposium virtually with 83 participants, 23 student presentations, and 9 judges. Winners were announced for each of the four student research categories, student mini grant recipients presented, and comments from Fran Gershwin, Chair of the Muddy River Restoration Maintenance and Management Oversight Committee.
“My involvement in the mini grant process gave me the support I needed to make my Bee Hotel vision come true. It has made me fearless in the ideas and truly opened my eyes to all the possibilities of community work that has helped me in my art.” – Arielle Wilson, MassArt ‘21
Collaborative Business Services:
- Facilitated the review of Broad Institute college testing program, resulting in members pursuing individual contracts for COVID testing services
- Facilitated COF member participation in MHEC/ Boston Consortium PPE and supplies group purchasing arrangement
- Coordinated reviews of daily symptom check, test result, and contact tracing software technology products with CIOs and assisted schools to pursue (separate) contracts with CoVerifed
- Negotiated special rates for weekly and monthly student referral housing at local hotels
- Worked with Director of Academic Programs & Professional Development to secure a 15% discount for EverFi’s Return to Work/Campus course for participating schools
- Secured a six-month contract for medical and health consulting provider to assist schools with reopening plans
- Negotiated a $4,000 reduction in move-in assistance contract (Rent-a-Crate) and assisted schools to coordinate logistics
- Negotiated an $8,500 credit from Xfinity for relief from spring 2020. Continuing to negotiate lower rates for fall 2020 based on residence hall occupancy
- Negotiated a 24% reduction in internet service provider costs for FY21 at the same level of usage and bandwidth
- Facilitated joint reviews of various touchless and crowd control products and services-resulting in the rollout of a mobile ordering app at one school and the installation of an app-based, touchless technology in laundry facilities on all campuses
- Assisted campuses to secure testing site staff, entrance monitors, and other short term COVID response team members through staffing agency partnership
“The COF team assisted Simmons with finding a training resource for employees returning to campus which highlighted the dangers of COVID and how to protect yourself with social distancing and hand hygiene. This was a great resource offered during a crucial time. Kudos to the COF for identifying this training resource which helped Simmons to provide valuable information to our employees in a short roll out window.”– Christina Webber, Manager of Benefits, Simmons University
Information Security:
- Assisted MassArt and Wentworth to secure a 10% discount Rapid 7 SEIM product
- Assisted to secure grant funding for Mass Art to pay for SEIM product costs
- Developed remote work policies and conducted training sessions to assist Mass Art and Wentworth to ensure data security when students and staff pivoted to remote work and learning
- Developed protocols and conducted training sessions for securing Zoom classes and meetings at Wentworth
- Monitors and manages information security in the post-COVID environment which has demonstrated an increase in data security threats
Communications and Marketing:
- Added specific COVID-19 tab to COF website; Later replaced with Fall 2020 Campus Re-entry Plans, linking to individual campus websites
- Continued COF onboarding of new campus colleagues virtually; Creation of virtual onboarding video (To be launched Fall 2020)
- Working with Marketing and Communications and Government Relations Committees to send a community letter to the Mission Hill and Fenway neighborhoods
As the fall semester begins, we will continue to build upon the success of the last five months and assist our institutions in delivering strong virtual engagement, programming, academic initiatives, as well as continue to provide expertise around critical services and policy development. For events, programs, and opportunities, visit www.colleges-fenway.org.