Survey raw responses: greatest need

Unedited responses from APPA’s survey on Testing, Tracing, HVAC and PPE, July 2020.

What is the single greatest challenge you continue to face as you finalize your reopening plans?

• Responding to questions about HVAC systems and air quality, particularly when they vary in style, age, and complexity.  Community members like to latch on to unsubstantiated studies and I wish I had more concrete information and tools to better prepare.
• Personal protective equipment and sanitizers.
• Leadership.
• What to be ready for because it changes every day. Who do you believe?
• Having sufficient staff to meet the demands.
• The bottles and sprayers for our disinfectant that we use and gloves.
• Assurance of compliance with mitigation protocols being put in place for people coming to campus.
• Upgraded HVAC systems to allow better air exchanges.
• Plexiglas sneeze guards.
• Hand sanitizer refill product & sanitizing wipe delivery.
• Definitive information based on science regarding a so-called “Fall Wave” of COVID-19.
• Inability to get supplies.
• A vaccine and common sense for Californians.
• Convincing families, student and faculty that we have added layers of protection for everyone’s safe return.
• Space for social distancing, especially in our trades areas.
• Control of student movement and travel during the semester.  Some way to convince students to stay on campus and not mixing with the local population and being able to minimize travel.
• Getting academics on board with the program by enforcing cleaning of their lab equipment.  Both staff and student’s political resistance to mask policies.  Ability to train frontline workers and keep them safe.
• More time to train staff appropriately.
• Leadership from the feds that align with states which institutions can rely on instead of this being a moving target.
• Our biggest concern is the potential burn rate of products and the ability to obtain products such as PPE, disinfectants, hand sanitizers etc.  We have a comfortable inventory at this time but that can change at a moment’s notice.  Also the amount of conflicting information from different sources that are always being considered creates uneasiness and concern.
• Not knowing which classes will be on campus and the number of students in the dorms.
• More space to spread out and knowledge about the actual virus that doesn’t change the next day.
• To change people’s behavioral patterns to mitigate the spread of the virus.
• A solid contingency plan to allow us to continue to operate if/when we identify cases on campus.
• Enabling faculty to feel comfortable teaching in classrooms.
• Managing student behavior.
• Managing expectations – and the uncertainty in general.
• Having the facts, not the political hype that changes with the wind!
• Having enough classroom space.
• Planning for how maintenance work will take place in a positive COVID-19 setting.
• The ability to rapid-test on site as needed.
• More definitive direction from the CDC. General recommendations cause uncertainty and a broad spectrum of opinions.
• Plexiglas protection.
• Not having enough time.
• Concern about the continued supply chain cooperation and material availability.
• Decisions!!! We cannot make a plan to re-open without them!
• Additional funding flexibility – university budget models are not built to respond flexibly to these types of expanded, ever-changing services.
• TIME
• Not having all of my supplies in a timely fashion.
• Student registration, class schedules, compliance by instructors and students.
• Being as prepared as possible but a crystal ball would be nice.
• HVAC systems that cannot be retrofitted or cannot implement ASHREA recommendations.
• Need for the infection rate to be trending down in lieu of up.
• Inability to hire sufficient cleaning staff to meet the Public Health requirements across all buildings (especially if required to clean in between classes).
• Sufficient well-ventilated spaces.
• Cleaning and sanitization supplies.
• Staffing levels to meet requirements.
• Student, faculty, and staff adopt the basic mitigation measures outlined in our community standards…masks, hand washing, physical distancing…
• Clear guidelines.
• More time to discuss and implement strategies.
• Testing kit availability.
• Staff, cleaning supplies, and testing supplies.
• Decisions about how fall will look are still shifting – no static target to hit.
• Lack of custodial manpower to accomplish enhanced cleaning efforts.
• Quarantining for a positive test…
• The need is that everyone cooperates with all requirements and guidelines in place.
• Shortage of cleaning chemicals and custodial staffing challenges.
• The need to have upper management actually listen to me and my team.
• Fear of staff getting ill.
• Procuring gloves is a challenge and cleaning between classes.
• HVAC upgrades.
• Labor force.
• Culture Change: It is hard for people to not be near each other when working.  Changing this natural behavior is difficult.
• Consistent professional, industry perspective on the potential value (or lack thereof) of the litany of “good ideas” peddled by vendors and fear mongers.
• Not enough time to adequately plan and prepare for the dynamic, fluid circumstances that we face. Decisions are being made, and then promptly changed, on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. The consequences of the constantly shifting decisions are that we continue to have less and less time to prepare for reopening in the fall. We need more time, which is not something we will get.
• Hand sanitizers – dispensing bottles and disinfecting wipes.
• Still having trouble getting disinfection wipes and alcohol based products like Purell.
• Workable physical scheduling to accommodate anticipated increase in student load.
• Having enough people to work to get everything completed.  We are not working overtime right now, so that reduces our effectiveness also.
• Clear guidelines from the CDC.
• Disinfectant wipes.
• Student’s compliance with wearing of masks and social distancing rules.
• Time/personnel resources.
• Lack of sufficient time to plan and uncertainty about what the conditions will be in terms of community spread at the time of reopening.
• The need to know what to expect – which is not possible – so continuing to try to plan for a moving target.
• Labor hours to complete all the needed work and the desire to reduce costs.
• Not enough time and labor resources to address all the COVID and non-COVID related needs (staffed about 60% due to high risk staff not being returned to work and about 20% vacancies due to hiring freeze).
• Lack of sufficient sanitizer stations and hand wipes for classrooms.
• Football games will certainly be a big opportunity or occasion for spread of COVID.
• Sanitizing wipes and hand sanitizer shortages (at least quality products).
• Knowledge of future infection trends.
• Unknown future, making preparations during a changing environment.
• Staffing for increased disinfection and cleaning of high touch surfaces.
• Government mandates if a spike occurs in NY.
• More disinfectant wipes.
• Increased custodial staff. Effective implementation of signage throughout campus spaces.
• Commitment to participation in our protocols.  We will be good and safe if everyone participates fully.
• Quantities of supplies.
• More concrete information needed.
• Control over where students go while on campus.
• Procedures for staff entering spaces where there are COVID positive students.
• Student and parent panic and overreaction.
• Fast turnaround on test results.
• Lack of planning on faculty’s part.
• Lack of notification of someone with COVID like symptoms or a positive test.
• Manpower to implement extra disinfection procedures.
• Time.
• Staffing levels and funding.
• Ability to sustain and manage social distancing in areas of assembly, restrooms, and common areas.
• We don’t have large sized gloves!!! We’re all out and can’t resupply!!!
• N95 masks for Wellness/Health staff providing treatment/diagnosis of COVID cases and cleaning staff performing cleaning and sanitizing of COVID positive confirmed spaces.
• Plexiglas dividers.
• We need the administration to make final decisions about how classes will be delivered in the fall.
• Firm information from governing bodies regarding the aerosolization of COVID-19. What level of risk do the HVAC systems pose?
• Solid science that our faculty will read and understand.
• Technology ready spaces.
• Solid direction not that is easy to come by, it is the ever moving, fluidity of the situation that makes firm direction difficult.
• Clarity from the government on what is ok vs. not okay.
• Decisions from Academic side on where to hold classes based on class size and reduced maximum occupancy.
• Clear and consistent plan from Academic Affairs and better communications.
• Federal leadership is lacking.
• Keeping the border between Canada and USA closed.
• Space: With the social distancing of classes and labs, many spaces will be reduced to 25-30% of capacity.
• Staff unwillingness to come on campus.
• Disinfecting high touch surfaces.
• A vaccine…
• Lack of certain information and data, we’re shooting in the dark and hoping for the best.
• Sufficient numbers of personnel for disinfection.
• A crystal ball.
• Figuring out pedestrian traffic flow through buildings; some buildings lend themselves to an obvious/logical flow, while others do not. Also, forcing people to use a specific entrance/exit might create choke points and actually force people to congregate in closer proximity than they would otherwise.
• Shields for desks.
• Too many decisions that impact all areas have not been finalized and this will make us more reactive than we are comfortable with. My biggest concern is knowing if I will have enough staff to keep the campus clean and disinfected to the level people need it to be in order to feel comfortable in the work environment.  Many people plan to continue many things that will require more labor than we’ve ever had on staff or possibly can even provide right now.
• Timely, targeted testing to include results (1 hour turnaround?) and sufficiently trained contact tracers for an equally timely tracing effort.
• Employee fear.  The faculty continues to put up roadblocks.
• Lack of a vaccine!
• Disinfectant wipes for all campus occupants.
• Supplies for testing.
• Face shields and gloves.
• Ability to control all entrances and ensure everyone is screened.
• Clarity of what the classrooms will look like (professor’s perspective).
• Electronic contact tracing app.
• Concise communication of expectations across the college system.
• State executive order changes.
• Staffing and time.
• A vaccine.
• Time.
• Communication on what is going to take place. Changes occur daily.