National Taiwan Ocean University Office of the International Affairs

The National Taiwan Ocean University is quickly responding to the announcement of the Taiwan Centers for Disease and Control (CDC) regarding the extension of the National Level 3 Alert until June 14, 2021, due to the COVID-19 surge. A pandemic prevention meeting supervised and facilitated by NTOU President Tai-Wen Hsu was conducted last May 12, 13, 17, 19, 21, and today, May 26, 2021. The said meeting focused on the prevention action and response by formulating relevant measures to follow the direction and government policies provided by the CDC. The University, with its continuous effort, is providing the latest information and publishes alerts on its epidemic prevention measures and alerts on the website for updates. All faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to cooperate, follow and participate in these relevant measures to ensure everyone and the campus’s safety. The following are the updated guidelines to be strictly followed while in the campus vicinity.

            Academics

1. With the National Level 3 Alert’s extension until June 14, 2021, all courses offered by the University will continue to be online until the end of the semester, June 19, 2021.
2. Graduation and final exams will be conducted online, including other tests and submission of reports.
3. For experiments, physical research courses, and the final assessments will also be shifted to online tests or report submission, do confirm with your respective professors. 
4. Freshman English TOEIC, Basic Calculus, advance planning college courses for high school, and other related activities are canceled.
5. The number of graduate students for each laboratory is limited to 5 persons only. If there are more than five persons, others must make a prior arrangement or reservation. Wearing of the mask should be observed throughout the stay in the laboratory. The laboratories must be disinfected after being used and before the next batch of students can enter.
6. The processing of graduation requirements is also shifted online. Graduation certificates will be mailed to those who are qualified to graduate. Automatic payment of fees such as transcript of records will be implemented as well. A payment machine is provided for this payment transaction; it will be available on the 1st floor of the Administration Building to be utilized by the students. The application graduation deadline is extended to July 19, 2021. 
7. All teachers are required to implement online teaching and use the TronClass system for auditing.

             Faculty and Staff Work Arrangement

1. Starting May 20, 2021, until June 14, 2021, the staff working schedule is adjusted to 7:30-10:00 and 16:30-19:00.
2. Work in groups and remote locations: according to the staff requirement, meeting rooms and other office spaces can be utilized for better movement and social distancing. Those who work in different places, their schedule, and office location should be reported to the Personnel Office to be sent to the Epidemic Prevention Team and the General Affairs Office for documentation and reference.  
3. Work from home: Starting May 24 to June 14, 2021, 50% of the administrative staff in each unit will work from home. Each unit is authorized to work at their respective homes. Senior employees will decide by themselves on this arrangement. There should be proper rotation on the staff’s work schedules and implement the duties and responsibilities while in work from home arrangements. No one is allowed to work from home for more than two consecutive days.
4. The Personnel Office has to check those who work at home for their office attendance and status for reporting to the Office of the Secretary. All units are requested to provide the Work from Home Application Forms to the Personnel Office for reference.
5. The faculty and staff’s epidemic prevention, family care leave, and personal leaves should be facilitated based on the regulations.  
6. For the university-related work, teaching and research works are not affected. Part-time teaching assistants, part-time administrative assistants, and research assistants can still perform their jobs. They can still assist teachers in the online classes, assist research-related activities, and administrative processing activities.
7. To avoid contact with people, individuals can leave immediately as soon as official documents were delivered to a certain office.

            Examination

The TOEIC campus English test was canceled last May 22, 2021, following the ETS.  The Academic Affairs Office should request for online test replacement as soon as possible. Later, fresh graduates can split into different classes. Students who graduate early can also apply.

             Food

1. Follow and fill out the Contact Information System upon entering restaurants and other food stores.  
2. Since May 17, 2021, all restaurants inside the University have fully implemented the take-out policy.  
3. The Second Restaurant and Engineering Restaurant (available for lunch only) inside the campus are still open. The First Restaurant is close at the moment.

            Activity

1. Meetings are also shifted the video meetings using Google Meet.
2. The 2021 Graduation Ceremony will adopt video recording and playback.
3. The Keelung Island tour as one of the activities for graduating students is canceled.
4. Graduation fireworks activity is postponed.
5. Relevant purchase cases from the General Affairs Office are postponed for 1 ½ month.

            Building

1. The campus is not open to the public. You will be required to register your names and ID numbers at the main gate upon entry. For vehicles, except for faculty, staff, and students (including contract manufacturers) who have applied for permission will be allowed. Other public vehicles that wish to enter the campus must apply for permission in advance.
2. All buildings will strictly implement a single entrance system with temperature checking and will required to wear mask upon entry. Those who will not wear masks are not allowed to enter the building. If a person has hyperthermia or fever after checking body temperature, report or notify the School Health Center immediately. The daily temperature check will be reported to the school.
3. The Security and School Safety Center will check and conduct campus patrols.
4. Spaces such as stadiums and playgrounds are closed to restrict entry and exit.
5. Returning and borrowing books from the Library is only available from Monday to Friday from 10:00 AM to 12 noon. For the details, please visit the NTOU Library and Information Office website. The Library is not open beyond the designated time.

            Health Management

1. 1. Individuals under quarantine and self-management are prohibited from entering the campus and laboratories. Please ask the security center to assist in inspections and spot checks.
   2. Care and division of responsibilities are with following designations: the faculty and staff (The Occupational Safety and Health Center(OSHC) ), overseas Chinese (military training room), international students (Office of the International Affairs), confirmed cases (Health Center); all departments are encouraged to please continue to care for students.
   3. The faculty members and employees must continue to manage their health. Everyone should be wearing masks, do frequent hand washing, paying attention to the area ventilation, and avoiding crowded places. Individuals with fever and respiratory symptoms must wear a mask and are encouraged to seek medical treatment and stay home to rest.
   4. As announced by the National Health Command Center – Taiwan Center for Disease Control, the public activity history and the time listed in the announcement where a confirmed individual is positive with COVID-19 are considered. Someone present in the same relevant place (based on entry and exit time) must cooperate and undergo health management or supervision. For 14 days, a person under self-health management must report his/her current health status to the NTOU Health Center online.
   5. The University strictly implements the pandemic prevention measures, and those with symptoms must immediately notify the NTOU Health Center (extension number 1070-1073).  Inform authorities by calling 1922 Hotline.

The guidelines provided are for immediate implementation. Let us all be healthy, safe, and happy despite this challenging time and with so many restrictions in our movements and physical presence. Let us be responsible and do our part to make ourselves and our environment a safer place to live.

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