The evolution of the coronavirus epidemic is monitored by the University of Lausanne, in conjunction with the cantonal authorities. Here is useful information for all members of the UNIL community.
Status March 16th, 6 PM
The Conseil d'Etat du canton de Vaud declared today a "state of necessity" for the entire territory of Vaud, as of tomorrow, Tuesday 17, 6 a.m.. Then the Swiss Federal Council declared the state of "extraordinary circumstances". This demands further adaptation of our institutional functioning, particularly with regard to employees' access to the campus.
The crisis we are going through create organizational challenges that will call for many specific responses for students and staff alike, whether in teaching, research or administrative and technical services.
We will provide you with regular and targeted information to ensure the best possible running of the semester and to ensure institutional continuity, which should initially be limited to the most essential services.
In the meantime, your find hereunder the most important information.
For employees
Access to the campus will be even more strictly limited: by default, any member of the staff will remain at home teleworking and/or waiting for instructions from his or her superiors. The decision-making competence for a presence on campus depends on your Dean, on your department head or on the Rectorate, depending on your hierarchical attachment.
The Webex meeting and videoconferencing solution is available here:
https://www.unil.ch/ci/distrisoft
For students
The classes will continue to be given on line for several weeks, and this could extend even to the entire semester. The Faculties have started to deploy their system and will continue this work in the coming days. The first classes are already online.
The Rectorate and the Faculties will now work on questions relating to exams and the conditions of validation.
The services in charge of student affairs (Guidance and Counselling Service-SOC, Social Affairs and Student Mobility Services-SASME, Registration and Enrolment Service-SII) continue to respond online to your requests – even though their counters are closed. Please consult their web pages.
Institutional continuity
The Rectorate has set up an emergency mechanism, the three priorities of which at this stage are as follows:
The work carried out in recent weeks has made it possible to strengthen the IT systems as well as the online learning services so as to make sure they cope with a greatly increased usage.
We will send you in the coming days more specific information depending on your status as a student, teacher or administrative and technical collaborator. In the mean time we appeal once again to the individual responsibility and solidarity of all members of the UNIL community. Respect the instructions in all circumstances, in the interest of all!
Status March 16th, 2 PM
Message from the Rector
Dear Members of the UNIL community,
Here at UNIL, everything seems quite but under the surface there is a huge amount of activity, all this via our computer screens! As you can imagine, our priority is to continue our primary mission, teaching.
As a result of the large efforts of the last few weeks, many classes are already online, without interruption since last week. Others are being set up, for those we ask our students for a little patience! In the background, the central services and faculties make all this possible.
I thank you all for your unwavering commitment to UNIL, for your resilience, and for your responsiveness.
Nouria Hernandez, Rector
Status March 13th, 3 PM
Developments in Switzerland have led the public health authorities to take the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic to a new level.
From this evening, Friday 13 March, until the end of April, UNIL will operate with resources reduced to the bare essentials. Students and staff are required to stay off campus. The buildings will be closed.
Access to the campus will be restricted to staff whose presence is required for essential tasks and to teachers whose presence is required for the preparation and follow-up of distance learning courses.
Teaching :
The Rectorate has decided to continue all teaching by distance learning for a probable duration of several weeks, or even the entire semester. The technical device will be available from Monday on, so as to allow the faculties to reorganize their courses and offer their teaching according to the new modalities. The schedule of implementation will be defined by each faculty. Teachers will receive practical instructions today.
The absolute priority for UNIL in these circumstances is to allow the running of the semester and its validation for all students.
Functioning of the services and institutes :
Only the essential functions identified by the heads of services and deaneries remain active on campus. Access to the buildings is via the campus card.
Employees are obliged to stay at home, unless explicitly requested by the heads of departments and deaneries. Each employee must ensure that his or her hierarchy can contact him or her at all times.
Employees are encouraged to telework as much as possible.
For those who are required to be present on campus, arrangements will be made to enable "social distance" to be respected, as well as the other individual measures recommended by the FOPH.
Working sessions and meetings intended for research activity (colloquia, seminars, etc.) are abolished.
Travel :
All study trips and all professional trips of all collaborators, whether academic or administrative, are suspended.
Infrastructures :
All libraries remain closed.
All cafeterias remain closed.
Events :
Public events are suppressed.
Information channels and follow up of the situation:
These arrangements inevitably lead to many practical questions, which management and faculties are intensively working to answer. The necessary information will be provided in the coming days.
www.unil.ch/coronavirus is constantly being updated.
We understand that a situation such as the one we are experiencing can cause deep concern and a great deal of uncertainty. The Rectorate is doing everything in its power to pursue UNIL's essential missions and to guarantee students the validation of their study semester. It counts on the support of all of you.