University of the Sciences Emergency Information

Civil Unrest in Philadelphia (10/28/20)

Dear Campus Community,

University of the Sciences Public Safety continues to monitor unrest in areas of the city as it occurs. Over night, we tracked pockets of unrest that all avoided our immediate area. USciences remains open this morning for those with a need to be on campus. We ask that all community members use caution, remain aware of their surroundings, and check local media and ReadyPhila.gov for updates regarding areas of the city to avoid for safety, traffic, clean up, or other disruptions. USciences Public Safety and our partners continue to protect our campus and we will keep the community updated.

Remember to dial 9-1-1 for all emergencies and then Dial the Sciences DPS Emergency line at 215-596-7000

Thank you for your kind attention in this regard.

University of the Sciences

Department of Public Safety

Civil Unrest in Philadelphia (10/27/20) Message 2

Dear Campus Community,

Philadelphia Police have sent messaging via ReadyPhiladelphia requesting residents in the 12th, 16th, 18th, 19th, 24th, 25th & 26th Districts to remain indoors except when necessary. This includes our campus which is in the 18th district.

These areas are experiencing widespread demonstrations that have turned violent with looting. If you aren't registered with ReadyPhiladelphia through OEM please sign up.

University of the Sciences Public Safety and UCD Public Safety along with Philadelphia and U Penn Police are patrolling the area. Please report any disturbances to 9-1-1 first and then USciences DPS at 215-596-7000.

University of the Sciences 

Department of Public Safety

USciences COVID-19 Task Force Update (6/4/2020)

To: All Staff, Faculty, and Students

 

It’s been a difficult week for many of our community members, and we hope the resources that the University offers will be of help to some or all of you.  We did want to continue to provide updates in this communication focused on the coronavirus pandemic and the University’s response.

 

The City of Philadelphia today confirmed that it will align with Governor Wolf’s recommendation to move to the YELLOW phase as of Friday, June 5 - more details are here.  However, at this point, the City has also extended the mandatory citywide curfew from 8:00pm through 6:00am Friday (details here).  

 

The transition to YELLOW in the City does not allow gatherings at this time, nor does it change recommendations on face coverings and social distancing.

 

Residence Hall Student Belongings Retrieval

 

• Unfortunately, due to the current civil unrest in the City of Philadelphia, we will need to delay retrieval of student belongings.   All students who were scheduled to pick up belongings this week will unfortunately have to reschedule.  Residence Life has contacted these students and will create additional time slots as necessary.

• Residence Life will continue to monitor the situation and reach out to students if additional future time slots are impacted.

• If you have not yet signed up for a time slot, please note the below:

• a limited number of students will be permitted to check out at one time (maximum of one per floor in each residence hall). 

• Click here to sign up for a date and 2-hour time slot to retrieve your belongings. You must select a time slot that corresponds to your building/floor. If there is no slot that corresponds to your floor under a given time, it means that the time slot for your floor has already been taken.

• Please refer to the separate communication sent by Residence Life for additional information about item retrieval and safety precautions being implemented throughout this process.  

• All questions should be directed to reslife@usciences.edu.

 

Clinical Education

• PA sites: students can go to clinical sites in Pennsylvania now. We should be able to resume limited, in person instruction on campus in our clinical programs after the University opens back up for limited operations. June 29th is our target date for this, subject to change if local or state guidance is amended.

• NJ sites: a request for a waiver was sent to New Jersey last Friday afternoon. All students scheduled for NJ sites are paused at this point and any students currently at these sites have been recalled pending notice from the State. Updates will be sent as soon as we hear from NJ about the waiver application.

• Outside of PA/NJ: if the region or state is not yet “open,” fieldwork coordinators will need to review local guidance for students in fieldwork. If there is no specific guidance, students may participate in this educational activity. (For those states or regions that are “open”, e.g., Florida, if local guidelines permit students to do fieldwork or are silent on the topic, students may continue to their assigned clinical sites.)

• REMINDER FOR ALL CLINICAL SITES:  University guidance does not permit students to have direct contact with patients who test positive for active COVID-19 (i.e., active viral load). They may (and are encouraged to) work on teams that are taking care of COVID-19 patients, as long as direct contact does not occur.

 

Return to Campus Planning

• The COVID-19 Task Force continues to update procedures for limited reopening of campus in the summer (after June 28th) and expanded opening into the fall.  The City of Philadelphia issued guidance for institutes of higher education in the City on Friday, May 29 and the State issued guidance yesterday. We are incorporating this into our internal documents. We anticipate releasing the plan to the campus in the coming weeks.

• As previously noted, we do not envision any reopening for non-essential personnel prior to June 29, with the potential for some limited on-site operations after that date.

• Governor Wolf’s current and updated guidance for the state is provided here.

• The City of Philadelphia’s guidance will be shared when it is public.

• The Task Force and academic leadership continue to plan for modified on-campus delivery of the fall semester; more information will be shared with the release of our Return to Campus guidelines in the next several weeks.

 

CARES Act Funding for Students 

• Students who applied for CARES Act funding by the May 31 deadline will be notified in the coming weeks of whether they will receive funding.  We expect to distribute the majority of these funds before June 30, 2020.

 

USciences COVID-19 Information

• Information about the University’s status, FAQs, and links to governmental sites are available on our COVID-19 webpage.

• COVID-19-related campus messages are posted at the USciences Public Safety Emergency Blog.  

• Status of campus operations, as well as tips for working and studying remotely are posted at the Working Remotely website.  

 

The University's Wellness Resources are available to students, faculty, and staff.  Please don't hesitate to take advantage of them.

 

The COVID-19 Task Force

Civil Unrest - 6/4/2020

With civil unrest remaining a possibility in areas of Philadelphia and based on reports from law enforcement, all campus-based University operations are suspended for tomorrow, Thursday, June 4, 2020. Only life/public safety essential personnel should report to campus tomorrow. 

USciences Department of Public Safety is patrolling along with our public safety partners from University City District, Philadelphia Police and UPenn Police as we continue to monitor activities on and around campus with increased patrols. Please remain alert, avoid crowds and continue to comply with the COVID-19 Stay-At-Home order. 

USciences Department of Public Safety will continue its efforts to ensure the safety and security of our community. While we encourage community members to stay at home, please remember to request a walking escort should you need to leave your home outside of curfew hours. This can be requested by dialing 215-895-1117 or x1117 from any campus phone. The curfew for tonight, June 3rd, begins at 6:00pm.

Civil Unrest - 6/3/2020

Civil unrest is expected continue this evening in parts of Philadelphia. Based on reports from law enforcement, all campus-based University operations are suspended for tomorrow, Wednesday, June 3, 2020. Only life/public safety essential personnel should report to campus tomorrow. 

USciences Department of Public Safety is patrolling along with our public safety partners from University City District, Philadelphia Police and UPenn Police as we continue to monitor activities on and around campus with increased patrols. Please remain alert, avoid crowds and continue to comply with the COVID-19 Stay-At-Home order. 

USciences Department of Public Safety will continue our efforts to ensure the safety and security of our community. While we encourage community members to stay at home, please remember to request a walking escort should you need to leave your home outside of curfew hours. This can be requested by dialing 215-895-1117 or x1117 from any campus phone. The curfew for tonight, June 2nd, begins at 8:30pm.

Civil Unrest - 6/2/2020

Civil unrest is expected to continue this evening in many parts of Philadelphia. Based on reports from law enforcement, all campus-based University operations are suspended for tomorrow, Tuesday, June 2, 2020. Only life/public safety essential personnel should report to campus tomorrow. 

USciences Department of Public Safety is patrolling along with our public safety partners from University City District, Philadelphia Police and UPenn Police as we continue to monitor activities on and around campus with increased patrols. Please remain alert, avoid crowds and continue to comply with the COVID-19 Stay-At-Home order. 

USciences Department of Public Safety will continue our efforts to ensure the safety and security of our community. While we encourage community members to stay at home, please remember to request a walking escort should you need to leave your home. This can be requested by dialing 215-895-1117 or x1117 from any campus phone. 

Civil Unrest - 6/1/2020

Civil unrest is occurring throughout the city, including West Philadelphia. In keeping with the City of Philadelphia's emergency operations and City office closures, all campus-based University operations are suspended for tomorrow, Monday, June 1, 2020. Only life/public safety essential personnel should report to campus tomorrow. 

USciences Department of Public Safety is patrolling along with our public safety partners from University City District, Philadelphia Police and UPenn Police as we continue to monitor activities on and around campus with increased patrols. Please remain alert, avoid crowds and continue to comply with the COVID-19 Stay-At-Home order. 

USciences Department of Public Safety will continue our efforts to ensure the safety and security of our community. While we encourage community members to stay at home, please remember to request a walking escort should you need to leave your home. This can be requested by dialing 215-895-1117 or x1117 from any campus phone. 

 

ROBBERY REPORTED - 43rd and Kingsessing

A cell phone robbery has been reported near Rosenberger Hall just before 2:00pm. Police responded and are investigating. DPS on heightened alert and in area.  2 African-American males, both 16-18 years old: 1 wearing green coat with gray hoodie and gray sweats, and the other wearing a dark blue coat and blue sweats with white stripes. Please stay alert.

 

USciences Dept. of Public Safety Blackboard Page under the “My Community” tab at:

https://usciences.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/execute/announcement?method=search&context=course&course_id=_3639_1&handle=cp_announcements&mode=cpview

 

USciences Dept. of Public Safety Emergency Text Messaging via e2Campus (if you are not signed up, please take the time to do so):

http://alert.usciences.edu

Please be reminded that for ALL emergencies Dial 911 first.

Be prepared to give your name, location, and nature of your emergency.

Please REMEMBER TO KEEP THE LINE OPEN. Do NOT hang up.

 

Also, please be reminded that the emergency number for USciences Public Safety Dispatch is 215-596-7000.

 

You are encouraged to request safe transit and walking escorts provided by the following:

USciences Public Safety Walking Escorts: 215-895-1117

Penn Transit Shuttles: 215-898-7433

UCD Walking Escorts: 215-387-3942

 

 

Recent Reported Robberies Near Campus

Dear USciences Community,

The Philadelphia Police Department is reporting a series of robberies close to our University campus. There was a recent robbery reported on the 900 Block of 42^nd Street, which is close to Baltimore Avenue.

The Department of Public Safety is providing this information to raise your awareness of incidents close to campus. Please remember the following:

The emergency number for USciences Public Safety Dispatch is 215-596-7000.

You are encouraged to request safe transit and walking escorts provided by the following:

USciences Public Safety Walking Escorts: 215-895-1117

Penn Transit Shuttles: 215-898-7433

UCD Walking Escorts: 215-387-3942 (Which Public Safety will arrange)

If you have not already done so, please sign up for our emergency text messaging system, e2Campus by clicking on the following link: http://alert.usciences.edu

Please also take the time to visit our Public Safety Blog regularly for helpful hints, safety bulletins, campus security tips, and general announcements from the USciences Dept. of Public Safety.

The following link will redirect you to our USciences Dept. of Public Safety Blog: http://emergency.usciences.edu 

“Public Safety is on all of USciences”

TIMELY WARNING FROM USCIENCES DEPT. PUBLIC SAFETY - RE: ROBBERIES

Dear USciences Community,

Please see below for information regarding a series of robberies that have occurred within close proximity to our campus. The information below has been provided by UPenn Public Safety.

Please be reminded that for ALL emergencies Dial 911 first.

Be prepared to give your name, location, and nature of your emergency.

Please REMEMBER TO KEEP THE LINE OPEN. Do NOT hang up.

Also, please be reminded that the emergency number for USciences Public Safety Dispatch is 215-596-7000.

You are encouraged to request safe transit and walking escorts provided by the following:

USciences Public Safety Walking Escorts: 215-895-1117

Penn Transit Shuttles: 215-898-7433

UCD Walking Escorts: 215-387-3942

If you have not already done so, please sign up for our emergency text messaging system, e2Campus by clicking on the following link: http://alert.usciences.edu

Please also take the time to visit our Public Safety Blog regularly for helpful hints, safety bulletins, campus security tips, and general announcements from the USciences Dept. of Public Safety.

The following link will redirect you to our USciences Dept. of Public Safety Blog: http://emergency.usciences.edu 

 

  

Dear Members of the Penn Community:

Philadelphia Police are currently investigating a series of four robberies at point of gun that took place between 8:29 pm last night and 7:05 am this morning, between 43rd & 47th Streets and Spruce & Cedar Streets, just west of our campus and Patrol Zone. The suspect in all four robberies was described as a black male with a thin build and a beard, wearing a maroon hooded sweatshirt, shorts, and spandex tights.

Penn Police are working with Philadelphia Police, the University City District and Allied Universal to increase patrols on our western border.

Public Safety will continue to ensure the highest level of safety and security for our community

Please take a moment to sign up for the new Penn Guardian App which can provide emergency personnel with helpful information and your location in an emergency.

For information on Penn Guardian and a link to the app go to:
https://www.publicsafety.upenn.edu/safety-initiatives/pennguardian/