Spring Break Operational Updates

Dear Howard University Community,

Howard University will be closed for spring break from Saturday, March 4 through Sunday, March 12, 2023. The campus will resume normal hours of operation on Monday, March 13.

The campus closure provides a well-needed break for our students, faculty, and staff for self-care and enrichment. But it also allows us to complete significant work on campus. During the campus closure, building accessibility will be restricted to essential personnel and approved staff performing critical and time-sensitive activities.

Steam Plant Modernization Updates

In keeping with the Howard Forward strategic plan, our campus steam plant modernization initiative is progressing on schedule to increase our sustainable energy profile while reducing enterprise energy costs. The next phase of this project will involve steam being shut off to the campus during the spring break recess, which will be held from March 4 through March 12. The steam outage will begin on Friday, Mar. 3, at 8:00 p.m. and be restored by 8:00 p.m. on Friday, Mar. 10. 

The halls which will be impacted (no heat) are:

• Bethune Annex
• Drew Hall
• Cook Hall
• College Hall North 

For those students remaining on campus, we are working closely with the Office of Residence Life to monitor building temperatures and, if necessary, will temporarily relocate students to other residence halls. Please contact your building manager directly for any relocation requests. For any questions, please feel free to email pfmcsc@howard.edu. 

Campus Operations Updates

Please note the following details concerning service provision during the spring break recess:

Closure Requirements

• Unless designated as essential personnel, employees should not travel to Howard University to work.
• All buildings will be secured and locked. Essential personnel needing access to campus buildings must check in with the Department of Public Safety (DPS) each day at 202-806-1100.
• The Early Learning Program will be closed from March 6-10. ELP will resume regular operating hours on March 13.

Essential Operations

• DPS will provide continuous safety and security coverage and building access during the closure.
• Enterprise Technology Services (ETS) Help Desk support will be on standby for emergency IT-related issues. ETS will conduct scheduled maintenance over the recess, which will result in planned disruptions to IT-related services.
• Physical Facilities Management will continue to respond to urgent situations and emergencies.
• Howard University Hospital will remain open.
• The Faculty Practice Plan will be open and will operate on a normal schedule.
• The School of Medicine will maintain its scheduled hours of operation.
• WHUR-FM and WHUT-TV will continue their regular programming schedules.

Auxiliary Services

• There will be no shuttle service starting Saturday, Mar. 4 through Sunday, Mar. 12.
• Shuttle services will resume Monday, Mar. 13. 
• The Bison One Card Office will be closed during spring break.  

The University bookstore will be open; however, will be on the following modified schedule.  

• Monday, Mar. 6 - 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. 
• Tuesday, Mar. 7 - 10:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. 
• Wednesday, Mar. 8 - 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. 
• Thursday, Mar. 9 – CLOSED 
• Friday, Mar. 10 - 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. 
• Saturday, Mar. 11 - 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.  

Graphic, Printing & Mail Services

• Graphics & Printing will be closed during spring break.  
• Mail Services will be open Monday, Mar. 6 – Friday, Mar. 10 from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. If campus community members would like to pick up a package, they must call 202.806.1211 and arrange a pick-up time and date. All pick-ups will occur at the Service Center Building on 2244 10th St NW in Suite B-52 

Dining Services

• All dining services will be closed starting Saturday, Mar. 4 through Sunday, Mar. 12. Normal operating hours will resume on Monday, Mar. 13.  

Limited Campus Closure

The University will implement a limited campus closure during spring break from 12:01 a.m. on Monday, March 6, 2023, through 11:59 p.m. on Friday, March 10, 2023. During the recess, eight (8) hours of leave will be charged as administrative leave with pay. Leave-eligible employees are required to use thirty-two (32) hours of annual leave. Leave without Pay (LWOP) will be applied to those employees without remaining annual leave hours. 
  
To assist employees, the Office of Human Resources provides the below University-designated Spring Break leave day instructions (i.e., administrative, annual, and LWOP) and additional information exclusive to essential employees and bargaining unit employees. Full details regarding each closure day are as follows: 

IMPORTANT:   

Please note that all eligible full-time employees will automatically have their leave entered into Workday. Staff will not have to manually enter leave in Workday for Spring Break. 
 
Essential employees who are required to work during the Spring closure should notify and coordinate with their supervisor to document their time worked and report those hours to the Payroll Office on or before March 13, 2023. The Payroll Office will need ample time to adjust the annual leave balance of essential employees before the payrolls for the pay period that includes spring break are processed.  As a reminder, Howard University does not permit leave-eligible employees to carry over more than eighty (80) hours of annual leave into the next leave fiscal year, which commences on July 1, 2023. Therefore, it is important for supervisors to encourage and allow essential employees to use their annual leave prior to June 30, 2023. 
 
Bargaining unit employees are expected to follow this guidance unless it conflicts with the terms of an applicable collective bargaining agreement. In such case(s), the terms of the collective bargaining agreement shall govern. All other requests for staff to work during the closure are to be restricted to critical and time-sensitive activities in accordance with Howard University’s policies and federal guidelines. These requests are to be submitted using the following Microsoft form by no later than 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 2, 2023.

Howard University Campus Closure Request for Access Form

Each employee requesting access to campus buildings during the closure is required to fill out a form, and all fields must be completed. Submitting a request does not equate to approval to have access to buildings or to work during the campus closure.

Requestors will be notified concerning approvals, denials, or modifications to the request by the close of business on Friday, March 3, 2023. The request must specify the name of the employee, office location, days and times the requestor will need to be in the office, and an explanation of the critical/essential nature of the request. You must receive prior permission from your direct supervisor to access the campus during the closure. Please work with your divisional head to plan for the campus closure period.

If you have questions regarding the spring break campus closure, please contact the Office of Human Resources by calling (202) 806-1280 or via e-mail at humanresources@howard.edu.  

Have a safe and restful spring break!

Excellence in Truth and Service,

Tashni-Ann Dubroy, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer