Changes to Remote Work Schedules

Sent: July 14, 2025

From: Vincent J. Del Casino, Jr., Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dear Colleagues,

This coming fall, SJSU will be enrolling more than 36,000 students who will be taking the majority of their classes on campus (out of a total of nearly 40,000 students). Our students’ success depends on our ability to provide them with a welcoming and supportive environment. As such, we are implementing an update to the Division of Academic Affairs telecommute policy.

Effective September 19, 2025, the division will transition from the current minimum 3-day in-office / 2-day remote model to a minimum 4-day in-office / 1-day remote schedule for classified staff, and there will no longer be telecommuting agreements for MPPs. We are also asking everyone to be on campus during the first two weeks of school (August 14–27) to help welcome our students and support one another with the start-of-year activities, unless office space constraints limit our ability to do so.

Investing in a Culture of Belonging

This adjustment reflects the evolving needs of our students and the operational goals of the division:

  • Enhancing Student Service & Supporting Enrollment Growth
    With increasing student enrollment and demand for campus services, a greater in-person presence ensures we are accessible, responsive, and prepared to meet students where they are. A stronger physical presence also enhances the student experience. It supports our retention goals, as it helps us meet a critical student success goal, which is to enable a stronger sense of belonging amongst our students.
  • Fostering Collaboration & Community
    Being together in person also facilitates quicker problem-solving, more seamless coordination across units, and stronger professional relationships. It allows for spontaneous collaboration and builds a sense of community foundational to our work.

Telecommute Work Guidelines & Expectations

Remote work continues to be a discretionary benefit, not a guaranteed entitlement. As such, not all roles are eligible for remote work, particularly those that require full-time in-person service delivery (and there are already many jobs in the division that require 5-day a week on campus work schedules). On the flip side, some offices will continue with a 3-day in-office / 2-day remote schedule due to space constraints or hiring commitments to fully-remote work for back office operations. Managers will determine eligibility based on job functions and service needs. When applicable, the selection of the remote workday will be guided by:

  • Ensuring consistent student access to services;
  • Alignment with university, divisional, and departmental operational needs; and,
  • Creating a consistent environment of campus engagement.

If your role requires you to be on campus during your designated remote workday—such as for a meeting, event, student support, or team coverage—you are expected to report to campus as needed. There will be no make-up remote workday provided in such instances.

Special Considerations

  • Exceptions to this telecommute policy will be rare and must be reviewed and approved by the Provost.
  • Inherently remote roles, such as roles that were hired to provide fully online students or other virtual services, will retain their remote designation as appropriate.

Additionally, continued participation in telecommuting is contingent on demonstrated productivity and professional conduct. This flexibility may be revoked if performance expectations are not met or if the arrangement is misused.

Next Steps

Managers will collaborate with their teams over the coming weeks to finalize telecommute plans that support student access, divisional priorities, and team functionality. MPPs will submit telecommute forms to the Provost’s office for review, and then on to UP, for those telecommute agreements that run from 9/19/25 through 5/31/26. Prior to 9/19/25, current telecommute schedules will remain in place, with the exception of the dates of August 14-27. Our goal in this process is to strike the right balance between operational excellence and flexibility, ensuring that we meet the needs of our students and one another. We will be evaluating summer telecommuting agreements and should have a decision on what should take place 6/1/26 through 8/14/2026 by the end of January.

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to our students and the mission of the Division of Academic Affairs. Your adaptability and professionalism are the cornerstones of our collective success.

Sincerely,
Vin