In a letter last week, Provost and Senior Vice President Mary Ann Rankin reminded the campus community about preparations for Friday’s night game against Penn State, when 50,000 fans and guests are expected to pack Maryland Stadium for the 8 p.m. kickoff.

“Campus staff have been working hard to ensure that we minimize traffic congestion and other problems and put our best foot forward. I thank them all for their hard work,” she wrote.

Administrative Leave for Non-Essential Faculty and Staff
In order to ensure that visitors, students, faculty and staff are not inordinately inconvenienced by the inevitable traffic issues, the university will grant administrative leave to all nonessential employees beginning at noon on Friday. All administrative and academic offices will close then. Nonessential employees have the option to telework prior to the closure, dependent upon their ability to work off-site and supervisor approval.

Essential employees are expected to report to work as scheduled. Nonexempt regular and nonexempt Contingent 2 essential employees will receive either compensatory time or additional pay in addition to their hours worked for the portion of their regularly scheduled shift that is covered by the administrative leave.

Please review additional details regarding administrative leave here.

Class Schedules
Beginning at noon on Friday, all classes, rather than meet in person on campus, should use alternative meeting options. Lab sections are the exception and will meet as scheduled. Students should expect to hear from their instructors with details on how their afternoon classes will meet that day.

Faculty are encouraged to contact the Teaching and Learning Transformation Center (TLTC) for assistance with alternative meeting options to keep student learning on schedule. The TLTC offers website guidance for instructors and teaching assistants and invites faculty to request an individual consultation to discuss the detailed learning goals for the class that day and the best way to achieve them without meeting in person.

To request exceptions for other classes to meet in person on Friday afternoon, please contact the provost’s office.

Parking and Shuttle-UM
Almost all campus lots will be affected by the game. Students, faculty and staff should review the following Friday football parking arrangements, which include vehicle relocation requirements, alternative parking options and access permit information:

Student Parking
Faculty/Staff Parking

Those who plan to take Shuttle-UM to campus should review its modified schedules for Friday.

People coming to campus should consider walking, biking, taking transit and carpooling to reduce traffic as well as UMD’s carbon footprint on Friday. The Department of Transportation Services’ Smart Commute Friday Football Challenge awards extra points for traveling to campus sustainably on Friday. These points can be redeemed for gift cards to popular retail stores and restaurants.

Information about the event can be found at umterps.com/fridaynightlights.