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June 11, 2026

Dear Faculty and Staff:

Carnegie Mellon’s strength has always been the people who make this university an extraordinary place to learn, discover and create. Our students have repeatedly shared how much they value in-person interactions with faculty and staff, and we believe that the exchange of ideas, the mentoring of students, the collaboration across disciplines, and our shared sense of purpose is strongest when we are working together in the same physical space.

With that in mind, Â鶹´å will be adopting new remote work guidelines for staff. For staff roles that can accommodate flexible work, we will shift to a standard 4:1 workweek with employees working four days onsite and one day remote each week, effective January 2027. This approach aims to both promote in-person community building and the continued need for flexibility and agility in today’s rapidly evolving, post-pandemic world.

Key facets of these new guidelines include:

• New Weekly Schedule: Beginning Jan. 4, 2027, the standard flexible work arrangement will be four days onsite and one remote day per week — a shift from our current posture, which supports up to two remote days per week.
• Review of Current Exceptions: This summer, we will begin reviewing existing flexible and remote work exceptions under the new guidelines.
• New Flexible Work Periods: Starting on Jan. 4, 2027, staff may be eligible for expanded flexibility — including compressed workweeks and up to two remote days per week — during designated periods, such as the summer months, when most students are not on campus. Given the diverse work profiles of our employee population, some of these designated periods will be specific to the rhythms and responsibilities of individual units and teams.

While these new guidelines apply to all U.S.-based staff, we also expect faculty to foster a vibrant campus community by prioritizing in-person collaboration — in shared spaces, through daily interactions, and in both planned and spontaneous ways — as fundamental to our university’s success.

In the coming days and weeks, the Office of Human Resources (OHR) will send a detailed update with the new guidelines and new criteria for exceptions as well as other resources.

The long lead time for implementing these guidelines will help the university effectively manage this transition. Later today, Transportation Services will release their annual parking update, which includes changes to support this shift. This summer, OHR will work with university leadership to evaluate office space, technology, transit and parking requirements and determine where adjustments may be appropriate. OHR will also begin to review all existing schedule exceptions under the new guidelines, and any staff member whose schedule exception is not renewed will have until Jan. 4, 2027, to adopt the 4:1 schedule.

Over the past several years, our university community has been on an important journey in reimagining how we work together. This process has benefited from ongoing conversations across academic and administrative leadership, a review of workplace trends and research, consultations with experts, community feedback and direct engagement with staff and supervisors. While we recognize that some members of our community may be disappointed by this shift in posture, we have long witnessed the energy, creativity and trust that emerge from people working side-by-side in service of our mission. At Carnegie Mellon, these personal connections matter. Even more, they are pivotal for supporting our students and positioning our community to succeed for decades to come.

We look forward to your continued engagement as we prepare for this transition and remain grateful for all that you do to make Carnegie Mellon the incredible institution that it is today. 

Sincerely,

Farnam Jahanian
President
Henry L. Hillman President’s Chair

James H. Garrett Jr.
Provost and Chief Academic Officer