Reporting and contact tracing
Faculty have a responsibility to report to their department chair/program director and Human Resources if they test positive for Covid-19 or have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19. Even faculty members working remotely must report this information.
If a student informs you that he or she has tested positive or need to quarantine because of close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19, you must ask the student to complete the COVID Report Form, and the you should also report this information on the Faculty Report Form. Even if the student is taking online classes, this information must be reported.
With local health departments, the University is developing teams of contact tracers to support county operations. This will allow us to respond quickly and appropriately, inform potential contacts and guide them on the next steps to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Attendance guidelines
Because of the pandemic, there will be more student absences than in a typical semester. Students may be isolating, quarantining, or caring for sick family members. Faculty should make plans to help these students keep up with their classwork. OAA strongly recommends that online-live and dual delivery classes be recorded and made available to students. Faculty should use Brightspace to communicate with students and provide instructional materials and activities. Please consider making your attendance policies flexible.
Most often, test results and contact tracing are done by phone, so those required to isolate or quarantine will not have written documentation. Please keep this in mind when students have COVID-19 related absences.
Face covering policy
Faculty should include the following statement on their syllabus:
To protect the health and safety of our community, students, faculty, staff and visitors must wear face coverings that cover their mouth, nose, and chin while on campus. This includes all hallways, public spaces, classrooms and other common areas of campus buildings, as well as offices, labs, work spaces, and outdoor settings when 6-feet social distancing cannot be maintained. Students needing accommodations may contact the Office of Accessibility.
Students not wearing a face covering in class will be reminded to do so. Faculty should direct students who need a mask to the Student Union, the Student Recreation Center, or Simmons Hall to pick up their free masks. If a student refuses to wear a face covering (or to wear one properly), the faculty member will ask the student to leave the classroom. As a last resort, campus police may be called. The faculty member may submit a student conduct referral form to the Office of Student Conduct. Students who fail to follow this policy will be subject to progressive discipline that may result in the student’s removal from the in-person course.
Face shields may be used in addition to face coverings, but not in-lieu-of them.
Cleaning policy
Social distancing
Assigned seating
For more information and updates, see the Return to Campus page.