Faculty COVID-19 Update for Spring '22
Dear Colleagues:
Welcome back for the spring semester. I want to thank you all for your continued commitment to our students, your colleagues, and to Bradley University. Like you, I had hoped we would look at COVID through the rearview mirror this spring. Unfortunately, COVID remains as a day-to-day reality for us all. I have a few pieces to share with you as we begin the new semester.
- Faculty members will be notified via Navigate if a student is going to miss class due to being in isolation, quarantine, waiting for a pending on-campus test result, or other health-related issues. We plan to send notifications each morning to reflect information from the previous day.
- If a student is excused from class, it does NOT mean the student was exposed in your class and it does NOT mean you were exposed. Employees will be contacted by Health Services if they are a close contact due to an on-campus case.
- Please accommodate students who may not be in class due to illnesses. You will determine the best ways to do this. As has always been our practice, work with students who may be in quarantine, isolation, or waiting for a pending on-campus test result to ensure they have appropriate opportunities to learn and to continue receiving a high-quality Bradley education.
- I encourage each of you to develop a plan to ensure students remain engaged in the learning process in the event you miss class due to your own isolation, quarantine, or pending test result. This plan may include asking another faculty member to cover your course or assigning out-of-class learning experiences. You must inform your department chair if this occurs. Department chairs should notify the dean’s office of COVID-19 faculty related absences.
- Class and class related activities should continue while there are limited campus activities between Jan. 16 - 26. All other activities should be rescheduled to after Jan. 26 or held virtually.
- If you haven't previously and are eligible, please get a booster shot. Faculty, staff, and students can participate in Bradley's upcoming Moderna Booster Clinic scheduled for Jan. 26. Watch for details. If you previously received a booster, we encourage you to update your vaccination status.
- Employees are not eligible for campus testing. Vaccinated employees who are symptomatic or identified as a close contact should visit an area testing location or contact their primary care physician. If you receive a positive test (including from a home rapid test) you must fill out the self-report form. Positive home tests should be followed up with a call to your physician and/or your local health department for further consultation.
- The CDC has changed the close contact designation. If you are a close contact due to a case on campus, you will be contacted by Bradley Health Services. Off-campus contact tracing will be handled by your local city/county health department.
- Faculty and staff who've received vaccine exemptions received a message from Human Resources at the end of the fall semester regarding their testing requirements.
Again, thank you all for your commitment to our students. I am hopeful we will have a great semester.
Walter R. Zakahi
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs