Faculty/Instructional Staff

Cleaning protocols

If you are a staff or faculty unit leader and you’d like to coordinate a cleaning and disinfection plan for your workspace or building, contact Custodial Services. You can locate your building’s custodial leadership member on the Custodial Services website.

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)

FS HVAC teams, in partnership with the University Engineer, studied the effects of increasing our MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) rating and it resulted in an exponential drop in air exchange rates and therefore a drop in the introduction of fresh air in the spaces. This would have an overall negative effect on the health and safety of our buildings (stagnant air). Increasing outside air intake and optimizing exchange rates are far more important than filtering. Mask wearing reduces the likelihood that the airborne particles make it back into the return air system at all.

To further enhance the ‘in room’ filtration, air purifiers have been installed in classroom and shared spaces.  Filter units use hospital-grade filters to continually scrub and circulate the air.

Adapting common facilities

• Most buildings have at least one entrance with a touch-free door opener.
• Hand sanitizing stations available in hallways, typically located near elevators.
• Most restrooms have touch-free flushing and faucets.
• Drinking fountains remain unavailable, but most buildings have at least one water bottle filling station.
• One-way restriction on stairs removed.
• Common areas open.
• Break rooms open and restrictions of food storage lifted.
• Conference and meeting rooms open.

Classrooms

• Alcohol wipes still available for cleaning desktops.
• Rolling plexiglass barriers can be made available by request through KU’s established accommodation process.
• Classroom seating designed for an optimal teaching and learning environment based on the Higher Learning Commission recommendations.
• Regular seating capacity in lecture halls.

Study Spaces

Outdoor tents with electricity and WiFi are available for study breaks.

Campus Health Protocols

We are taking a comprehensive and coordinated approach to provide for our community’s health and wellness. These efforts include:

• Enhanced cleaning methods and schedules across all campus classrooms, dining, transportation, and facilities.
• Posting hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes in all classrooms and around campus.
• Providing personal protective equipment and sanitizing supplies to students and employees.

We ask that all Jayhawks follow appropriate safety guidelines to help protect our campus community.

Masks

Effective at March 28, 2022 our mask policy is as follows:

• Masks ware no longer required in classrooms.
• Masks are no longer required on KU buses (as of April 18, 2022).
• Masks are no longer required in non-classroom settings such as libraries, dining halls, research labs, hallways, athletics facilities, offices, meeting rooms and similar areas.
• The only settings in which masks are still required are Watkins Health Center, and childcare facilities.

You can read the Chancellor's announcement regarding the phased approach to remove the mask mandate on the Lawrence and Edwards campuses by clicking on the following link: Masks no longer required in classrooms on Lawrence, Edwards campuses beginning March 28 | Office of the Chancellor (ku.edu)

Testing

If you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, stay home and contact your health care provider.

Members of the KU community can request symptomatic or asymptomatic testing at Watkins Health Services during regular operating hours.

Testing is available at Watkins for individuals with or without symptoms. To reduce risk of transmission, please make an appointment for a test by calling the Watkins Health Services Nurse Helpline at 785-864-9583.

For more information visit Testing Information.

If you’ve been exposed or display symptoms

You should adhere to the guidance the exposure and isolation guidance found on the Protect KU Exposure & Isolation Protocol page. 

Moving a class entirely online cannot be done without approval of the dean, with requests made through chairs/directors in schools with chairs/directors. Please inform your chair/dean if you have been personally contacted and advised by a county health professional that it is appropriate to move your class online. If you have any concerns about your own health, please contact your healthcare provider.

If your dependent needs to quarantine or isolate

If you find yourself in the difficult situation of having to care for a child required to quarantine by a local school district or daycare due to possible COVID-19 exposure, we ask that you take the following steps to manage your teaching responsibilities:

1. Inform your chair, dean, or faculty supervisor and work with them to find another instructor to meet with the class.  
2. If another instructor is not available, then devise a meaningful alternative that could include:
   • Engaging students remotely, but with students in the classroom and someone else designated to assist in facilitating course activities.
   • Engaging students remotely until the end of the quarantine period.

Contact tracing and voluntary reporting

If a student informs you they must miss in-person class because of a positive test or that as a close contact they have been instructed to isolate or quarantine, please support them in following the guidance provided to them by their healthcare professional. Vaccinated individuals who have a possible exposure to a positive case do not need to quarantine if they have remained asymptomatic since the current COVID-19 exposure.

State law precludes the university from undertaking its own contact tracing efforts, but KU provides relevant information to LCDHE and KDHE, as appropriate, to assist in contact tracing. As we have throughout the pandemic, KU will continue to support contact tracing efforts of the Lawrence/Douglas County Health Department in conjunction with the Kansas Department of Health.

As in any situation when a student is obviously in distress, encourage students appearing ill to leave class and seek assistance. Watkins Health Services provides walk-in services for students. Remind students that they need to contact you about how to complete missed work or exams, and to follow health care provider instructions or Douglas County Health officials about when it is safe to return to class.

Personal resources

KU employees are encouraged to reach out for personal help if it’s needed. Benefits-eligible employees and their dependents can receive assistance through the state’s Employee Assistance Program, which offers short-term counseling services, legal advice, money management assistance, and more. Employees may also be eligible for the Rosalie Lanier Gray KU Staff Assistance Fund, which assists those who are experiencing financial hardship due to natural or personal disaster.

Employee health coverage

Visit the State Employee Health Plan website for information on health benefits related to COVID-19.