Safety and Covid – Week Two

9/13/2021

Dear FSU Members,

We hope your first week of classes was productive and safe.    Several quick things:

Get Tested for Covid right on campus:  The university is not requiring Covid testing of the campus community – the kind of testing that would allow us to be better on top of any increases in Covid cases.  However, testing is available, and we encourage faculty/librarians to call the UHS testing hotline at 617-287-4355 to request a regular/weekly COVID-19 test.  The more of us who get tested the better.

Faculty Council Meeting Today at 1:30:  Among other things, faculty will hear from the Chancellor and Provost, and perhaps have an opportunity to ask them questions about the Fall return to campus.  Join the webinar here: https://umassboston.zoom.us/j/97553202718

Covid on Campus:  We have received a lot of questions regarding how to handle Covid in the classroom. As far as we understand university policy, if a student informs an instructor while in class that they have Covid – you should adjourn the class immediately, get a list of all students in attendance, and contact University Health Services (UHS) immediately (617-287-5660).  If you are told by a student outside of class that they have tested positive, contact UHS -- UHS will determine the level of risk and precautions to take.

We have also heard from faculty members who have received emails informing them that they came into contact with a student in their class who has Covid (the student has been told to quarantine).  As far as we know, all of these notifications have indicated that since/if you are vaccinated there is no need to quarantine, the class can continue, and that you are urged to get a test (a message that we assume all students are also getting).  A number of faculty have asked what type of exposure would trigger a different type of email, one that perhaps cancelled that class, moved it to remote, or required testing of everyone in class (as opposed to simply urging everyone to get tested).  We are unclear.  If you have gotten such a response, please share with the FSU.   Finally, to our knowledge, the University has not yet reported on the number of Covid cases from the first week of class, which we assume will be revealed on the Covid Dashboard.

Faculty Reporting Campus Safety Issues:  Thanks to those who have reported safety issues using this google form.  Please continue to do so.  We will issue a summary about what has been reported later in the week, but it seems clear that crowded shuttles and classes, especially in Wheatley, are of concern to many FSY members.

Steve Striffler

FSU President

For information on the FSU, links to our contract and bargaining updates, and a calendar of events, see the FSU webpage