Important Announcements — Temporary Enhanced Safety Protocols and Updated COVID-19 Policies

January 2, 2022

To: University Community
From:  President Krista Newkirk, Vice President for Administration Michelle Rogers, and the President's Cabinet
Subject: Important Announcements — Temporary Enhanced Safety Protocols and Updated COVID-19 Policies

Happy New Year! We hope your holidays were restful and fulfilling. This memo provides important information regarding the spring semester and return to work, so please read it carefully and in its entirety.

In response to the steep rise in the number of COVID-19 cases across the United States, the following enhanced measures, outlined in further detail below, are effective immediately.

  • Spring semester instruction for undergraduate and graduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) will begin online Monday, January 10In-person instruction will begin on Tuesday, January 18.
  • Post-holiday COVID-19 testing is mandatory for all students and employees who will be living, learning, or working on the Redlands or Marin campus, or at one of our regional campus locations.
  • Temporary enhanced safety protocols are in effect Jan 3. to Jan 21.
  • The indoor masking mandate is now extended to off-site locations while working; KN95 or N95 masks, based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance, are preferred.
  • COVID-19 boosters are required.

Online Learning for the First Week of Classes

All courses will be taught online Monday, Jan. 10 through Friday, Jan. 14. In-person instruction begins on Tuesday, Jan. 18. While residence halls on the Redlands campus will open on Sunday, Jan. 9 as scheduled, this delayed start to in-person teaching and learning provides students the flexibility needed should they encounter travel challenges, a delay in receipt of required testing results, or COVID-19 exposure or infection. Students whose arrival will be delayed beyond Tuesday, Jan. 18 should contact the College’s Dean’s office at cas_deansoffice@redlands.edu.

For the newest members of the Bulldog family, New Student Orientation for CAS undergraduates will continue as planned and in-person on Jan. 8, 2022.

All students and faculty should look for announcements from their respective deans about the upcoming semester/session with further instructions.

Employee Support

All employees are expected to return to their work location tomorrow, Jan. 3. However, recognizing employees may also face numerous challenges during this COVID-19 surge, we encourage supervisors to provide flexibility to their direct reports, as business needs allow, to include temporary remote work accommodations.

Mandatory Post-Holiday COVID-19 Testing for all Employees and Students

As stated in the Dec. 13Dec. 15, and Dec. 28 University-wide memos, all U of R employees and students, regardless of vaccination status, must comply with testing protocols, as described below. (Those who have recently had COVID-19, please see the last paragraph of this section, below the chart.)

Population

Return Testing Requirement & Reporting

Undergraduates in the College of Arts and Sciences – residential and non-residential

Take a COVID-19 PCR test three to five days before your return to campus, and then again three to five days after arrival. While PCR tests are strongly preferred, results from a rapid test will be accepted.

Complete attestation form and upload test results. The upload and attestation process will go live the afternoon of Monday, Jan. 3. You will receive an email from Dean Eddleman with the link and additional information.

Detailed guidance for undergraduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences can be found here.

Students Who Are Not College Undergraduates - in-person

All full- and part-time students in the School of Business & Society, School of Education, Graduate School of Theology, College of Arts and Sciences graduate programs, and School of Continuing Studies who will take class(es) in-person are required to take a COVID-19 test three to five days before returning to in-person instruction.

If you are unable to get a PCR test, results from an antigen test will be accepted.

Once you are tested, please complete the online form:

https://forms.office.com/r/pRaSTpGXBP

Employees, All Campuses

All on-site employees on our campuses are required to take a COVID-19 test between Saturday, Jan. 1 and Friday, Jan. 7.

If you are unable to get a PCR test, results from an antigen test will be accepted.

Once you are tested, please complete the online form:

https://forms.office.com/r/pRaSTpGXBP

 

The Redlands campus testing site in University Hall will be offering extended hours beginning on January 10 (at the latest) to accommodate recent surges experienced at sites throughout the County.

If you currently have, or have had, COVID in the last 90 Days

Research shows that some individuals who recover from COVID-19 may present as positive on a PCR test for a few weeks to 90 days post-infection, despite no longer being contagious.

  • If you currently have COVID-19, you should have submitted an online reporting form.  If you have not completed the form, please do so today. If you are currently infected, your COVID-19 test requirement is temporarily waived. If you have questions, please direct them to your contact tracer.
  • If you have tested positive for COVID in the last 90 days, you must take a COVID-19 antigen self-test. On/Go antigen self-tests are available at no cost at the Redlands campus testing clinic. Self-tests can also be purchased in stores and online.

Temporary Enhanced Safety Protocols

Given the continued rise of COVID cases across the US and the proliferation of the Omicron variant, the University is instituting immediate, but temporary, protocols to help protect University of Redlands communities, to include the Marin campus and our regional sites. These  will be in effect when the University reopens on Jan. 3, 2022. Please review the protocol document online.

The mitigation strategies include the follow categories:

  • General Protocols – For All Employees and Students
  • In-Person Class Protocols
  • Eating, Drinking, and Dining on Campuses
    • Redlands Campus Harvest Table Venues (All Venues Will Be Open)
    • Food And Beverage Consumption in Non-Dining Communal Spaces – All Campuses
  • Indoor Meetings, Events, and Gatherings
  • Travel Protocols
  • Third-party Meetings and Events (Non-Employee/Non-Student Events at Redlands and Marin Campuses)

Indoor Mask Requirement

Regardless of vaccination status, mask-wearing is mandatory in all indoor settings on all campuses—and now off-site while working or traveling in a vehicle with other campus individuals. KN95 or N95 masks, as recommended by the CDC, are preferred. If you are unable to get KN95 or N95 masks, you should plan to wear either two cloth masks or a cloth and surgical mask.

The University will have three-ply surgical masks available in high-traffic areas, and we are currently working to source KN95/N95 masks. While the universal indoor mask mandate for all counties across California extends until Jan. 15, the University of Redlands indoor masking mandate applies on all campuses until further notice.

Vaccine Booster Requirement

As previously announced, the University will require booster shots for all vaccinated individuals. An updated vaccination policy will be released by Jan. 10

In the meantime, we strongly recommend you follow CDC recommendations (and your doctor’s advice) and receive a COVID vaccination booster as soon as possible. Based on CDC guidance, individuals are eligible for a booster as follows:

  • At least six months (or 26 weeks) after completing a primary Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccination series.
  • At least two months (or 10 weeks) after receiving a J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.

The San Bernardino County Department of Public Health will be offering COVID-19 vaccination clinics (including boosters) in the Orton Center on the University of Redlands campus on Tuesday, Jan. 4 and Tuesday, Jan. 25. Flu season is upon us, and the clinic will also be offering flu shots. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever for individuals to get a flu vaccine this year.

Don’t Forget the Basics

In this environment, it is especially important to monitor your health and stay home if ill (no matter what your vaccination status), especially if you have symptoms of COVID-19 such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, or new loss of taste or smell. Wash your hands often with soap and water and use hand sanitizer if soap and water aren’t available. To report COVID-19 symptoms, exposure, or a positive test, use the University’s reporting form.

Thank you for your help keeping the Bulldog community safe! The COVID Task Force is continuing to monitor the situation, and we will continue to provide you with updates as they become available.