The University's plan strives to minimize potential exposure to the virus for returning employees and students and reduce opportunities for community transmission.
This plan will be monitored daily throughout the implementation period and response and recovery actions may be altered as necessary.
Health, Wellness and Prevention actions are in place to provide a safer working environment and minimize risk but will not completely eliminate the risk of contracting COVID-19.
All Employees:
Effective August 10, 2020:
- Remote work continues to be the primary work arrangement for faculty and staff.
- If the functions of a department cannot continue being accomplished remotely, department heads may permit up to 50% of employees to return to their work location.
- If a department requires more than 50% of employees to return, the department head must request approval from their appropriate division vice president.
On-Site Work Process and Procedures:
- Employees who are selected to return to UWF must be notified by their supervisor.
- Vulnerable individuals must be permitted to continue working remotely.
- Department heads must develop an implementation strategy based on the unique aspects of their operations and strategic priorities.
- Employees in a shared office or cubicle must maintain six feet of social distancing.
- If six feet of social distancing cannot be maintained, then actions must be taken to meet social distancing requirements:
- Move furniture to allow for six feet of distancing.
- Relocate to another office.
- Continue remote work.
- Rotate days in the office.
- If there is a need to share critical equipment (i.e., fax, copy machine, etc.), you MUST disinfect after each use.
- Department heads must designate an employee to update the Staff on Campus spreadsheet on a weekly basis that identifies the building and room number of returning employees to ensure those areas are being addressed by Building Services and University Police are aware of occupancy.
- If an employee is visiting their work location for any reason, they must be included in the percentage allowed to work on-site.
Required Training Module
- All employees are required to complete the COVID-19 Employee Training Module in SCOOP. Employees are not authorized to return to their work location until the COVID-19 Employee Training Module is completed.
- Supervisors should use the following Tableau report to monitor who has completed the training. The certification ID to search by is “ECT.”
Required Daily Pre-Screening
All UWF employees (faculty, staff and OPS) regardless of remote or on-site must fill out the Daily COVID-19 Pre-Screening on a daily basis on every working day.
Exemptions:
- Employees considered permanent remote work as part of their job description. If permanent remote employees plan to visit a UWF location, they must also fill out the Daily COVID-19 Pre-Screening.
- Employees taking annual leave. These employees must resume when their annual leave is completed.
- Employees that are currently quarantined or isolated and have already notified Human Resources. These employees must resume when their quarantine or isolation period is complete.
If employees are visiting a UWF location that day, they must have the pre-screening completed before they enter the location.
If employees are unable to access a computer or mobile device prior to work, the pre-screening must be completed prior to entering a UWF building via the official paper form.
Monitoring Daily Pre-Screenings
Supervisors can monitor their employees' daily participation in the survey via Confluence. This includes Student Employees as long as they are assigned to the appropriate department.
Testing
UWF has implemented a comprehensive pre-screening and testing program. To learn more, visit the UWF Testing webpage.
Contact Tracking
UWF will conduct initial contact tracking for the COVID-19 virus for the safety and well-being of students and employees. Any student or employee who reports that they have received a lab-confirmed positive COVID-19 test will be contacted by a contact tracker to evaluate potential exposure within the UWF community. To learn more, visit the UWF Contact Tracking webpage.
Health, Wellness and Prevention
Employees must visit the Health, Wellness and Prevention section of the Coronavirus webpage to learn more about steps they should take to avoid the spread of germs.
Face Coverings
- The University is supplying each employee with a reusable face covering, as well as hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes, as they return to their work location. A disposable or cloth face covering is required inside all shared indoor spaces and in outdoor areas where social distancing is not possible.
- Examples of shared indoor spaces include classrooms, laboratories, hallways, shared offices, open offices, restrooms, conference rooms, lobbies and lounge areas, retail spaces, museums, libraries and dining facilities. Anyone using a dining facility should cover their face until they sit down to eat and then put the face-covering back on immediately after.
- Face coverings may be removed when inside of private building space, such as a single-use office or residence hall room. A disposable or cloth face covering is required inside all shared indoor spaces and in outdoor areas where social distancing is not possible.
- If a person is not wearing a face covering, the person will be asked to put one on or leave the area.
- Face coverings will be available through each division’s COVID-19 Logistics Liaison. For a list of liaisons, visit the Return to Campus Resources section.
Compliance
Please visit the COVID-19 Employee Compliance page for information on compliance.
Resources
UWF has prepared a variety of resources for the campus community at the Return to Campus Resources section.
Additional Information
Additional information is available our Frequently Asked Questions.
An employee who may need an ADA accommodation should contact Human Resources at 850.474.2694.
Infectious Diseases
Dr. Wes Farr, Lecturer, Department of Public Health, physician with specialties in Infectious Diseases, Tropical Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Aerospace Medicine, who continues part-time work in Infectious Diseases.
Dr. Ashok Srinivasan, William Nystul Eminent Scholar Chair and Professor, Department of Computer Science, who heads the Viral Infection Propagation Through Air-Travel project which researches how infectious diseases are transferred through air travel.
Hospitality Industry
Dr. Ali Green, Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Global Hospitality & Tourism Management, who is researching the coronavirus effects on local and global tourism.
Small Business Industry
Kelly Massey, Regional Director, Florida Small Business Development Center at UWF, whose areas of consulting include business and strategic plan assistance, financial and capital access assistance and market/sales growth assistance.
Dorian Zwierewicz, Associate Director, Florida Small Business Development Center at UWF, whose areas of consulting include business and strategic planning, cash flow management and start-up.
Coping and Support
Dr. Michele Manassah, Executive Director, Counseling and Wellness, spent 20 years in the Public Health industry providing mental health services and is an expert on coping mechanisms.
Dr. Athena DuPre, Distinguished University Professor, Department of Communication, author of “Communicating About Health: Current Issues and Perspectives” with expertise on the importance of people staying healthy by communicating while isolated.
International Affairs
Rachel Hendrix, Executive Director, International Affairs, oversees UWF student abroad programs, regional leader for the National Association of Foreign Student Advisers: Association of International Educations and board member for the Florida Association of International Educators.
Dr. Jacob Shively, Associate Professor, Department of Government, with expertise on how COVID-19 is impacting U.S. and foreign government operations.
Remote Instruction
Dr. William Crawley, Dean, College of Education and Professional Studies, longtime advocate for online teaching and is in discussions with local school districts about ways to transition during this dynamic situation.
Dr. Amy Crawley, Assistant Professor, Department of Movement Sciences and Health, instructs 40-plus students in an aging class that she moved to virtual coaching in response to COVID-19. Students partner with a senior citizen and they have developed a revised workout plan for the senior citizens to use at home.
Dr. Susan James, Associate Professor, Department of Teacher Education and Educational Leadership, research expert on improving students’ reading and writing skills who taught in the classroom for 17 years and served as a high school guidance counselor in Florida.
Dr. Holley Handley, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Instructional Design and Technology, who teaches her courses online at UWF and as a former high school teacher and administrator in Florida is an expert on the challenges K-12 schools face in transitioning to remote instruction.
Dr. Eman El-Sheikh, Director, Center for Cybersecurity and Professor, Department of Computer Science, expert on how to stay cyber secure while working or learning remotely.
