Fall 2020: Information for Faculty and Staff

• Please check your BW email and this page frequently as we announce details for required, pre-arrival COVID-19 awareness and safety training, instructions for daily health check-ins using a smartphone app and a BW Be Safe commitment we will all make to each other.
• Faculty and staff are expected to wear reusable or disposable masks (facial masks required, face shields optional) when entering and moving through campus buildings and during one-on-one meetings where 6-foot distancing cannot be maintained. Individual employee offices and closed workspaces may be mask optional. Employees who work in cubicle settings with low walls are expected to wear masks. Come to work self-prepared to wear masks, BW will provide two washable masks at the start of the semester.

• Respect a 6-foot physical distance between people in workspaces and while traveling through campus.
• BW will implement thorough cleaning protocols and will ask you to wear a mask and practice strong personal hygiene discipline, particularly when indoors.
• BW will provide two reusable cloth masks and manage access to campus facilities to maintain physical distancing and minimize COVID-19 risks.
• Employees are asked to clean personal workspaces and wash hands frequently throughout the workday.
• Faculty, staff and students will assume personal responsibility for cleaning personal classroom spaces for their use before each class begins. Faculty and staff are asked to help clean shared objects (e.g., lab equipment, computer equipment, desks and other items) before and between uses with wipes provided. The use of shared objects should be limited when possible or cleaned between use by the user.
• Students will be asked to clean their classroom desks upon arrival with supplied cleaning materials or they may use personal supplies.
• An outline of student health and safety expectations in the classroom setting will be provided in the syllabus link on all Blackboard course sites, which will allow for faculty enforcement as necessary, including possible eviction or class cancellation.
• Faculty and staff need to keep their personal items (e.g., cell phones, other electronics) and personal workspaces clean.
• When a meeting is necessary and cannot be conducted virtually, individuals may be scheduled in a space where capacity where 6-foot physical distancing can be maintained. Masks are required.

• Employees who become symptomatic while at work should immediately isolate and seek medical care.
• In the case of positive COVID-19 diagnosis, you or your health care provider should contact the local health department for proper protocols. The Cuyahoga County Board of Health can be reached at (216) 201-2000.
• Contact BW Health Services at (440) 826-2178 and your BW supervisor so they can coordinate with the Health Department on any necessary response.

All professional, academic and student travel requiring approval and booking prior to October 1, 2020, is canceled, with the exception of enrollment and philanthropy travel. Travel planning and booking after October 1, 2020, will be determined based on budget review prior to October 1.

BW will provide flexibility for at-risk staff to work remotely, based on the latest available public health guidance and the ability to provide an accommodation within the requirements of a particular job.

• Staff should email their supervisor and VP and provide any private supporting documentation to Sam Ramirez in HR.
• Full-time faculty who wish to petition to teach online should email Sam Ramirez in HR. HR will forward the request to the Provost's office, which will work with the deans, associate deans and chairpersons to develop an appropriate accommodation plan.
• Part-time faculty who wish to petition to teach online should email the Provost's office and copy their department chair and (associate) dean. The Provost will work with the deans, associate deans and chairpersons to develop an appropriate accommodation plan.