FAQ

Ohio Wesleyan is resuming all in-person instruction for the 2021-2022 academic year, with all students, faculty, and staff required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 (or have an approved exemption). This FAQ should help to answer questions about safe campus protocols.

How are classrooms impacted by students who have vaccine exemptions?

Faculty will be informed which students in their classroom will require extra protocols and who may need to be distanced. Faculty should know that updates related to students and their protocols will be occurring as vaccine status changes. Hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes will remain available. Additional information will be shared as it becomes available.

To support personal safety, are faculty able to require everyone (vaccinated or unvaccinated) to wear facial coverings in their classrooms at times when coverings aren't mandated?

Based on information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Delaware Public Health District, Ohio Wesleyan is requiring everyone to be masked indoors as of Aug. 12, 2021. This will be re-evaluted weekly. Because Ohio Wesleyan is a vaccinated campus, the plan is to discontinue the mask requirement as soon as it is deemed safe to do so. Faculty are always welcome to wear facial coverings to protect themselves. To discuss specific situations, contact the Provost at provost@owu.edu. 

Is online teaching an option?

Ohio Wesleyan is committed to providing a fully in-person learning experience for students this year and is not providing remote-learning classes for students during the academic year. 

If a faculty member wants to follow a more cautious approach and teach in person but avoid in-person meetings, what is the process? 

Faculty are able to work with their committees, departments, and other areas to make arrangements without filing for accommodation. 

Are all faculty required to hold in-person office hours? 

All faculty are required to hold regular office hours as part of the University's Higher Learning Commission accreditation and credit hour policy. Given Ohio Wesleyan's commitment to an in-person experience for students, faculty are asked to hold at least some in-person office hours throughout the semester. However, faculty at higher risk or in offices that have poorer air circulation may request that students mask upon entering. Faculty also may provide a mix of virtual and in-person hours. 

Will virtual meetings continue internally to decrease potential COVID-19 exposure?

Ohio Wesleyan is maintaining its full Zoom license, but the University is not at a point where in-person meetings are being discouraged. Groups have the discretion to meet virtually if they choose, but this should not be a substitute for faculty presence on campus.

Is Ohio Wesleyan providing tents for classes and events? What about enhanced indoor cleaning?

Faculty are encouraged to make use of OWU's extensive outdoor spaces during good weather. The University is also renting tents. In addition, ABM is working to ensure that hand-sanitizer stations are filled throughout campus and that disinfecting wipes are accessible for use in classrooms. 

Will facial coverings be required indoors for everyone?

Yes and no. Ohio Wesleyan is monitoring information from both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Delaware Public Health District (DPHD) for guidance. As of Aug. 12, 2021, Ohio Wesleyan will require facial coverings for everyone indoors, regardless of vaccination status. The University will review its mask requirement weekly and discontinue it as soon as possible for vaccinated students, faculty, and staff—except at large indoor gatherings (with 50 or more people) that are open to the general public. Guests to campus will be required to wear masks at all times when indoors, even when there is no general mask mandate.

If a student is placed in quarantine or isolation are faculty responsible for providing remote-learning options, such as Zoom classes or recorded lectures?

Faculty will be notified (using the same protocol as used previously) if a student is placed into quarantine or isolation. Contact tracing will be conducted based on the latest public health guidelines. Faculty should approach the absence of students in quarantine or isolation as an extended sickness. Faculty are not required to record lectures or provide a virtual option, but they will need to provide homework and makeup opportunities as they would for any student who is absent while sick.

Do faculty need to be prepared to provide emergency remote instruction again?

Even with the Delta variant, the University's high percentage of vaccinated individuals should prevent OWU from having to shift to remote learning. Other options could include a soft quarantine or a hybrid period at the end of the semester, but we do not foresee either being necessary.

Under what conditions will students be placed into quarantine?

The University will quarantine students in accordance with CDC and DPHD guidance. The CDC guidance indicates vaccinated individuals who have been in close contact with a positive person do not need to quarantine unless they develop symptoms. Students who have been in close contact with a positive person and who also become symptomatic will be quarantined pending a negative test result. If they test positive, then the students will go into isolation.

When will students be placed in isolation? For how long?

Students who test positive for COVID-19 will go into isolation. The isolation period will end after 10 days as long as the students have no fever at that time and any other symptoms they have exhibited are improving.

Some coronavirus symptoms are similar to those of colds and flu. Should students experiencing such symptoms come to class? Can faculty require students with such symptoms to wear facial coverings? 

Students with COVID symptoms should not attend class and should contact covid19@owu.edu for guidance and to arrange testing. Students may be quarantined pending the outcome of their test and put into isolation for 10 days if they test positive for the coronavirus. Students with other symptoms, but no fever, will be encouraged to follow standard guidelines for colds and flu, including frequent handwashing, covering coughs and sneezes, etc.

Is there any point at which masks will be required in classrooms?

Ohio Wesleyan is monitoring CDC and DPHD information and recommendations. As conditions change in the region or on campus, the University will revisit its policies and revise them accordingly. As of Aug. 12, 2021, the University is requiring masks in public indoor spaces, including classrooms. This requirement will be reviewed weekly. Because such a high percentage of the campus community is vaccinated, our hope is to limit the needs for this group to mask, including in the classroom.

Are faculty required to move to online instruction if they personally test positive, or is the diagnosis treated as any other illness? 

If faculty members test positive, they should stay home and follow CDC guidelines. Faculty should do what they can to keep students on track but they are not expected to provide remote instruction while sick. Faculty should handle this situation as they would any other sickness.

How does the University reconcile the freedom faculty should have to manage their own classes regarding in-person and remote learning?

Students have chosen to attend OWU this year because of the expectation of an on-campus experience. The University has committed to providing an experience that aligns with our values -- including close, mentoring relationships with faculty and staff. While faculty are free to make short-term adjustments to their mode of delivery (if they fall sick or have a family emergency, for example), these should be exceptions to the rule. The vast majority of instruction should be provided in-person.