Safe Campus Guide (COVID-19)

Each of us in the OWU community has a great responsibility. If we follow campus guidelines and act with care and empathy, we can create a campus environment where OWU students, faculty, and staff can work, study, live, learn, and interact in ways that fulfill our educational mission and protect the health, safety, and well-being of us all.

August 13 Testing Update

The viral testing environment in our nation is complicated and fluid, and we have learned that we must send our test samples to a lab in California for analysis due to concerns with processing in our Columbus partner's lab. The lab in California is also FDA certified but is much larger and can run a much higher volume of tests in a day. Those samples will be sent at the end of every day by air to the new lab and processed immediately upon arrival. The lab is promising a 24-36-hour turnaround time for results.

This means students need to be prepared for a 1-2-day self-quarantine between taking their test and receiving the result, instead of just an overnight quarantine. During that time, we ask students to remain in their residential building until results are received and to be extra vigilant in wearing their masks and remaining six feet apart from others.

We will deliver boxed meals to the lobbies of each residence hall for those who are self-quarantining awaiting results. Dinner on the first night of quarantine will be available for pickup from 5-7 p.m., and lunch the next day will be available from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Breakfast items will be in a "snack bag" that students will receive during the check-in process the day before.

If you are planning to stay in a hotel to self-quarantine, we will provide a $100 reimbursement for each day of quarantine. We anticipate you will need to pay for two hotel nights (first day of arrival and second day while you await results). You will be asked during the check-in process if you are staying in a hotel so we can record that information.

If your test result is not back in time for the first day of class on Thursday, Aug. 20, you will need to be a remote learner until you have your result. If you are arriving on Aug. 19, you will certainly not have it back in time for class the next day and should be in communication with your faculty for courses that meet on Aug. 20 about your need to be a remote learner that day.

Thank you for your continued flexibility. While the logistics of testing have been challenging given circumstances beyond our control, we remain committed to this effort and all other safety measures in our plan.

OWU Safe Campus Plan

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic challenges us. Can we recreate a vibrant OWU campus for learning and living while protecting the individuals in our community from the coronavirus?

To create the framework for this new campus life, OWU's Safe Campus Opening Task Force developed the Safe Opening Plan in consultation with public health experts in Delaware County and at The Ohio State University, and with reference to state/federal guidance and emerging industry standards. The plan addresses how OWU will return to campus, monitor individuals' health, contain the virus if it's detected, and prepare plans for major changes if they are needed.

The plan is explained in this website.

However, this plan will work only as well as we all make it work. Any weak link can put the campus at risk. Each of us – students, faculty, staff, visitors – is responsible for the health of everyone around us. The following mnemonic can help us all remember our day-to-day responsibilities.

Watch August 4 & 5 Information Forums for Students & Parents

Click on the links below to watch online information forums with OWU faculty and administrators. They answer questions about fall 2020, in-person and online classes, advising, face masks, COVID-19 testing, move-in procedures, and more.

First-Year students info session

Returning students info session

Parents Info Session

If you have technical difficulty with these videos, try watching on the OWU YouTube Channel.

Our Bishop Responsibilities – We Are OWU

Wear your face covering

Evaluate your health daily

Avoid unnecessary travel

Remain six feet apart

Engage your peers in protecting our community

Observe university group size limits

Wash your hands frequently

Use kindness

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WE ARE OWU Pledge

All students, faculty, and staff who will be learning or working on campus are asked to make the following commitment to keep our community healthy:

Protecting the health and safety of our OWU and local Delaware community is the responsibility of every member of the community. I recognize that my actions and choices have a significant health impact on others around me and can contribute to the success of the 2020-2021 academic year. With this understanding, I commit to the following for the benefit of myself and my community:

• I will put the health of others first, recognizing that others may have more vulnerable health conditions than I have.
• I will follow all university COVID-19 safety requirements, including wearing face coverings, washing and sanitizing my hands frequently, maintaining six feet between individuals, and not being in unauthorized groups larger than 50 people.
• I will monitor myself daily for the symptoms of COVID-19. If displaying symptoms such as fever of 100.4 F (38 C) or higher, dry cough, difficulty breathing, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, or loss of taste or smell, I will immediately report these symptoms to the Student Health Center (for students) or the Human Resources Office (for employees), provide them approval to share the information with necessary university officials, and avoid contact with other members of the community.
• I will comply with testing protocols established by the university and will cooperate fully with contact tracing efforts and any necessary quarantine and isolation procedures.
• I will discourage unsafe and unsanitary behaviors in others when I see them. Options I have to discourage such behaviors include speaking with the individual with whom I have a concern and/or notifying resident advisors, my supervisor, or Public Safety.
• I will be kind to others, particularly when they remind me of safety protocols or when I am reminding others of them.

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Explore the Safe Campus Guide

1. OWU Expectations
2. Academic Dates & Learning Guidelines
   Academic Calendar Changes | Remote Learning Approvals | Travel Limitations
3. Students Returning to Campus
   Residence Hall Move-In | Facility Preparation | Universal Viral Testing
4. Faculty & Staff: Safe Work Guidelines
   Policies and Protocols for All Employees | Workspace Cleaning | Communication | Limits on Campus Events and Group Sizes | Travel Limitations | Contact Tracing | Visit Guidelines | Faculty-Specific Guidelines | Staff-Specific Guidelines
5. Monitoring Your Health
   Daily Self-Assessments | Ongoing Viral Testing | Isolation and Quarantine
6. Daily Campus Life
   Physical Distancing and Face Coverings | Facility Safety Measures | Dining Safety | Residential Living | Limits on Campus Events and Group Sizes | Travel Limitations | Contact Tracing | Transportation Protocols
7. Safe Athletics
8. Campus Visitor Guidelines