University of Rochester students, faculty, and staff,
With the start of a new academic year, we want to offer a few reminders of the current University guidelines on COVID-19. This year, all updated COVID-19 content and resources will continue to be posted to the COVID Resource Center website. We ask that you take a moment to review:
Additionally, specific information for faculty, staff and students at the Medical Center campus can be found on the URMC Intranet site (login required).
Vaccinations:
Although no longer a requirement, we strongly recommend staying up to date on COVID vaccinations, including receiving the new booster that is targeted to the most recent strains of COVID. This booster is expected to be available later this fall.
Face Masks:
We continue to encourage anyone who prefers to wear a mask to do so. It is important to remember that masking is a personal choice, and no one should be made to feel uncomfortable for wearing one. If you learn that you have been exposed to COVID-19, you should start wearing a mask immediately. Students needing a face mask can pick one up at the UHS offices (reminder: face masks are strongly encouraged inside the UHS building).
Faculty and staff who work with patients in the University’s clinical areas have different masking requirements found here.
Testing:
Rapid COVID test kits are available to students 24/7 at no cost in the vending machine located in the outer lobby of the UHS River Campus location, or by calling the UHS office at (585) 275-2662. Test kits are also available during office hours at the Eastman School of Music UHS office. Faculty and staff should purchase home tests or seek out a COVID test through a local health center, pharmacy, or a primary care provider.
Instruction:
As in the case of other illnesses and excused absences, faculty are expected to make reasonable accommodations for students in COVID isolation, including allowing them to participate in class to the extent possible, and to make up all missed assignments. Faculty are not expected to offer synchronous remote class participation, but are expected to provide access to course materials to the degree practicable, such as making available asynchronous recordings of classes (if the class is recorded) and/or lecture notes. As with other illnesses, students are not expected to show their instructors a positive COVID test result in order to gain access to the accommodations.
Staying Healthy:
A reminder that it is important to wash your hands often with soap and water, get plenty of rest, and get a flu shot. UHS will soon communicate about the availability of River Campus flu shot clinics this year, and URMC has announced its flu vaccination program for its faculty and staff.
Thank you for your commitment to the well-being of our community. It is essential that we prioritize the health and safety of our entire University community to keep us all healthy and thriving throughout the year.
Sincerely,
Sarah C. Mangelsdorf
President and G. Robert Witmer, Jr. University Professor
David Figlio
Provost and Gordon Fyfe Professor of Economics and Education
University of Rochester
Mark Taubman, M.D.
CEO, University of Rochester Medical Center and Dean, School of Medicine and Dentistry
Kathleen Gallucci
Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer