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Information for Faculty
In addition to the summary information provided on this site, faculty should refer to the complete Academic Plan. For additional information on policies and procedures, please visit the Human Resources Reentry Expectations and Guidelines website.
Employees with specific concerns or questions about COVID-19 should contact the Office
of Human Resources at PandemicHRCampus@SouthAlabama.
All faculty are required to complete a health screening form before returning to campus, and may be referred for testing if the screening indicates issues or concerns.
Employees who submit forms with concerning answers or who become symptomatic will be evaluated and tested by USA Health staff at the Mobile Civic Center drive-thru testing center.
As part of USA’s ongoing efforts to provide the safest possible environment, the University is making available two new tools that will help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The first of these tools is the GuideSafe™ Jag Healthcheck, a simple health screening
tool that must be completed daily by all USA general division employees (not USA Health
employees) and all USA students, except those who are fully remote (i.e. not coming
to campus for any classes or activities). This daily health screening will take only
a few minutes to complete, and will help identify possible cases of COVID-19 in our
community. Jag Healthcheck is required to maintain your ability to come to campus.
Our second new tool is the GuideSafe™ Exposure Notification App, an anonymous system which, if you test positive for COVID-19, will allow the Alabama Department of Public Health to notify those you do not know — or cannot remember coming into contact with — that they may have been exposed. Users of the app exchange anonymous codes among their phones using Bluetooth — no location data is ever stored or exchanged, and your personal information is never shared. This tool is strongly encouraged for all members of the University community.
Both of these tools can be accessed through the GuideSafe App, which is available for Apple and Android devices. Please search for GuideSafe in the app store or for more information and to download the app, please visit the GuideSafe website.
In addition, Jag Healthcheck can be accessed directly from any device by going to the website jaghealthcheck.southalabama.edu.
Through Jag Healthcheck, employees and students report whether or not they have had symptoms or exposure to anyone who has recently tested positive for COVID-19. If symptoms or exposures are reported, this information will be shared with Student Health or Employee Health (Human Resources). Based on responses, Jag Healthcheck assigns users one of three categories: Green/Least Risk, Yellow/May be at Risk, or Red/Greater Risk — each with its own instructions on how to proceed to campus or work. Regardless of the results, a secure compliance report will be sent to Student Health or Human Resources.
Students and employees may be asked to display their dated “Clear”/Green result prior to entering areas of USA’s campus or participating in activities.
Jag Healthcheck is not a substitution for self-monitoring of symptoms. If an employee experiences any COVID-19 related symptoms, the employee should not report to work and should report the absence in accordance with the department’s call-in procedure, even if working remotely.
FAQ
Jag Healthcheck, a COVID-19 assessment tool, informs public health and University officials about emerging symptom hot spots. It also helps University health officials prioritize participants who might need COVID-19 testing.
Students and employees are encouraged to complete Jag Healthcheck daily, but completion is required at least every three days. Reminders can be set up though Jag Healthcheck. New COVID-19 symptoms or exposures are to be reported immediately in Jag Healthcheck.
Jag Healthcheck is compliant with the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). It is a tool for you to report COVID-19 symptoms and any exposure. University of South Alabama Student Health, Employee Health and Human Resources receive the information to ensure those coming on campus are not showing symptoms.
Your responses are linked to your identity, and the University of South Alabama Student Health, Employee Health and Human Resources will receive your information submitted with Jag Healthcheck. The information is to ensure compliance and to identify employees or students who may need to be tested to further prevent the spread of COVID-19.
You can access Jag Healthcheck, a password-protected system, through the GuideSafe App on your phone, or by using your computer or table to go to JagHealthcheck.SouthAlabama.edu. The site can be pinned to your smartphone home screen so that it appears as an app.
There will be an option for you to receive reminders to report how you are feeling.
You will be instructed to call Student Health (251-460-7151) or Employee Health and Wellness (251-461-1521) to assess the need for testing or medical evaluation.
Students should complete the Jag Healthcheck assessment daily. After three days of non-compliance, students will be notified with an email and a text message regarding non-compliance. On the fourth day of non-compliance, the student will receive a contact from the University reminding them that non-compliance with Jag Healthcheck may result in a negative impact on their good standing with the University.
Employees should complete the Jag Healthcheck assessment daily. After three days of non-compliance, employees will be notified with an email and a text message regarding non-compliance. The Employee Health & Wellness Coordinator (EHWC), using the Jag Healthcheck report, will monitor employees completion of the survey to identify employees who have failed to complete Jag Healthcheck at least every three business days. The EHWC will refer non-compliant employees to their immediate supervisor for appropriate action. Non-compliant employees will be addressed in accordance with the University’s disciplinary guidelines.
Any supervisor notified by a faculty/staff member testing positive for COVID-19 must send an email to reportcovid@southalabama.edu and notify Human Resources at (251) 460-6133.
Any USA faculty/staff notified by a student that he/she has tested/is positive for COVID-19 must send an email to reportcovid@southalabama.edu.
For additional instructions and information on these requirements, please visit the Human Resources website.
After reopening, the University will continually monitor the health of the campus population and the public health of our region. The campus will be poised to move back to remote work, if conditions warrant, to protect the health of students and employees. In this event, faculty should be prepared to quickly move all courses to the online environment.
The first day of Fall 2020 classes will be moved up one day to Monday, Aug. 17, 2020 and Convocation will be canceled.
Fall break, scheduled for Thursday and Friday, Oct. 8-9 , will be canceled and those days will be used as class days.
Fall 2020 Classes will end Tuesday, Nov. 24 and students will not return to campus after the Thanksgiving break.
Final exams may be given during the last class meeting between Nov. 18 and Nov. 24, or virtually during a scheduled final exam period between Dec. 1 and Dec. 4.
Faculty at elevated risk may request to teach virtually for fall 2020.
Faculty meetings will remain virtual in most cases.
The Charles M. Baugh Biomedical Library will open when College of Medicine classes resume on August 3.
Marx Library and the Mitchell College of Business Library will open to USA students, faculty and staff on August 17.
USA Libraries’ online collections are available 24/7 while the libraries are closed. Beginning July 6, students can request materials from the print collections by filling out this request form. The Marx Library will serve as the distribution point for all library materials.
For more information, please visit the USA Libraries COVID-19 website.
Procedures for University Employees to address COVID-19 for
Non-University Employees on Campus
Non-University employees (hereinafter, “Vendors”) are expected to abide by the same procedures and requirements as members of the University community. Offices and departments working with Vendors on campus are required to communicate the University requirements to the non-University employee. Vendors on campus who test positive for COVID-19 are expected to participate in any surveillance or contact tracing process designed to decrease the risk of infection in the University.
Departments working with non-University employees on campus should ask for copies of the vendor’s corporate COVID policies prior to their arrival/return to campus.
If corporate policies do not exist and/or do not include similar University screening guidelines below, those departments working with non-University employees on campus will review University guidelines with the Vendors. If a non-University employee answers “Yes” to any question below, the University department will ask the non-University employee to leave campus immediately.
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Have you had any new symptoms in the last 14 days that are out of the ordinary for you (shortness of breath, cough, sore throat, fever, severe headache, chills, diarrhea, loss of taste or smell)?
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In the past 14 days have you been in close contact with any person who has tested positive for COVID-19? The CDC defines “close contact” as being within approximately 6 feet of an individual who is positive for COVID-19 for 15 minutes or longer.
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In the past 14 days have you been in close contact with any person who is being evaluated for COVID-19 due to possible COVID-19 symptoms? The CDC defines “close contact” as being within approximately 6 feet of an individual who is positive for COVID-19 for 15 minutes or longer.
If a non-University employee tests positive for COVID-19, they should immediately notify their University contact. University departments working with Vendors who answers yes to questions above will submit the non-University employee contact name and information to the University Contact Tracing Team for additional follow up.
In order to return to campus, non-University employees who test positive for COVID-19 will follow the same guidelines as University employees.
In most cases, classes will be delivered either in a web-blended (hybrid) model or fully online. For web-blended courses, some portion of the courses will generally be offered face-to-face, adhering to social distancing guidelines. Small classes (with low enrollment relative to classroom size) that allow for social distancing may be held fully face-to-face. Other classes will be reconfigured to reduce density and allow for social distancing.
Faculty teaching on-campus courses are encouraged to develop their courses so that students who need to complete the course at a distance can do so online.
All faculty are required to complete a health screening form before returning to campus, and may be referred for testing if the screening indicates issues or concerns.
Employees who submit forms with concerning answers or who become symptomatic will be evaluated and tested by USA Health at the Mobile Civic Center drive-through testing center.
- USA full-semester study abroad programs for fall are suspended. Students will be given the option to defer their participation to a future semester or participate in a virtual study abroad opportunity.
- The Office of International Education will evaluate the feasibility of short-term international experiences during the fall semester 30 days from the program start date.
- Decisions on spring 2021 semester programs will be made on November 16, 2020.
For more information, visit the USA Office of International Education.