How We're Monitoring Pandemic Conditions and Other Reminders

Rockhurst Faculty and Staff Companions, 

As we close out this week and anticipate the start of classes on Monday, we want to provide additional details about our plans to monitor health and safety on our campus.  

We have seen a number of Universities this week who have had to alter plans to begin their semester in person or to change course for fall entirely. We want to assure you that our Pathway Planning group continues to work very hard to help us avoid that happening here. While we can’t offer a guarantee that we won’t need to adjust our plans, we are prepared and we are doing all we can to encourage all members of our community to consistently practice the healthy habits that will minimize opportunities for COVID-19 to spread. 

Awareness and Reporting 

• We have developed a situational-assessment matrix in cooperation with infectious disease experts from MRI Global and the Kansas City, Missouri, Health Department. The matrix consists of four threat levels and will provide a snapshot of campus conditions at any given time. Our current level is Level 2, Yellow. 
• Level 1 (Green) – No active COVID-19 cases on campus but conditions exist that warrant precautionary measures as in cold weather or flu season. 
• Level 2 (Yellow) – Active COVID-19 cases reported in Jackson County or Kansas City metro area but not on campus. 
• Level 3 (Orange) – Active COVID-19 cases confirmed on campus. 
• Level 4 (Red) – Regional hotspot – high number of active COVID-19 cases on campus. 
• We are developing a quick dashboard, where we will report the number of new COVID-19 cases twice each week. We anticipate this being ready by next week. 
• A number of wall-mounted thermometers have been installed throughout campus for self-monitoring temperatures. 
• To help us better monitor the situation around us and to be aware of trends and changes in guidance, we are meeting weekly with other local universities and the Kansas City, Missouri, Health Department in a group call. 
• We are continuing to publish messaging and protocols to encourage safe behavior by all of our companions, off campus as well as on campus. 

Your Help Needed 

• Faculty, please remember to be flexible with your face-to-face attendance policies, even at the onset of classes. For example, some international students will be arriving from areas that necessitate quarantine for two weeks before they are allowed on campus. Students are required to inform faculty if they are in quarantine or isolation – and we have some new and returning students presently who are doing that at their respective homes. Communication will be the key to success. Please arrange and convey ways for students in this situation to remain engaged in your class – through virtual or other means. We don’t want to risk having students who should quarantine or isolate come to class to avoid penalties. (Note that you can require attendance in synchronous online classes, but be sensitive when a student may be too ill to participate.) 
• Faculty, if you have not already done so, please reach out to all of your students before Monday to confirm the details of the course modality. Templates have been sent to assist you with wording. 
• All employees should have downloaded Campus Clear on their phone (also available on the web).  Please be sure to perform this health assessment every day – and look for opportunities to reinforce its completion with students and colleagues in your realm of influence.  For example, every student in an in-person class should be able to raise up their phone and show a green screen. 
• All staff and faculty should have completed the COVID online training and accompanying quiz.  If you haven’t done so yet, please complete this by the time that you return to campus. 
• When it comes to our community’s health protocols, please remember the 3 R’s 
• Request – if you see someone violating our standards, please immediately and kindly remind them. 
• Remedy – help each other solve the challenges faced with compliance. For example, if someone forgot their mask, go to a nearby office to find a disposable one for the person to use. 
• Report – if someone has blatant disregard for our safety measures, please report them through the policy violation form. If the person is unknown to you or the observed behavior is dangerous to self or others, please call Security (816-501-4010). 
• Remember to report being diagnosed as COVID positive or your close contact with someone who has COVID-19 by using this form. Close contact means: 

o    You were within 6 feet of someone who has COVID-19 for at least 15 minutes (regardless of whether you were wearing a mask). 

o    You provided care at home to someone who is sick with COVID-19.   

o    You had direct physical contact with the person (touched, hugged, or kissed them).   

o    You shared eating or drinking utensils.  

o    They sneezed, coughed, or somehow got respiratory droplets on you. 

Please be assured that your efforts to create a positive and high-quality educational experience for our students during a trying time has not gone unnoticed. As we hope you gleaned from our All Companions Gathering Wednesday, we are truly grateful to walk with each of you in this enterprise of Jesuit education. 

Sincerely, 

Matthew D. Quick, Ph.D.  
Dean of Students/Vice President  
Student Development and Athletics  
  
Douglas N. Dunham, Ph.D.  
Provost and Senior Vice President  
Academic Affairs