Home › Academics › COVID Path Forward › Faculty COVID Resources

Faculty & Staff COVID-19 Resources

Spring 2022 Guidance

Spring semester will start online. Classes will resume as scheduled on Jan. 12. All classes will be held remotely until Jan. 31.
All faculty, staff and students must order, take and return an at-home COVID saliva PCR test prior to arriving on campus for the spring semester. Visit COVID Testing Requirements for details.
Proof of vaccination and booster shots are required from all eligible students and employees before Sunday, Feb. 6, unless an exemption has been approved.

Update: Spring Semester 2022 Letter All Updates

Faculty and staff will remain remote until late January. Faculty and staff are expected to return to work on Tuesday, Jan. 4. Staff should continue to work remotely 100 percent of the time until Monday, Jan. 24. At that time, all staff that have been cleared to return to campus with a negative PCR test may revert back to their originally approved schedule.

Staff that have been required to work on campus to maintain essential on-site operations will continue to work on campus. Additional details regarding testing for this population for this period are forthcoming. Both faculty and staff must submit a negative PCR test prior to their return to campus.

Retrieve Items You Need From Campus

We are offering an opportunity for you to make a quick visit to campus to obtain any items you need to assist in pivoting to virtual learning and/or work from your remote location until full access to the campus is restored. The "pop-in" dates will be Friday, Jan. 7, Monday, Jan. 10 and Tuesday, Jan. 11, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. These are the only days and times available for this entry to campus before Monday, Jan. 24. You must schedule this visit by using the link below. You will be required to take a rapid COVID-19 test when you arrive on campus.

Schedule "Pop-in" Visit Pop-in Schedule Letter

Faculty Guidelines (PDF)

COVID Testing

Mask Up!

Vaccination Policy

Frequently Asked Questions About Covid Safety Protocols

Is the student non-compliance policy is being enforced? How many students have been documented with not complying with the weekly testing?

Student Health Services receives a weekly report of cases of non-compliance that occurred during the previous week from the AUCC data analyst. The report includes all students who have tested during the previous week through a rapid or PCR test. As of Nov 1, Student Health Services trained the contact tracers to compare the list of students tested with the total roster of students. Contact Tracers contact students out of compliance as well as report those students to the Associate VP of Student Affairs to enforce consequences.

Compliance for rapid and PCR testing varies weekly and ranges between 43-50 percent.
Weekly compliance for PCR randomized testing is higher ranging between 61-65 percent
The six-week PCR testing following fall break was at 73%.

When will the College contact an entire class after there has been an exposure to COVID-19?

Note that the contact tracing protocol has evolved with changing CDC guidelines. Thus, everyone in the classroom was considered a close contact at the beginning of the semester, when a student tested positive because CDC defined “someone who was less than 6 feet away from infected person” as a close contact at that time. All students in the class quarantined in their room (vaccinated) or in Laura Spelman (unvaccinated) regardless of identified proximity to the positive student.

Later in the semester, protocols were refined to mirror the guidelines updated by CDC that a close contact is “someone who was less than 6 feet away from infected person” “for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period." There were cases when a student may be in a classroom and based on seating, would not have been in close contact with everyone in the class, therefore, the entire class would not be required to quarantine.

Additionally, CDC has indicated that correct and consistent mask use is a critical step that people can take to protect themselves and others from COVID-19.

There are a limited number of performance type classes, which may include some or all students that are unmasked (ie Glee Club).

If an individual is COVID-19 positive and was unmasked during a class, it is most likely that the entire class will be considered as close contacts and will be required to quarantine and undergo additional testing.

(See here for CDC Guidelines)

What accommodations for COVID-19 testing are in place for our community members who have disabilities?

Because each disability is different, accommodations will vary and provided based on individual need. If an employee is unable to undergo COVID-19 testing or unable to access the testing site due to a medical condition or disability, they should contact the Manager of Benefits Services at dmack9@spelman.edu directly for assistance.

Is there an update on wireless mics for faculty? How and when will mics be distributed?

One hundred public address systems, which consist of a handheld microphone, a lapel microphone and a portable speaker will be distributed to faculty. One PA system will go into each of the 88 classrooms that we have listed on our roster, after the STS team validates the PA system functioning. STS will then have training sessions for faculty and in-classroom documentation on the use of each PA system. There will be an additional 12 PA systems that are available on request.

Will in-Person waivers for the spring be available through Etreive.

The Etrieve form is in place in the mySpelman portal and will be up through the end of the Spring 2022 semester. (see here: In-person Waiver Form)

What are the COVID-19 Guidelines for Scholarly and Creative Projects?

The guidelines for maintaining research and scholarly production continuity with Covid safety guidelines are available from the website of Office of Research, Innovation and Collaboration (see here: Covid-19 Guidelines for Scholarly and Creative Projects)

Faculty and Staff 2021

Faculty & Staff COVID-19 Resources

Spring 2022 Guidance

Retrieve Items You Need From Campus

Frequently Asked Questions About Covid Safety Protocols

Important Updates