Employee Preparation

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Vaccine Policy

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends COVID-19 booster shots for all who are eligible (see details). To ensure that our campus community has the highest level of protection against COVID-19 and its variants, all faculty, staff and students must receive a COVID-19 booster by January 31, 2022. Those in compliance with the fall 2021 vaccine mandate should now be eligible for a COVID-19 booster.

Update your vaccination status or apply for a medical or religious exemption through the appropriate method below. If you already received a medical or religious exemption, you are exempt from the booster and do not need to resubmit your information. Additionally, if your vaccination status has changed, or you now have your booster, you must also update your status through the appropriate method below.

Oglethorpe University will offer COVID-19 booster shots as part of a free walk-up vaccination clinic on Friday, February 4, 2022 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Turner Lynch Campus Center Trustee Room. Some campus residents may be unable to arrive for move-in with a COVID-19 booster. In these cases, if you intend to get your booster at the clinic on campus on February 4, please email [email protected] so that the case management team is aware of your intention to get your COVID-19 booster by the end of Welcome Week.

FOR FACULTY/STAFF: Please update your vaccination status and your completed vaccination card through the module in Paycom if you have not done so already (you should have been prompted to do so from Paycom). If your booster is on a separate card, then include both cards when you upload the photo of your completed vaccination card(s).

Working on Campus

Faculty and staff who have complied with the vaccination policy described above may return to campus. Those whose duties do not require them to be on campus should continue to consult with their supervisors about the possibility of continuing flexible work arrangements through February 1, 2022. Everyone is encouraged to conduct meetings remotely through this time.

Faculty and staff with medical or religious exemptions must submit proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours prior to returning to campus. Both PCR and antigen tests, which include at-home tests, are accepted. Employees are responsible for obtaining their own COVID-19 test and should upload their test result through Paycom. Please refer to the instructions below and reach out to HR Director Sandy Butler for further questions regarding this process.

Those who have COVID-19 symptoms, test positive for COVID-19, or have a household contact testing positive for COVID-19 should not return to campus at this time and consult with their supervisor.

For Faculty

Instructors should work with students in quarantine or isolation to arrange to access to course materials during that time.

Faculty who are unable to teach their classes should contact their Division Chair and the Provost immediately, per the Faculty Handbook (Section IV.P). If possible, the instructor should arrange for another faculty member to substitute.

Faculty needing special teaching accommodations should contact Sandy Butler, Director of Human Resources.

COVID-19 Testing for Unvaccinated Employees

Following baseline testing for campus residents and those who are not fully vaccinated, the university will continue to test a randomized percentage of the campus population who are not up to date on their vaccines on a weekly basis. Individuals will be notified via email when they are selected and must submit a valid test result as instructed in the email. Students and employees will be responsible for obtaining their own COVID-19 test, and both PCR and antigen tests are accepted. Faculty and staff who test positive for COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, must report their case to HR Director Sandy Butler. Anyone testing positive for COVID-19 will need to isolate.

COVID-19 testing is available through many sources, including private physician offices and pharmacies (where there may be a charge) and county departments of public health (where they are generally free).

Please contact Sandy Butler for questions on COVID-19 testing for faculty and staff.

Please note, that any individuals who are not currently vaccinated, but become fully vaccinated at a later date will then be exempt from these testing protocols. If you would like to update your vaccination status, please do so through Paycom.