Human Resources

COVID-19 Guidance and Resources for Faculty and Staff

On this page:

Red X on your Daily Health Screening?

You’ve tested positive for COVID-19?

Potentially exposed to someone with COVID-19?

Helpful Resources

Follow the instructions below to determine your next steps. If you need assistance, please contact the Office of Human Resources at 512.863.1435 .

1) Go to the CDC’s Symptoms of Coronavirus page.

2) Once on the CDC page, click the Coronavirus Self-Checker button, illustrated below: 

Coronavirus Self-Checker button

This will run the CDC’s Coronavirus Self-Checker, an interactive application that will ask you a series of questions about your symptoms and provide you with guidance on what to do next. 

3) If the Coronavirus Self-Checker instructs you to seek medical attention, please follow the recommendations and then notify the Office of Human Resources at 512.863.1435  for additional information.

1) Contact your healthcare provider, particularly if you (or someone in your household) have underlying health conditions.

2) Immediately self-isolate in accordance with the then-published CDC guidance for self-isolation, which currently states: “10 days since symptoms first appeared and 24-hours without fever without fever-reducing medications and COVID-19 symptoms have improved.”

3) Inform your Department Chair/Dean of the Faculty (for faculty members) or Supervisor (for staff members) to alert them of your anticipated absence from work (it is not required to disclose the reason), and, if applicable, discuss whether they approve you to teach/work remotely during your absence.

4) Remain at home or go home.

5) Contact the Human Resources department to confidentially discuss your situation.

6) Complete the Daily Health Check each day of your isolation period, and, if you are symptomatic in any way, complete the CDC’s Self-Checker .

7) Keep in contact with the HR department during the isolation period. The University requires a written release from the faculty/staff member’s health care provider (or county health agency, or similar health authority) prior to returning to work on campus.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are identified as a “close contact” as part of the University’s contact tracing process when a campus community member has tested positive for COVID-19, you will be contacted by the assigned contact tracer who will guide the self-quarantine process as described in #2 below.

If you’ve been in contact with someone outside of the campus community who tested positive, please follow these steps and contact the Human Resources Office:

1) Determine if you are a “close contact.” The CDC guidance regarding “close contact” is as follows:

“Someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.”

2) If you ARE a “close contact,” you should:

  • Immediately begin a 14-day self-quarantine.
  • Inform your Department Chair/Dean of the Faculty (for faculty members) or Supervisor (for staff members) to alert them of your anticipated absence from work (it is not required to disclose the reason), and, if applicable, discuss whether they approve you to teach/work remotely during your absence.
  • Remain at home or go home.
  • Contact the Human Resources department to confidentially discuss your situation.
  • Complete the Daily Health Check each day of your quarantine period, and, if you are symptomatic in any way, complete the CDC’s Self-Checker .
  • Keep in contact with the HR department during the quarantine period and if you remain asymptomatic, HR will clear you to return to work and will inform your Department Chair/Dean of the Faculty or Supervisor.

3) If you are NOT a “close contact,” you do not need to self-quarantine, but should continue to complete your Daily Health Screening to watch for symptoms.

For more information, download Procedures for Handling Reports of Potential COVID-19 Exposure or Confirmed COVID-19 Infection for Faculty and Staff Members .