Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

The University of Mississippi

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Wednesday, September 9, 2020 COVID-19 updates

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University News

Free asymptomatic COVID-19 testing

The university offers free asymptomatic (i.e., without symptoms) COVID-19 testing for faculty, staff and students on campus. This testing and data collection serve as the university’s Sentinel Testing Program (which involves asymptomatic testing of our population) and will add to the current protections to keep our community safe. Invitations to register for an appointment time will be sent weekly.

  • The first group of optional testing was conducted this week.
  • All testing will be administered in the Ford Center media parking lot, and you will be able to drive through or walk up to the testing area.
  • Invitations for random-sample testing will continue through October.
  • Faculty, staff, and students will receive an email, including a link to complete a brief (less than two-minute) eligibility survey, and then receive further instructions on how to register for an appointment (via an app) to be tested.
  • Results of the test will be communicated through the app on your phone by the testing company.
  • Answers to the eligibility survey questions will be kept confidential. Positive test results will be communicated to the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) and the Contact Tracing Team, as required.

Sharing responsibility for keeping our campus healthy

Check out the recent blog from Dr. Jean Gispen, Staff Physician with Employee Health, who provides insight about why it will take every one of us to slow the virus spread so we can keep the university going and keep Oxford from being overwhelmed by COVID.

MSDH update about isolation period 

On Sept. 8, MSDH updated the State Health Officer Order for the Isolation of Individuals Diagnosed with COVID-19, with a change in the isolation period for COVID-19-positive individuals. The Order now requires all COVID-19 positive individuals to remain in isolation for 10 days from the onset of their illness (or 10 days from the date of test if there were no symptoms). Individuals may discontinue isolation after 10 days if they have been free of fever for at least 24 hours and show improvement of their symptoms. This is consistent with current CDC guidance and the current information regarding the infectious period after contracting COVID-19. See the Order for more information.

Gold and Silver Park-N-Ride route changes

Due to low utilization, Gold route shuttle service to the South Lot/Park-N-Ride parking lot will be suspended starting September 14 until the start of the spring semester. Park-N-Ride permit holders who utilize the South Lot will need to park at alternate locations such as the Jackson Avenue Center Park-N-Ride areas or the South Campus Recreation Center Park-N-Ride areas.

The dedicated Silver route shuttle service between the South Campus Recreation Center and Kennon Observatory will also be discontinued until the spring. Riders between these locations should use the Old Taylor Road Express route or the Green route buses. 

Additional changes to OUT operations during this time involve a reduction in the number of buses operating on various routes. These routes include: the Old Taylor Road Express, Yellow, Hathorn Express, Bronze, and Green. Service reduction in some cases will reduce bus frequency, extending the time between available buses. Reduced city and campus traffic congestion during this time will help lessen the impact to service but riders should still be prepared for longer wait times and should plan accordingly.

Please feel free to email Parking & Transportation or call 662-915-7235 with questions or concerns.

Group sheltering during Covid-19
Because of Covid-19, there may be questions about group sheltering in response to severe weather. MEMA Director Greg Michel advised, “Life safety is and should always remain your priority. Coronavirus, as serious as it is, does not trump life safety.” If persons on campus are forced to seek refuge or shelter-in-place from severe weather or other hazards, it is recommended they maintain social distancing to the greatest extent possible within their space. Face coverings should be used if at all possible to help prevent the spread of the virus. Consider adding masks, gloves and hand sanitizer to your emergency preparedness kits and/or pre-staging these items in places where you plan to seek shelter.

If a tornado warning is issued for your area:

  • Seek shelter immediately inside of a building
  • Go to the lowest floor available
  • Stay away from windows
  • Please remain in your area of refuge until the warning has expired

Please visit the Ole Miss Emergency Information website for additional information.

University COVID-19-related news stories

Students

Fall virtual career fairs

  • Sept. 15, 1-4 p.m.: Graduate, Law, and Health Professional School Fair, including recruiters from Yale, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, and the University of Mississippi. 
  • Sept. 17, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.: Engineering, Manufacturing, and Technology Fair, including recruiters speaking about internships and full-time openings. 
  • Oct. 6, 12 noon-4 p.m.: All Majors Career Expo to explore various career opportunities. 

All events will be hosted virtually. Register on Handshake for additional details and all employers currently registered. All students are welcome to participate in all fairs.

UM students offer words of encouragement to the freshman class

While the Class of 2024’s freshman year may not be the same experience as previous years, the university still provides opportunities and moments that create growth from freshman year to senior year — academically, professionally and personally. Check out this article to read advice to the Class of 2024 from upperclassmen that they wish someone had given them during their freshman year.

Student landing page

The COVID-19 website now has a Student landing page with updates and information specifically for students. 

Faculty/Staff

Faculty landing page

The COVID-19 website now has a Faculty landing page with updates and information specifically for faculty. 

Staff landing page

The COVID-19 website now has a Staff landing page with updates and information specifically for staff.

Other Things to Know

Mississippi Public Universities release video to help fight COVID-19

Updated MSDH guidelines for K-12 reopening during COVID-19 (September 2020)

On the Lighter Side

Important Links

University studies and surveys

There are university studies and surveys underway that welcome your participation. Below is information on how you can learn about them and participate.

Update About On-Campus Summer 2020 Camps, Conferences, Events – April 9, 2020

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Apr 9, 2020

Dear faculty, staff and students,

In light of the continuing uncertainty about our ability to conduct programming safely on our Oxford and regional campuses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Mississippi is canceling all in-person on-campus summer camps, conferences, events and other experiences through Aug. 1, 2020. This includes all academic and athletics programs on the Oxford, Tupelo, Southaven, Booneville and Grenada campuses.

Online or remote experiences will be offered where possible. Further details will be forthcoming from programs that can offer virtual experiences. Individuals who registered previously for canceled programs will receive direct communications from those programs.

While this was a difficult decision, this action is necessary to uphold our commitment to the safety, health and well-being of our campus community. We recognize that this decision presents disruptions and challenges for students, families, faculty and staff.

We also know that these camps held many benefits for our camp participants, their families and our university units. We are encouraging all units to think about how they might offer a virtual or alternative experience for students that might help to accomplish some of these important objectives.

We appreciate your continued patience and support as we implement the necessary operational and logistical adjustments during this trying time and look forward to the time when we can again convene on our campuses.

Sincerely,

Noel Wilkin
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Provost Message About Academic Updates – March 27, 2020

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Mar 27, 2020

Dear faculty, staff and students,

With registration for upcoming academic terms scheduled to start Monday, I want to share several important academic updates with our university community about the current term and future terms.

SUMMER 2020

All Summer terms – including May, First Summer, Second Summer, Full Summer and August – will be delivered remotely through online or alternative methods. Courses available during registration for those terms will be limited to courses that are amenable to online or alternative delivery methods. This change will take effect at the Oxford and all regional campuses.

FALL 2020

Registration options for the Fall 2020 semester have not changed at this time. Any future changes to that plan will depend on how the public health emergency unfolds over the coming months. If we are forced to shift to remote course delivery, some courses could be affected. University leadership will notify you if any change is required for Fall 2020.

GRADING POLICY FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS

Chancellor Boyce approved a pair of recommendations from the Council of Academic Administrators as follows:

  • Graduate students will be granted the same accommodations as undergraduate students in light of the suspension of in-person instruction in response to the coronavirus pandemic. These changes will give graduate students the option to choose to change a grade of C or better to a Z grade, or to change a C- or D to a P, or Passing, grade. All graduate students should explore whether exercising these options could affect their financial aid awards or future professional opportunities.
  • A mandatory pass/fail grading system will be applied to all JD and LLM Spring 2020 courses.

GRADUATE COUNCIL PASSES OPTIONS ON STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES

Due to the COVID-19 emergency and difficulties for potential applicants in sitting for standardized tests, the Graduate School will allow programs that require a standardized test as part of the application for admission to suspend the requirement for Summer 2020 and Fall 2020 admissions. Programs that opt to do so cannot use the standardized test as a requirement for admission or in their admissions decisions during the COVID-19 crisis and they cannot deny anyone admission based on performance on the test. An individual previously denied admission to such programs for the Summer 2020 and/or Fall 2020 terms based on their score on the standardized test can request re-review of their application.

Programs wanting to waive the standardized test requirement must submit a written request with justification to the Graduate School (by email to askluck@olemiss.edu) from the GPC, with approval indicated in the email from the department chair (if applicable) and line dean. The request should mention the application deadline, the test to be waived and the status of applications (such as whether any applicants have already been denied based on test score). The Graduate Dean will decide whether to approve the request and notify the GPC. Programs that are approved to suspend a standardized test requirement must publish information about the change in application procedures on their program website.

I am appreciative of the careful deliberation and quick action taken by the committees on these matters to ensure that we are supporting our students during this difficult time.

Noel Wilkin
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

University Health Services Update to Faculty and Staff – March 15, 2020

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Mar 15, 2020

Employee Health Services is committed to serving our faculty and staff and will continue to operate with normal business hours. We are taking extra precautions based on recommendations from the CDC and Mississippi State Department of Health regarding COVID-19 and have made the following changes to our appointments.

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