Beginning Nov. 9, faculty members can be tested at any of our campus sites or can call their health provider. Faculty can also use our list of local testing sites, some of which offer free tests. If experiencing an emergency, call 404-413-3333 (on campus) or 911 (off campus).  

A close contact is defined as someone who has been within six feet for a total of 15 or more minutes with a person who has a positive COVID-19 test. Anyone who is a close contact of a person who tested positive for COVID-19 should submit an online report of the event. If you are a close contact, you should follow CDC guidelines. You should monitor yourself for symptoms consistent with COVID-19. If you develop symptoms, you should contact your medical provider. Students can contact the Student Health Clinic at 404-413-1930. Employees must contact their supervisor if they are unable to work or need to adjust their telework arrangement. They should contact their health care provider if they become sick and remain home.

If you receive a report an employee or student tested positive for COVID-19, encourage them to submit an online report and direct them to the Georgia State Ahead website for additional information.

Employees and students should follow CDC guidelines to determine the appropriate time to return to work or school.

Faculty and staff have been provided with two face coverings, which have been mailed to their homes.

Face shields, masks and amplification systems are being distributed in the colleges, schools and institutes.

Individuals who work in lab settings will continue to receive personal protective equipment as required to conduct research.

Staff members will be provided with personal protective equipment based on the nature of their work and upon request.

University System of Georgia institutions require faculty, staff, students and visitors to wear an appropriate face covering while inside campus facilities. Face coverings are to be worn in addition to and not as a substitute for social distancing. Face coverings aren’t required in one’s own dorm room or suite, when alone in an enclosed office or study room or in outdoor settings where social-distancing requirements are met.

Anyone not using a face covering when required will be asked to wear one or leave the area. Repeated refusal to comply with the requirement may result in discipline through the applicable conduct code for faculty, staff or students. Reasonable accommodations may be made for those who are unable to wear a face covering for documented health reasons.

When you wear a face covering you’re protecting yourself, but equally important, you’re protecting other members of the university community. You’re showing you’re taking responsibility for the welfare of those around you.

The University System of Georgia is composed of Georgia’s public colleges and universities, Georgia Archives and the Georgia Public Library Service. Georgia’s Constitution grants the Board of Regents the exclusive right to govern, control and manage the USG and USG institutions. The board exercises and fulfills its constitutional obligations, in part, by promulgating rules and policies for the governance of the USG and its constituent units. The board elects a chancellor who is its chief executive officer and the chief administrative officer of the University System.

Georgia State is one of the 26 colleges and universities in Georgia, and the presidents of USG institutions report to the chancellor. USG institutions are required to follow the policies and procedures established by the USG. Those interested can review the USG’s Return to Campus Planning Framework here: https://provost.gsu.edu/files/2020/06/USG-Fall-2020-Return-to-Campus-Planning-Framework.pdf.

Anyone not using a face covering when required will be asked to wear one or leave the area. Repeated refusal to comply with the requirement may result in discipline through the applicable conduct code for faculty, staff or students.

Yes. In most cases (including in cubicles). The University System of Georgia’s face coverings policy requires individuals in campus buildings to wear a face covering at all times except when alone in an enclosed private office, study room or dorm room in a residence hall. The virus can be spread through the air, and the risk of infection increases any time an individual is not wearing a mask.

Yes. Cubicles are not private, enclosed offices. Personnel who work in such spaces are required to wear a face covering.

No face covering is required when you are outdoors and six feet of social distancing is possible. However, we strongly recommend you wear a face covering at all times when on campus or in the vicinity to best protect yourself and others.

The situation with the pandemic is fluid, and we’ll continue to adapt our plan as new public health recommendations emerge. For that reason, instructors should have contingency plans in their syllabi to take classes fully online at any time if the need arises.

Tracking information, a voluntary reporting form and information about testing is at https://ahead.gsu.edu/covid-19-resources/. Check back to this page frequently for the latest updates. Students, faculty and staff can receive free saliva-based testing at no charge, regardless of symptoms and with no appointment or medical referral. More information is at the COVID-19 Resources page, including information about testing sites and registration.

No. A single negative test does not guarantee a person is COVID-19-free. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requires two types of tests to be taken 24 hours apart. Instead of asking faculty to make a clinical assessment around testing, students should follow CDC recommendations for clearance from isolation or quarantine.

If the instructor is largely asymptomatic and teaching online, it may be that no adjustment is needed. If the instructor is teaching an in‐person component of a course, the course would either need to move to an online format if the professor can continue with instruction in that modality or be taught by an alternate instructor who can step in to maintain continuity. That process will look very similar to previous semesters during which an instructor became ill.

Georgia State is offering free saliva-based testing to students, faculty and staff at the downtown Atlanta Campus and each of our five Perimeter campuses. No appointment or medical referral is required. This FDA-approved test is expected to return results within 72 hours. Testing is available weekdays, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Testing is provided regardless of symptoms. Click here for testing locations and registration.

The Georgia Department of Public Health is responsible for contact tracing. Those who have tested positive or are presumed to be positive should submit an online report and employees should also contact their supervisor or department chair. Steps will be taken to identify and contact those at Georgia State who were in close contact (within six feet for at least 15 minutes) with the individual who tested positive. The name of the individual who tested positive will not be shared with others. Those in close contact will be advised to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines about quarantining.

Students in residence halls who report an infection will be asked to return home. For those unable to do so, we’re reserving a sequestered area that will allow residential students to isolate while infected.

Our facilities team has developed a plan to provide regular cleaning and disinfecting around our campuses. A description of the plan can be found here: https://ahead.gsu.edu/files/2021/02/GSU-FMSD-Building-Services-Schedule11-30-2020-1.pdf

We are providing spray bottles, cloth rags and disinfectant to each academic department to the extent supply is available. Academic departments will provide these items to faculty to bring with them to the classroom so they can disinfect as they see fit.

Our air-handling units are equipped with air filters. The use of High-Efficiency Particulate Air filters is not feasible without major alterations to existing mechanical systems and duct work. We are installing UV lights in the air-handling units of several buildings and are working on placing more around our campuses. We also have ordered numerous portable air purifier machines for deployment in strategic locations across all campuses.

Employees who fall into one of the Georgia Department of Public Health or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention categories for higher risk for severe illness with COVID-19 may request alternate work arrangements via the Benefits Office.

In accordance with University System of Georgia guidelines, employees who care for or live with individuals at higher risk for severe illness with COVID-19 have been asked to return to their campuses as scheduled. These guidelines are consistent for employees in public universities across the state.

Our goal is to provide as much flexibility and choice as possible within these parameters. Individuals may be eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, Families First Coronavirus Response Act or other policies.

There also may be options for flexible work arrangements within a department or course even if an alternate work arrangement is not formally available through the Human Resources process. Individuals interested in exploring these options should speak with their supervisor or department chair immediately.

Instructors who need an alternate work arrangement should do so as soon as possible.

Discuss your concerns with your department chair or supervisor as soon as possible. Our goal is to provide as much flexibility and choice as possible within the parameters of the policies and procedures established by the University System of Georgia.

There may be options possible in your department even if alternate work arrangements are not available through the Human Resources process. For example, with respect to instructors, requests to change course delivery modality may be granted where strategically justified and in the best interests of our students. Such requests must be approved by your department chair, dean and the provost.

You should discuss with your department chair or supervisor options for alternative work arrangements such as continued telework, split shifts and alternative schedules. The Benefits Office in Human Resources may be able to offer potential leave options available under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, which has oversight for all public colleges and universities in Georgia, has directed its institutions to maximize safe in-person instruction this spring. You can read the resolution passed by the Regents at this link: https://www.usg.edu/news/release/board_of_regents_supports_continuing_safe_in_person_instruction.

The situation with the pandemic continues to be fluid, and adjustments will be made as needed to protect the health and safety of our community.

The academic plan for spring remains largely the same as it was in the fall. With the need for social distancing requirements, most classes will be delivered in a blended or online format, with pathways for traditional face-to-face classes preserved for those who need this modality and for courses which benefit significantly from in-person delivery.

We have learned much since the fall, and our need to achieve safe in-person instruction requires adjustments to how we deliver blended classes this spring.

Because a lack of consistency in the definition of “blended” has caused challenges, we have set the following, clear expectation for attendance.

Beginning this spring, instructors in all blended classes will either (1) meet in person for each scheduled class period using a cohort model that maximizes the percentage of students in the course who can attend at one time safely with social distancing or (2) design the course to ensure that at least 25 percent of all instruction takes place in person for each student. Meeting once or twice in person during the semester or delivering material synchronously but virtually, will not meet this requirement.

The 25 percent target is flexible and can be increased based on the seating configuration of the classroom to which a course is assigned. If a higher number of students can be accommodated safely with social distancing, the corresponding percentage of in-person instruction can and should increase.

The provost meets weekly with an Academic Task Force composed of key administrators, faculty, representatives from the University Senate Executive Committee and staff, including:

• Julian Allen, Chief Learning Innovation Officer
• Lisa Armistead, Dean of the Graduate School
• Michelle Brattain, Professor and Chair of the University Senate Executive Committee
• Laura Carruth, Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
• Shelby Frost, Professor and member of University Senate Executive Committee
• Chip Hill, Assistant Provost for Administrative Operations
• Nancy Kropf, Dean of Perimeter College
• Tarrah Mirus, Registrar
• Richard Phillips, Dean of the Robinson College of Business
• John Redmond, Professor and member of University Senate
• Sara Rosen, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences
• Kim Siegenthaler, Associate Provost for Online Strategies
• Jeff Steely, Dean of University Libraries
• Ramesh Vakamudi, Vice President for Facilities Management

The Academic Task Force is charged with identifying how best to deliver classes effectively and safely in light of the pandemic and the policies established by the University System of Georgia. It reports through the provost to the COVID-19 Coordinating Committee led by President Becker, which coordinates the university’s response to the pandemic.

In addition to allowing us to reduce density in classrooms and on our campuses, the model offers a great deal of flexibility to faculty in structuring their classes. It also ensures students will have opportunities to interact with their instructors face to face to enhance learning outcomes and secure some of the benefits of our campus environment. It will allow examinations to be administered in a face-to-face setting where desired by the instructor to enhance academic integrity.

Should we need to move to entirely online classes at any point in the semester because of the pandemic, this model will aid that transition because some course content will already be in an online format.

Instructors who’ve not already done so should enroll in a Mastering Online Teaching course offered through the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Online Education (CETLOE). CETLOE has training courses for full-time and part-time instructors and graduate teaching assistants focusing on this model and Web resources that can be accessed here: https://cetl.gsu.edu/lessonslearned/. CETLOE also can consult with individuals and departments to identify the best way to structure specific disciplinary courses and achieve excellent learning outcomes using the blended learning model.

Every instructor should have a contingency syllabus if a shift to fully online is required because of the pandemic. If such a shift becomes necessary, it’s unlikely we’ll suspend classes for two weeks as we did in spring 2020 semester, so advance planning is a necessity.

No. Prior to the semester's start, department chairs reviewed courses and determined which ones should remain in a hybrid modality or go fully online. Instructors don’t have the option of unilaterally changing a course to a fully online format.

If an instructor (full-time, part-time or graduate teaching assistant) needs an alternate work arrangement or believes a course would be better delivered in a fully online format for pedagogical or strategic reasons, they should consult with their department chair immediately.

Instructors have the flexibility to determine how best to use the in-person class time in the 25-percent model. Students may be divided into cohorts that attend class only on specific days. Under this plan, for most classes, students typically meet in person once every two weeks or three weeks per class, depending on how many days per week the class meets.

Based on historical enrollment patterns, students may be divided alphabetically by (1) A – Du; (2) Dv – La; (3) Lb – Re; and (4) Rf – Z. For most class sessions, these groupings don't create a perfect 25-percent split, and instructors have to make some adjustments to ensure class sections are evenly distributed based on available seating in classrooms. In GoSOLAR, classrooms have 25 percent of seats marked as usable, so it’s important that the class roster is divided accordingly.

Deviations from these recommendations are permitted for pedagogical reasons and based on compelling individual student requests at the instructor’s discretion. There also may be other criteria that may make more sense for some types of courses. Instructors may adjust their class divisions accordingly. The goal is to reduce the number of days any student is on campus. An alphabetical division of cohorts in each class can help to meet this goal.

In all cases, it’s important that the instructor has provided the schedule of attendance and course delivery method to students by email, on syllabi and the course website (in most cases, iCollege). Students have received these same instructions.

Yes, in some cases. Aside from safety, our highest priority is to preserve in-class programming for:

a. Populations that experience greater educational success rates with in-person programming (freshmen, for example);
b. Classes that benefit significantly from this modality (such as experiential classes and labs);
c. Graduate and professional classes in which learning takes place in similar settings.

We have already approved a number of requests for a course to be entirely taught in a face-to-face format. Those classes will proceed as scheduled.

Instructors also can ask department chairs if their classes may meet more frequently than a 25-percent capacity would typically permit. In such cases, we may be able to identify a larger room that will accommodate a larger group of students while maintaining social distancing. Such requests need to be documented and approved by department chairs, the relevant dean and the provost as soon as possible. Space will be allocated as available and based on the priorities identified above.

University System of Georgia institutions require faculty, staff, students and visitors to wear an appropriate face covering while inside campus facilities. Instructors teaching in person will wear one of the face masks that were mailed to them in the fall and can secure a face shield and an amplification system upon request. Many large classrooms are already equipped with amplification systems in which an individual lavalier microphone can be checked out for the semester.

One benefit of the blended learning model is that exams may be administered in person in class. The Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Online Education has developed a number of resources for online and in-person testing that can be found here: https://cetl.gsu.edu/resources/resources-for-remote-teaching-and-learning/testing/.

We’re working out logistics and will follow up soon with a plan for spring final exams.

The situation with the pandemic is fluid, and we’ll continue to adapt our plan as new public health recommendations emerge. For that reason, instructors should have contingency plans in their syllabi to take classes fully online at any time if the need arises.

The Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Online Education (CETLOE) has assembled numerous ideas and resources to help. You can find them at https://cetl.gsu.edu/lessonslearned/. You will find advice from CETLOE as well as from fellow faculty that will be useful this spring.

Key advice includes:

• Connect with students as much as you can on a personal level.
• Commit to making regular announcements and use discussion posts to engage students.
• Encourage ways for students to support one another and facilitate discussion.
• Be flexible with virtual check-ins/drop-ins (don’t call them “office hours” anymore).
• Provide clear, concise instructions consistently.
• Don’t post full-length lectures in a single video.
• Keep content relevant and current.
• Use engaging formats and activities.
• Use Slack, GroupMe or Teams for class communication.
• Answer emails in a timely manner and let students know how long it may take for you to respond to emails.

Synchronous classes are permitted if they have been identified as such during registration. Keep in mind synchronous classes create difficulties for students with spotty technology or challenges at home because they require fixed attendance. This format can be inferior pedagogically, sometimes “the path of least resistance” for instructors who will simply lecture online rather than creating engaging online material. Synchronous classes also can create Americans with Disabilities Act issues because some students need captioning, which is not easily secured.

We must ensure each synchronous course is of high quality and offered by an instructor who is trained in an online modality and aware of these limitations.

We’ve evaluated spacing in classrooms by consulting architectural plans and assessing each room on our campuses. Wherever possible, six feet of spacing between students has been created by eliminating seating, marking off areas and configuring furniture to allow social distancing. Our goal is to reduce the density in the classroom to 25 percent of capacity.

We’re requiring face masks at all times on campus with limited exceptions, such as when a student is in one’s own dorm room or suite, when alone in an enclosed office or study room or in outdoor settings where social distancing requirements are met. Face masks and other protective equipment are required for safety reasons in student laboratories consistent with best practices.

We recommend the following:

• While in the corridors, students should to try to keep right whenever possible. Observing this “rule of the road” enables students to keep a maximum distance from one another as they pass in the hallway.
• Students should avoid congregating in the corridors.
• Students should enter the classroom one at a time with social distancing.
• At the end of class, instructors should dismiss students one group at a time in the case of one doorway, or two groups in the case of two doorways. An exit group might consist of a row of students, a small learning group or whatever grouping makes sense depending on the classroom arrangement. Students should exit through the doorways one at a time to practice social distancing.
• In a fire or other emergency, students should disregard the social distancing conventions and make their way to the exits as quickly as possible.

University System of Georgia institutions require faculty, staff, students and visitors to wear an appropriate face covering while on campus. Face coverings are to be worn in addition to and not as a substitute for social distancing. Face coverings aren’t required in one’s own dorm room or suite, when alone in an enclosed office or study room or in outdoor settings where social distancing requirements are met.

Anyone not using a face covering when required will be asked to wear one or leave the area. Repeated refusal to comply with the requirement may result in discipline through the applicable conduct code for faculty, staff or students. Reasonable accommodations may be made for those who are unable to wear a face covering for documented health reasons.

Anyone not using a face covering when required will be asked to wear one or leave the area. Repeated refusal to comply with the requirement may result in discipline through the applicable conduct code for faculty, staff or students. Reasonable accommodations may be made for those who are unable to wear a face covering for documented health reasons.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not recommend use of face shields as a substitute for masks. However, there may be situations where wearing a face shield instead of a mask is more appropriate. You can find the most up-to-date guidance and details by visiting this link at the CDC website. If you are concerned about being able to project your voice while teaching, you can request a personal voice amplification device to help you more easily communicate with students in larger rooms. Click here for more information.

The in-person portion of classes that are taught in a hybrid or face-to-face modality should be essential to instruction. In many if not most cases, it isn't reasonable to excuse students from all in-class attendance.

Faculty should clearly post the relevant attendance policy on course syllabi and consistently communicate their expectations to students. Students should not be excused categorically from the in-person portion of a course unless they are granted an accommodation through the Access and Accommodation Center.

Students who report they are ill with COVID-19 or have been exposed to the virus and need to quarantine should be excused  from class without a physician's note. To counter a belief among some students that in-person attendance is optional, faculty may enforce an attendance policy and take attendance in classes. Faculty should post the attendance policy on course syllabi and consistently communicate their expectations to students. Messaging should stress that in-person attendance for face-to-face or blended classes is an expected and necessary part of coursework.

Yes. Instructors are asked to maintain seating chart(s) for the in-person portion of any class. Should someone in the class become ill, this will help us identify who, if anyone, should be contacted. You can find classroom seating chart templates through the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Online Education website here.

Office hours may be held virtually at the discretion of the instructor, so long as students still have the same level of access they would in any other semester.

No. Students may be coughing because they have allergies, asthma or any number of conditions that are not contagious to others. You can ask the student privately if they are OK and encourage them to seek medical attention if necessary. In no case should you call out a student during class for coughing or discuss their medical issues publicly.

The Task Force is working to develop standardized language that instructors can elect to include in syllabi, stressing the importance of staying home when sick.

You should direct the student to stay home and work with them to adjust deadlines that may be missed because they are sick.

Members of the university community should use the new online form to report positive results, symptoms or exposure to COVID-19, available at https://ahead.gsu.edu/covid-19-resources/#reporting.

The form, which requires a campus ID and password to access, is intended for students, faculty and staff. You can enter the report on behalf of a student, but it is preferred the student completes the form whenever possible.

If you do enter a report on behalf of the student, enter their name so case investigators can contact the student. The reporting form and data are confidential.

Others at Georgia State who are identified to have come in close contact (within six feet for at least 15 minutes) with the student who tested positive will be advised to quarantine and follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Because student health information is protected by federal law, you should not contact the other students in your classroom to report a COVID-19 case.

The Georgia Department of Public Health says there is an increased risk of transmission for those who are within six feet of an infected individual for more than 15 minutes. Because in most cases our plan provides six feet of distancing between students, all of whom are required to wear masks, classes may continue to operate as scheduled after an infection is reported. Outside of these parameters, we’ll determine what is needed to maintain safe operations on a case-by-case basis once an infection is reported.

An instructor who is diagnosed with COVID-19 should stay home and not come to campus. They also should notify their department chair immediately. Deans and department chairs will work with instructors to determine next steps for the course in light of the particular circumstances in each case.

Students who contract COVID-19 will be allowed to withdraw using regular university means through PAWS/GoSolar prior to the midpoint of the semester. Withdrawal petitions submitted after the midpoint because of COVID-19 will be approved on the grounds of emergency or hardship just as occurred in spring and fall 2020 and should go through the Student Affairs online process at https://deanofstudents.gsu.edu/student-assistance/emergency-withdrawal/.

You should notify your supervisor, seek medical treatment and stay home. You are also encouraged to submit an online report.

Employees may also contact Human Resources Benefits at 404-413-3330 or benefits@gsu.edu about the use of sick leave or other possible leave options.

If you’re unable to teach your courses, you should immediately inform your department chair so that alternate arrangements can be made.

Employees should follow CDC guidelines to determine the appropriate time to return to work.

The University System of Georgia offers tenure-track faculty the option to stop the tenure clock for up to two years in a limited set of circumstances. Board Policy 8.3.7.4 states that “credit for the probationary period of an interruption may be given at the discretion of the president.” Because of the unanticipated disruptions caused by COVID-19 this semester, Georgia State will allow pre-tenure faculty to apply for a one-time tenure clock stoppage for the 2020-21 academic year where justified. We hope this will alleviate some of the stress many of you are experiencing because of unanticipated instructional challenges and restricted research opportunities.

The stoppage request should originate with a memo from the faculty member to their chair. The memo should include a description of the nature of the disruption to the faculty member’s research. Examples include (but are not limited to) inability to travel to the field sites or to conduct interviews, closed labs, delays in delivery of lab equipment, delays in manuscript or grant proposal review/approval, etc. The request must be approved by the chair and the dean.

Deans should forward approved requests to the Office of Faculty Affairs for the provost’s review. The provost’s recommendation will be forwarded to the president, and approval will be communicated back to the dean’s office. Because this tenure stoppage does not require a leave of absence, no leave-of-absence form will be required. The deadline is Dec. 3, 2021, however, the deadline for some faculty groups will be earlier. Information is available here: https://faculty.gsu.edu/files/2020/04/COVID-Clock-stoppage-FAQs-4.15.2020.pdf.

The schedule for post-tenure review will not change. However, the disruption to research and service that almost all faculty are experiencing will be taken into account in determining whether productivity standards were met over the prior five years.

Synchronous classes are permitted if they have been identified as such during registration. Keep in mind synchronous classes create difficulties for students with spotty technology or challenges at home because they require fixed attendance. This format can be inferior pedagogically, sometimes “the path of least resistance” for instructors who will simply lecture online rather than creating engaging online material. Synchronous classes also can create Americans with Disabilities Act issues because some students need captioning, which is not easily secured.

We must ensure each synchronous course is of high quality and offered by an instructor who is trained in an online modality and aware of these limitations.

We are charging the standard rate for monthly parking. Employees who come to work on a reduced basis may elect to change from monthly parking to a budget card, which allows payment per use at a significant discount ($3.50 budget versus $10 daily visitor rate or $5 daily permit). Employees who use MARTA may continue to buy discounted MARTA cards.