Spring 2024 Respiratory Virus Guidance - Including COVID-19, flu, and RSV.
As the University continues to move forward from the pandemic, we want to ensure our community has the most updated guidance to lower the risk of respiratory viruses. The CDC has updated its Respiratory Virus Guidance, including COVID-19, flu, and RSV. If a student has tested positive for a respiratory virus, they should follow the current CDC guidelines – Respiratory Virus Guidance.
Students should contact their faculty members on how to stay current in their classes and make up any work that has been missed. If a student has complications due to a respiratory virus, the student should contact the Dean of Students office via email (deanofstudents@usi.edu) or phone at 812-464-1862. As with other serious medical issues, the Dean of Students office may send a faculty notice to alert instructors to the absence. The student is required to work with the instructor to make up any missed work.
Faculty Notices
The Dean of Students Office encourages students to contact their faculty members directly regarding their absences and other related issues at their earliest convenience. In emergencies where students are unable to contact faculty members, or when students may not feel comfortable disclosing personal information to their faculty members, the Dean of Students Office (DOSO) may send a brief email (faculty notice) to faculty members notifying them that the student has contacted the Dean of Students Office and is being connected to the appropriate on and/or off-campus resources. The email will not provide the specifics of the situation, although the student is free to provide faculty with details. To have an email sent to faculty, students should contact the Dean of Students Office in person in University Center East room 1256, by phone at 812-464-1862, or via email at deanofstudents@usi.edu.
Students may be required to meet with the Dean of Students or their designee; however, in some circumstances when the student is not available, such as because of hospitalization, a Faculty Notice can be requested by telephone or email if the student is unable to come to the office in person. Emergencies might include serious illness or hospitalization, a serious accident, or a death in the family. Emergencies do not include brief absences where a student can reach out to their faculty members about missed classes, assignments, quizzes, exams, etc. The student will be copied on the Faculty Notice email, so they have a copy for their records. Faculty Notices are intended to be informational and should not replace direct communication between students and their faculty members.
March 4, 2024