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West Virginia University WVU Faculty

COVID-19 Academic Notification Process

The Care Services Team and the Office of the Provost will implement a modified approach to classroom tracing efforts this semester. 

Below are the steps outlining the academic notification processes for students in the case of an identified COVID-related event. 

Academic Notification Process for Students

  1. When the Provost’s Office is notified of a student with a COVID-related event, they will contact the student’s on-campus instructors.
  2. The student is also responsible for contacting their instructor(s) to tell them they are unable to attend class and to work with their instructor(s) to develop a plan to complete the course learning outcomes while he or she is absent, as per the University Attendance Policy and COVID-19 syllabus statement.
    • The University Attendance Policy requires students to work with their instructors on how to best complete the course requirements and demonstrate the necessary learning that was missed. Students who should be quarantined should not go to class but should be reasonably accommodated.  Some examples of reasonable accommodations are:
      • Providing recorded or streamed lecture video and/or audio
      • Giving students notes or presentation slides for missed classes
      • Allowing make-up assignments, homework and exams
      • Providing substitute assignments
      • Dropping the lowest quiz and/or exam score(s)
      • Holding a make-up quiz or exam day at the end of the semester
    • If a student needs assistance reaching instructors or completing classwork, they should reach out to the department chair and then college or school dean, if needed.
    • Instructors are encouraged to visit the TLC's resource page for accommodating students in quarantine to explore options or request a consultation. 
  3. Students who have been directed by the University to isolate will present their instructors with documentation demonstrating their clearance to return to class.
    • Once the student’s isolation period is complete, they will receive a letter in their MIX email account to document their clearance to return to class. If a student has questions about this process, they should reach out to the Care Services team at  careservices@mail.wvu.edu.
    • If the student does not present the documentation for clearance without prompting, the instructor may ask the student to present the document. If the student cannot produce the documentation, the instructor may ask the student to leave the class.

Additional Circumstances

If a student self-reports to an instructor that they have been directed to isolate or quarantine prior to the instructor receiving notification from the Provost’s Office, the instructor should contact Assistant Vice President for Academic Planning and Implementation Amanda DeBastiani ( akdebastiani@mail.wvu.edu) as soon as possible and advise the student to report their COVID-19-related case to Care Services at 304-293-6006 or careservices@mail.wvu.edu. 

Self-reporting to WVU will initiate the appropriate contact tracing, notification and case management efforts at the University. Until then, the instructor should work with the student to develop a plan to complete the course learning outcomes while he or she is absent, as per the University Attendance Policy and COVID-19 syllabus statement.

Students whose cases are being managed by the WVU Care Services Team will receive documentation clearing them to return to class. Instructors may ask to see this documentation before allowing the student to attend class in person.