COVID-19 Faculty Accommodation Request

A COVID-19-related accommodation may occur for a set period of time, within the basic contract period, during which a faculty member’s work assignment or terms and conditions of employment may be changed to minimize risk of COVID-19 exposure for faculty members who are at higher risk for severe illness as defined by the CDC or live with someone who is higher risk. 

A faculty member with a temporary adjustment in their workload duties or terms and conditions of employment will still be expected to complete all duties assigned during the contract period. 

The faculty member should make the request of their department chairperson/division director or the equivalent academic administrator for a COVID-19-related accommodation as soon as possible – preferably by June 15 for Fall 2020 and September 15 for Spring 2021. 

NOTE: Faculty members should not disclose any specific medical information to their academic leader; and the academic leader should not request such information. 

Upon request, the faculty member and chairperson/division director or the equivalent academic administrator should begin to develop a draft accommodation plan. 

The faculty member should then complete the online COVID-19 Accommodation Request Form and obtain the chairperson’s/division director’s and dean’s signatures. 

The form – including the draft accommodation plan – should then be submitted to coronavirusmodification@mail.wvu.edu. 

If the accommodation request relates to a medical condition that you have and the existence of the condition is non-obvious, then the University’s ADA Coordinator or Medical Management may reach out for medical documentation and you may be required to submit additional paperwork. 

All accommodation requests are subject to review and approval by the Provost’s Office. Accommodation requests relating to a medical condition also are subject to review and approval by the ADA Coordinator. The accommodation must be objectively reasonable without undue pressure being placed on any party. An accommodation will be considered reasonable if it does not create an undue burden on the University.

See the COVID-19 Modification of Duties Flowchart to understand the possible scenarios of modifications.

View the Flowchart PDF View text description of Flowchart

Questions? 

Faculty should first direct all questions to their academic leader and then to the Office of the Provost at 304-293-2021 or WVUFaculty@mail.wvu.edu.