Each employee is responsible for monitoring their health for any of the following symptoms and should not report to work if any are present: fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea.
COVID-19 employee guidance
Latest messages from the UniversityFace masks, social distancing and contact tracing
Face masks
Regardless of vaccination status, all students, employees, and members of the public must wear masks indoors.
Students, employees, and members of the public, who have not been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, are also still required to wear face coverings outdoors while on campus, irrespective of whether other individuals are present.
Social distancing
There are no social distancing requirements in Nevada or at the University.
Contact tracing
Contact tracing for positive COVID-19 cases will continue, and individuals who have been diagnosed are encouraged to complete our COVID-19 self-reporting form. Daily sign-in sheets for the purpose of contact tracing are no longer required.
COVID-19 vaccinations
The Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents approved an emergency amendment to the NSHE Code that sets forth policies and procedures enacting a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine requirement for all NSHE employees, effective Dec. 1.
Employee COVID-19 vaccine meeting
Watch the employee information session from Oct. 7, 2021 regarding the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for NSHE employees with President Sandoval, Cheryl Hug-English and Tim McFarling.
COVID-19 vaccine waivers
An employee may request a waiver from the NSHE employee COVID-19 vaccine requirement for medical or religious reasons. If an individual is both a student and an employee, they will need to complete both the student waiver and the employee waiver forms.
Verify your vaccination status
NSHE has collected vaccine information from the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services’ vaccine tracking system (WebIZ) to identify employees who are fully vaccinated. Learn about updating and verifying your vaccination status in Workday.
Remote work policy and agreements
Remote work arrangement policy
The University’s Remote Work Arrangement (RWA) Policy reflects our core institutional belief that we will continue to provide “majority in-person educational experiences and degree programs for our students,” while also providing flexibility in the future determination of Remote Work Arrangements.
Remote work agreements
The process for requesting a Remote Work Agreement is now live in Workday. You may also review the application process and deadlines in Knowledge Base: Initiating a Remote Work Agreement (RWA) in Workday.
Remote work webinar
Watch the webinar from June 29, 2021 for an overview of the remote work policy and a question and answer session with Shannon Ellis, Jill Heaton and Tim McFarling.
Log in with NetID required.
The following must be followed in the event of COVID-19 symptoms, exposure or a positive test
Scenario-based guidance:
- Vaccinated employees that are confirmed positive for COVID-19 and are required to quarantine or self-isolate are eligible to use Administrative Leave with Pay. Approval for Administrative Leave with Pay time off duration should be based on current CDC quarantine guidance. Employees are responsible for obtaining supporting test results or documentation from a treating medical provider and providing it to their department.
- Unvaccinated employees that are confirmed positive for COVID-19 or are required to quarantine or self-isolate due to COVID-19 exposure must use their sick, annual or compensatory time off. If employees do not have time off available they will be in an unpaid status. Time off approval duration should be based on current CDC quarantine guidance. Employees are responsible for obtaining supporting test results or documentation from a treating medical provider and providing it to their department.
- Employees that are unvaccinated due to a medical condition that limits their ability to be vaccinated may use Administrative Leave with Pay if they can provide a doctor's affirmation of having a medical condition that prevents vaccination. If unable to provide supporting documentation the employee will be required to use sick, annual or compensatory time off. If the employee does not have time off available they will be in an unpaid status. Time off duration should be based on current CDC quarantine guidance. Requests for Administrative Leave with Pay should route to HR Absence Management for verification and determination.
- Remote work may be available for employees that test positive for COVID-19 or are required to quarantine or self-isolate due to COVID-19 exposure. Authorization of temporary remote work is at the discretion of the department. The duration of remote work authorized should be based on current CDC quarantine guidance. Employees are responsible for obtaining supporting test results or documentation from a treating medical provider and providing it to their department.
View CDC guidance on isolation, quarantine, and testing for people who are fully vaccinated or for people who are not fully vaccinated.
You are encouraged to call your health care provider for an assessment and possible COVID-19 testing. Fully vaccinated individuals should still get tested if experiencing COVID-19 like symptoms, and are required self-isolate if they receive a positive diagnosis.
If you have a positive test, you are encouraged to fill out a COVID-19 reporting form to assist with contact tracing.
Self-isolate for:
- At least 10 days since symptoms first appeared and
- At least 24 hours with no fever without fever-reducing medication and
- Other symptoms of COVID-19 are improving
View CDC guidance on isolation and testing for people who are fully vaccinated or for people who are not fully vaccinated.
Fully vaccinated individuals who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 who are asymptomatic are required to stay home and self-isolate for 10 days after their positive test. For the purpose of contact tracing, individuals who have been diagnosed are encouraged to complete our COVID-19 self-reporting form.
View CDC guidance for people who are fully vaccinated.
Individuals who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 who are asymptomatic are required to stay home and self-isolate for 10 days after their positive test. For the purpose of contact tracing, individuals who have been diagnosed are encouraged to complete our COVID-19 self-reporting form.
View CDC guidance for people who are not fully vaccinated.
Vaccinated individuals who have been exposed by being in close contact with someone with COVID-19 do not have to quarantine unless they develop symptoms but should still test 3-5 days after the exposure, notify their supervisor, monitor their symptoms for 14 days, and wear a mask indoors for 14 days after the exposure or until a negative test result is received.
You are not required to quarantine if:
- You have remained asymptomatic since the current COVID-19 exposure; AND
- You are either:
- Fully vaccinated (i.e., > two weeks following receipt of the second dose in a two-dose series, or >= two weeks following receipt of one dose of a single-dose vaccine); OR
- You have had COVID-19 within the last 3 months.
Close contact is defined by the CDC by less than 6 feet for more than 15 minutes.
View CDC guidance on when to quarantine.
Whenever possible, CDC currently continues to recommend a quarantine period of fourteen (14) days for those who have been in close contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19. However, the following options to shorten quarantine are acceptable alternatives.
- Individuals who have come in close contact with someone infected with COVID-19 may be released from quarantine and resume normal activities after ten (10) days as long as they remain asymptomatic and continue to self-monitor for symptoms for fourteen (14) days after their most recent exposure. This includes, but is not limited to, at home quarantine, in a hotel or dormitory room or in a group quarantine facility.
- When diagnostic testing resources are sufficient and available for asymptomatic individuals, quarantine can end after seven (7) days if a test is done on day five (5) of the quarantine period and the test result is received by day seven (7).
Close contact is defined by the CDC by less than 6 feet for more than 15 minutes.
View CDC guidance for people who are not fully vaccinated.
Yes. Self-reporting a positive test can help the University mitigate the spread of COVID-19 by ensuring that the surveillance/contact tracing process begins as soon as possible. If you test positive at a testing site other than the Student Health Center, please complete the voluntary online Reporting Form For Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 or provide consent to someone to submit it for you.
Information for instructors
Masks in the classroom
A video, accessible to instructional faculty, showing how to deal with students who inadvertently or intentionally fail to wear face coverings in class is available to watch in WebCampus.
Student information
On Aug. 20, the Nevada State Board of Public Health voted to require the COVID-19 vaccine for all students attending NSHE institutions. Students must provide proof of vaccination by Nov. 1, 2021 to enroll in the Spring 2022 semester. We will provide additional information on this mandate as details become available.
COVID-19 FAQ for instructors
The required communications sequence when a student tests positive in a classroom or a lab setting is as follows:
- When a student receives a positive COVID-19 result from the Student Health Center, or self-reports their positive case, the Student Health Center will initiate a contract tracing process, which will help gather additional information about other possible close contacts on campus that may require quarantine.
- The person testing positive is to isolate immediately, per CDC recommendations.
- The Provost Office will then contact the student’s instructors via email informing them of the positive test result.
- For in-person courses, instructors should notify students that there has been a positive case reported in class without revealing the identity of the individual who has tested positive.
- In most classroom situations without seating charts, it is difficult to determine whether someone has been a close contact (less than six feet for more than 15 minutes) with a positive case. However, requiring masks and recommending COVID-19 testing are helpful mitigation strategies.
- Any unvaccinated students in the classroom should be advised to get a COVID-19 test, even if asymptomatic. These students should not attend class if they have symptoms. They may continue to attend class if asymptomatic.
- Any vaccinated students in the classroom, with symptoms, should not attend class and should also get a COVID-19 test. If asymptomatic, they may continue to attend class. The CDC does still recommend that these individuals get tested 3-5 days following a known exposure to someone with COVID-19.
- It is most important to ensure the student who tested positive does not attend class during their isolation period. The isolation period for someone testing positive for COVID-19 is 10 days from the start of symptoms or if asymptomatic, 10 days from the test date. The University is currently providing isolation rooms for those students who test positive and are living in the residence halls.
- Having a student test positive or symptom-positive student in a classroom/lab does not mean the class needs to be cancelled or taught remotely. Instructors should not conduct their in-person classes remotely unless they have received a specific public health directive to do so or have been contacted by the Office of the Provost or the University’s chief medical officer Dr. Cheryl Hug-English.
- Instructors must provide students who have tested positive opportunities to make up missed course work, including assignments, quizzes or exams. In courses with mandatory attendance policies, instructors must not penalize students for missing classes due to a positive COVID-19 test. In addition, instructors should not penalize symptom-positive students who miss class because the student is acting out of an abundance of caution while awaiting test results. It is the instructor’s prerogative whether to record classes for or provide synchronous remote access to students who are in isolation due to a positive COVID-19 test or who are awaiting the results of their COVID-19 test.
While we are working to notify faculty about positive COVID-19 cases, please be aware this may not occur in every situation due to circumstances beyond the University’s control. Faculty members are only notified if a student has attended their class while infectious, and the student has either been tested at the Student Health Center or completed a COVID-19 self-reporting form. However, students can test in many other community locations or with a home test, in which case the Student Health Center may not be notified. We acknowledge that there are instances where a student may learn of a positive test result, not report the result to the Student Health Center and go directly to their instructor with the result. Faculty in these instances should advise their student to fill out the self-reporting form so that the University is aware.
Instructors are advised, if a student tests positive in one of their classes, to get a COVID-19 test themselves if they have had close contact (less than six feet for more than 15 minutes) or if they are exhibiting symptoms.
In the event an instructor tests positive for COVID, isolation should begin immediately. Consultation with the chair or dean, should also begin immediately as to what next steps should be in presenting material to your class during the isolation period.
Having a student test positive or symptom-positive student in a classroom/lab does not mean the class needs to be cancelled or taught remotely. Instructors should not conduct their in-person classes remotely unless they have received a specific public health directive to do so or have been contacted by the Office of the Provost or the University’s chief medical officer Dr. Cheryl Hug-English.