Campus Operations FAQs

During Step Two, all employees are able to return to campus. However, this does not mean all employees will return. Employees who are able to continue working remotely are encouraged to continue doing so. Supervisors will decide who should resume working on campus based on job requirements and the feasibility of maintaining social distancing.

With supervisor approval, all employees can access campus if they:

• comply with their supervisor’s instructions;
• complete COVID-19 training; and
• complete daily symptom monitoring.

If you have questions about returning to campus or how the transition to Step Two affects you, please reach out to your supervisor.

During Step Two, employees who can medically tolerate them must wear protective face coverings at all times while working indoors, unless they are working alone in their office with the door closed. Face coverings are required for all face-to-face meetings, in restrooms, and in hallways.

Face coverings are not needed while working outdoors as long as employees are able to stay six feet apart. If six feet of distance cannot be maintained, face coverings must be worn during outdoor work.

Employees who are medically unable to tolerate wearing a face covering should contact Michigan Tech's ADA Coordinator at adacoordinator@mtu.edu to ask about an accommodation.

Instructors will be expected to wear face coverings to and from class, and will be permitted to wear specially designed face shields while teaching. The face shields will allow for better airflow, allow students to see the instructor's face and will be equipped with headsets to enable remote learning for those students who are not able to be in the classroom.

The shields will also allow faculty members the flexibility to move and instruct in their traditional manner versus locked in behind a plexiglass barrier. The team working on these classroom-based mitigations will continue to review new information and make changes where necessary.

Please remember that face coverings do not have to be a mask—buffs, gaitors, bandannas, and similar face coverings are permitted.

If students in your class are not in compliance with the face covering protocol, you may politely ask them to leave class until they are able to comply with the protocol. You may use your discretion as to whether to ask a student to leave class the first time this issue arises.

If a student indicates they are unable to medically tolerate a face covering, please ask them to contact Student Disability Services at sds@mtu.edu. Report any chronic concerns regarding students to the Dean of Students office at deanofstudents@mtu.edu.

Not everyone is able to medically tolerate face coverings, and we ask you to always assume the best of people.

If you are the supervisor of someone who is not in compliance with the face covering protocol, please provide them with a face covering and ask them to follow the protocol, emphasizing the leadership role we all play in setting the social standard across campus. If they are not able to medically tolerate a face mask, please refer them to the ADA Coordinator at adacoordinator@mtu.edu for an appropriate accommodation, which will vary by person.

If you are not their supervisor, please feel free to let them know where they are able to obtain a face covering. Students and employees may obtain one by calling Public Safety and Police Services at 906-487-2216.

If you have concerns regarding ongoing interactions with someone not in compliance, please email mtuflex@mtu.edu.

During Step Two, all employees are able to come to campus, as long as their visit is approved by their supervisor, they have completed COVID-19 training, and they have submitted the Daily Symptom Monitoring Form.

Anyone who reports symptoms the CDC considers to be related to COVID-19 will not be allowed on campus.

Only essential visitors are permitted during Stage Two. More information about essential visitors is available in the Return to Campus—Step Two Protocol.

If you are not sure whether you qualify as an essential visitor, or need to request permission for a non-employee visitor to come to campus, please contact mtuflex@mtu.edu.

Accommodations will be provided for employees identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as being at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, and those who are caring for someone at risk, as requested.

Employees can request a COVID-19 High Risk Accommodation, or an accommodation for any other reason related to COVID-19 (e.g., medically unable to wear a face covering), by contacting the Michigan Tech ADA Coordinator at adacoordinator@mtu.edu.

Please be aware that COVID-19 High Risk Accommodations are different from ADA Accommodations for a disability. Do not fill out or submit any accommodation request forms before hearing back from the ADA Coordinator.

A specific plan will be put in place for public spaces, water fountains, and other high-contact areas. Building custodians will be spending less time in departmental spaces so that they can redirect their effort to more frequent sanitizing of high-frequency touchpoints such as water fountains, doorknobs, light switches, elevator buttons and handles.

Departments will need to do their part by continuing to bring their trash and recycling to the common designated area(s) within their building and regularly wiping the high-frequency touchpoints within their individual offices, office suites, kitchenettes and break rooms. Custodians will visit offices on a weekly basis for vacuuming and maintenance checks.

Garbage cans are available in designated common areas in each building. Garbage can locations are listed in the Facilities Management Garbage Can Locations PDF.

See Michigan Tech's Return to Campus—Step Two Protocol issued June 15, 2020, for current travel restrictions.

Groups gatherings are permitted under Step Two. However, indoor gatherings are limited to 50 people and outdoor gatherings to 150 people.

All group members must maintain at least six feet of distance between themselves and others when gathering, whether the group is meeting indoors or outdoors. If the gathering takes place inside a campus building, face coverings must be worn. Face coverings are not required outdoors on campus, unless group members are not able to maintain six feet of distance.

To check the status of events during Step Two, visit the Departments, Events, and Services: Status Updates web page.

The Student Development Complex will remain closed to the public during Step Two. A phased reopening for student-athletes and current students is planned for mid-July, with limited hours and access to the fitness center and pool.

To check the status of SDC operations during Step Two, visit the Departments, Events, and Services: Status Updates web page.

On June 11, 2020, a link to the COVID-19 training was sent to all employees who had not yet completed it.

If you did not receive this link, please send an email to mtuflex@mtu.edu.

If you are returning to campus between June 15, 2020, and June 22, 2020, the deadline is June 22. Anyone returning after June 22 must complete the training within seven days of their return.

If you do not plan to return to campus until fall, you must complete COVID-19 training by the end of the summer.

Yes, all Michigan Tech employees need to complete the online training, regardless of whether they work on the main campus or not. This training is mandated by the state, and it helps to ensure that everyone is able to return to work safely with the necessary knowledge relating to COVID-19.

You must have your supervisor's approval before resuming work on campus. Supervisors will decide who should return based on job requirements and the feasibility of maintaining social distancing. If you have questions about returning to campus or how the transition to Step Two affects you, please reach out to your supervisor.