Faculty/Adjunct Faculty - How to Report Absences
We are all aware of the H1N1 flu (Swine flu) outbreak and the possibility of a pandemic.
As with any illness, your students are expected to communicate
directly with you about absences related to illness. For student absences
with either suspected or confirmed H1N1,
please email the student’s name, class title and location to
reporting@osuokc.edu, a new mailbox set up specifically for tracking the
illness on our campus.
Keep in mind that reporting suspected or confirmed student cases of H1N1 is for
information gathering purposes. All student names will be kept confidential; however,
we are monitoring numbers of absences and building locations where absences occur
in order to track outbreaks. Students will be receiving an email with similar information
to contact their instructors. It is the responsibility of all faculty and adjuncts
to email the H1N1 absence information to the above email. Do not ask students to
use this email.
I am confident that you will exhibit sound professional judgment in accommodating
students who report to you that they have the flu (regular or H1N1). Please keep
in mind that we do not want sick students coming to campus and thereby risking the
health of others.
As faculty members you play a critical role in our response to this threat. Please
be sure to take care of yourself and stay home if you develop flu-like symptoms
for at least 24 hours after the last flu-like symptom. If you have a suspected or
confirmed case of H1N1, notify your lead instructor, department head or division
head immediately. They are responsible for reporting instructor absences through
regular Human Resources channels. Faculty/adjunct/staff absences are not to be reported
through the above email.
Our administrative group has been meeting about this threat and has taken several
steps. Laura Hare, Human Resources director, sent instructors to supervisors on
September 22 providing information about how to avoid H1N1 and what to do if any
employee reports flu-like symptoms. In addition, the campus has taken these steps:
- Sending an email to all students encouraging them to contact their instructors in
case of any absences, and giving them information about H1N1;
- Increased our sanitation and cleaning efforts especially in those areas with high
traffic;
- Added hand sanitizers throughout the campus;
- Set up procedures to give seasonal flu shots on campus on October 22; 60 shots are
available at this time; those shots will be free;
- Set up a new webpage to provide information about the flu,
www.osuokc.edu/flu and
- Using social media to inform students about our flu website.
Of course I will be happy to answer any questions you might have. We will continue
our efforts to ensure this threat does not unnecessarily disrupt our academic activities
or endanger anyone’s health.
Dr. Larry Edwards
OSU-OKC Vice President of Academic Affairs
(405) 945-3376
edwarlg@osuokc.edu
