UNT Guide for Returning to Work
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Training and Resources Workplace Expectations and Guidelines Staged Staffing Personal Safety Practices

Workplace Expectations and Guidelines

All faculty and staff are fully expected to comply with the policies, protocols, and guidelines outlined in this document. To maintain health and safety on campus, faculty and staff will have a shared responsibility to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, which can be spread from person to person even if an infected individual does not feel sick. It is important that UNT community members be mindful of the needs of each other and appropriately follow the university’s health and safety guidelines. Failure to do so may result in corrective action.

Please note that UNT Police are not responsible for enforcing social-distancing or face covering guidelines. Do not call the police to report these types of behaviors. Faculty and staff are expected to behave courteously toward each other and kindly remind each other of the safety precautions, as necessary and appropriate.

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Symptom Monitoring Requirements

All faculty, staff, and students are required to self-monitor their health daily for the following COVID-19 symptoms, starting 14 days prior to returning to campus:

  • 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
  • Diarrhea

See the CDC's most up to date list of symptoms of COVID-19.


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Faculty or staff who are experiencing any of the above symptoms should:

  • NOT come on-site if you have ANY potential COVID-19 symptoms
  • Call the COVID Hotline at 844-366-5892 or email COVID@unt.edu to report symptoms
  • Notify your supervisor
  • Not come to work until all of the following have been met:
    • It has been at least 14 days since symptoms appeared
    • Your respiratory symptoms have improved
    • You are fever-free (without the use of fever-reducing medication) for at least 24 hours (1 day)
  • You also may return to work if you have been evaluated by a medical professional and it is determined that your symptoms are not due to COVID-19.
  • According to the CDC, it is not recommended to retest for COVID-19 after illness. If a close contact tests positive, then you also do not have to test again if you got over your illness. Learn more about CDC testing recommendations.

If you are not experiencing severe symptoms that require medical attention, you should self-isolate at home. Please contact your medical provider if you have any symptoms that are concerning to you. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911.

The CDC website information may be helpful in deciding if you need to see a doctor. The CDC also provides guidance on the differences between when to quarantine and when to isolate.

Resident hall students who have any symptoms associated with a potential COVID-19 infection, should:

  • Call the COVID Hotline at 844-366-5892 or email COVID@unt.edu to report symptoms
  • Notify the RA for further instructions about seeking medical treatment, possible testing and possible self-isolation
  • Inform their instructors that they will not be in class – Do NOT attend classes

Non-resident hall students who have any symptoms associated with a potential COVID-19 infection, should:

  • Call the COVID Hotline at 844-366-5892 or email COVID@unt.edu to report symptoms
  • Inform their instructors that they will not be in class – Do NOT attend classes
  • Follow further instructions regarding testing and potential self-isolation provided by UNT’s Student Health and Wellness Clinic or student’s medical provider

To help you self-monitor your health should you be exposed to COVID-19, the university developed a Self-Monitoring Form and various scenarios to guide you. The monitoring form is for your convenience and does not need to be submitted to your supervisor, Human Resources or any other campus office.

Visit the CDC for information on how COVID-19 spreads and how to protect yourself and others.

If you have had known close contact with a person who is lab confirmed to have COVID-19, contact the COVID Hotline at 844-366-5892 or email: COVID@unt.edu.

If you have had known close contact with a person who is lab confirmed to have COVID-19, contact the COVID Hotline at 844-366-5892 or email: COVID@unt.edu. In the latest testing guidelines from the CDC Friday, people who do not have symptoms of COVID-19 should still be tested if they have been in close contact with someone who is infected. UNT’s Student Health and Wellness Center offers testing to faculty, staff and students who have been identified by UNT’s Contact Tracing team as a close contact of a UNT positive COVID-19 case. Close contact is defined as being within 6 feet of a COVID-19 patient for at least 15 minutes. Call UNT's COVID Hotline can give guidance regarding symptoms, testing and what to do following potential exposure.

Working in an Office Environment

UNT’s primary goal as faculty and staff return to work is to help keep everyone as safe as possible and work to minimize the spread of COVID-19. Social distancing (maintaining at least six feet apart) will be key as individuals go about their work day. Wearing cloth face coverings will be required when individuals are in a shared or small workspaces.

During your time on-site, individuals will be encouraged to communicate with colleagues and supervisors as needed by email, instant message, phone or other available technology rather than face-to-face. You also can use a range of available collaboration tools (e.g., Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams, etc.).

Departments should assess open work environments and meeting rooms to institute measures to physically separate and increase distance between employees, other coworkers and customers, such as:

  • Place visual cues such as floor decals, colored tape or signs to indicate to customers where they should stand while waiting in line.
  • Place one-way directional signage for large open work spaces with multiple through-ways to increase distance between employees moving through the space.
  • Consider designating specific stairways for up or down traffic if building space allows.


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Using Restrooms

Use of restrooms should be limited based on size to ensure at least six feet of distance between individuals. Wash your hands thoroughly afterward to reduce the potential transmission of the virus.

Using Elevators

Elevators are limited based on their size with a maximum occupancy of four individuals, so please use the stairs whenever possible to reserve the elevators for those who need to use them. If you are using the elevator, wear your face covering.


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Using Water Fountains and Bottle Refill Stations

To help keep you safe and prevent the spread of COVID-19, some water fountains will be turned off and unavailable for use. Bottle refill stations still will be available – if they are not connected to the water fountain.



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Meetings

Where feasible, meetings should be hosted in whole or in part using the extensive range of available collaboration tools (e.g., Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams, telephone, etc.). In-person meetings should be limited, assuming individuals can still maintain six feet of separation for social distancing requirements. Departments should remove or rearrange chairs and tables or add visual cue marks in meeting rooms to support social distancing practices between attendees. All attendees will be required to wear a face covering while sharing space in a common room.

Meals

Before and after eating, you should wash your hands thoroughly to reduce the potential transmission of the virus. If dining on campus, you are required to wear your face covering until you are ready to eat and then replace it afterward. Be sure to keep your face covering in a safe place so that it does not become dirty or contaminated while you eat. Dining halls must meet requirements to allow at least six feet of distance between each customer, including lines and seating arrangements.

Staff are encouraged to take food back to their office area, if possible, or eat outside whenever possible. If you are eating in your work environment (break room, office, etc.), maintain six feet distance between yourself and others. Departments should remove or rearrange chairs and tables or add visual cue marks in employee break rooms to support social distancing practices between employees.

Meals should not be taken into or eaten in laboratories or other areas where it is dangerous or not permitted.

Academic Clinics and Classrooms

The Division of Academic Affairs posted the Return to Learn Plan. The division’s primary goal is to keep the entire UNT family safe while providing students the best opportunities to learn and offering services to the surrounding communities in a phased approach as safety becomes easier to maintain.

Visit the Return to Learn Plan.

Research and Laboratory Work

The Division of Research and Innovation posted the UNT Research Reopen Plan. The division’s primary goal is to keep the entire UNT family safe while increasing research activity in a phased approach as safety becomes easier to maintain.

This plan and the guidelines within should be followed by all UNT researchers.

Visit the UNT Research Reopen Plan.

Public Transportation

UNT’s partners at the Denton County Transit Authority (DCTA) provide bus services to our UNT community. Students also may ride any Denton city route by showing their UNT ID.

DCTA is operating as an essential business and is closely monitoring the impact of COVID-19. DCTA has increased precautions to protect its passengers and staff and will provide updates of any new information that could impact riders’ commutes through the DCTA website and on its social media channels – @RideDCTA on Twitter and Facebook.

Throughout summer 2020, DCTA has modified its routes. Find out about route changes to DCTA buses and see the summer 2020 routes for UNT. Fall 2020 service is expected to resume with the first week of classes.

Wearing a face covering while riding the bus is required.

All buses and trains are receiving additional cleanings using a medical-grade disinfecting cleaner as well as a daily spray down using a broad-spectrum disinfectant that is effective against a range of microorganisms for an extended period of time.

Find DCTA information as it relates to COVID-19.

Health and Safety Awareness Campaign

As faculty and staff prepare to begin the phased-in return to our regular work locations on campus, UNT launched a campuswide Health and Safety Awareness Campaign in June 2020 to begin helping community members understand the guidelines related to returning to campus.

The Division of University Brand Strategy and Communications, in coordination with other university divisions, is developing an integrated communication campaign to advise students, faculty, staff, and other campus visitors about these measures and expectations. The overall goal of the campaign is to create awareness of safety measures and requirements for the UNT campus community to stay as safe as possible on campus. A community that is aware of and understands the required guidelines will be able to better abide by the safety precautions established to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

A key component of the campaign will be to provide campus with resources to ensure appropriate information and signage is posted around campus while encouraging community members to properly adhere to social distancing requirements, wear face coverings, maintain proper hand-washing, and avoid large public gatherings, etc.

The campaign will:

  • Ensure that all UNT community members are aware of the health and safety measures UNT is taking and understands what is expected of them when they are on the UNT campus
  • Promote health and safety measures to the point that these behaviors become second nature to UNT community members, allowing them to be as comfortable as possible with the new expectations as UNT adopts a “new normal” for life on campus
  • Communicate these expectations through messages that also convey caring and concern for the health and well-being of our community while showing UNT’s resilience
  • Help all community members understand that adherence to these health and safety measures is on the honor basis and that everyone needs to do their part (UNT Police will not respond to reports of persons not following the safety guidelines.)
  • Provide tips and other resources for requirements such as face coverings and social distancing to help and positively reinforce to students, faculty and staff to follow the guidelines

Downloadable Signs and Flyers

The Division of University Brand Strategy and Communications and Facilities are working together to produce and install appropriate signage communicating the safety concepts and measures across campus. UNT is working to reduce the need for individual units to produce their own signage as much as possible.

Some of the campaign’s signs (print only - not for digital use) are available for you to download, print and place in your office, classroom or study area, should you need additional copies.