September 8, 2009

“Your homework is to go to sleep. If you do anything else, you’re in trouble.”  Email from Davidson College (NC) instructor to quarantined H1N1-infected student; from “The New Back-to-School Ritual: Quarantines.”  New York Times, 9/5/09.

Below you will find information from Michael Malloy (Director of Environmental Health and Safety) about steps that the institution is taking to prepare for a possible H1N1 influenza (“swine flu”) outbreak.  I write to provide additional guidance on possible implications of H1N1 in teaching settings, as promised in that memo.  One of my primary goals is to encourage departments and individual faculty to begin planning how to respond if we have a significant outbreak.

The above New York Times article indicates that more than 2,000 US college students have been infected with this novel flu virus.  That number is almost certain to grow, and we want to be prepared to take steps – at the right time and should the circumstance warrant – to contain an outbreak on our campus.  In a major outbreak, our first goal must be to protect the health and welfare of students, faculty, and staff.  The CDC has identified pregnant women and people with chronic medical conditions as being especially susceptible to infection (along with people younger than 24 years).  People over age 65 have a lower risk of H1N1 infection, but a higher risk of severity if infected.  While we encourage all university personnel to follow good preventative practices, faculty and staff in these groups are urged to use extra caution.  It is unlikely that the campus will receive sufficient vaccine even for our most at-risk population (traditional-aged students). Faculty and staff are encouraged to see your own physician as the vaccine becomes available.

I am reluctant to intrude on 1) faculty academic prerogatives to run classes, laboratories, studios and other academic activities according to your best professional judgment and standards of student achievement; and 2) departmental policies and practices for “collegial coverage” of classes when a colleague must be away from campus.  Please understand that the suggestions below are precisely that (suggestions) and not directives.  Nonetheless, I am sure you recognize that because of the centrality of academic activities in the life of our College, departments and individual faculty can play key roles in helping to contain an outbreak should we reach that stage.  I ask your flexibility and open-mindedness in helping to deal with such a circumstance. 

First, until we understand or witness the magnitude of the impact H1N1 will have on our campus, standard operating procedures should guide your behavior and expectations.  It will not be unusual for an occasional student to miss class or assignments because of a headache or sniffles or upset tummy, and I do not suggest any unusual approaches for managing assignments or classes as you work with those students.  It is only if and when we become aware that we have an outbreak exceeding this “background” level of illness that we want to respond.   We will provide further specific guidance and suggestions if that happens. 

What can you do?  Here are some suggestions for reducing spread of infection among students, drawn primarily from CDC and other guidelines:

• Be aware of typical flu symptoms – fever (often high, not always present, may produce flushed appearance, sweating, chills), headache, extreme tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle aches, digestive symptoms (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea – all more common in children than adults).  If a student in your class shows such symptoms, encourage him or her to go to the Student Health Center and follow the Center’s recommendations for treatment and isolation.  I do not expect you to be diagnosticians, but it is better to err on the side of encouraging students to seek help rather than ignoring these students and symptoms in classroom settings.
• In laboratories or studios where multiple students may be handling or touching the same instrumentation or materials, encourage frequent use of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer to reduce possibility of direct transmission.
• Recognize that one form of transmission of the virus is via aerosol, especially in enclosed spaces and among people in close proximity to each other.  Encourage students to practice good “respiratory  etiquette” in the classroom by sneezing or coughing into a Kleenex or their elbow or shirt sleeve (not their hands).  As you organize group work and activities, be attentive to ways that you can increase social distances among students.
• In the event of an outbreak, consider modifying or eliminating course requirements that may have been built around attending or participating in out-of-class campus events –venues of concern for spread of the virus.
• The CDC strongly recommends that instructors not require a doctor’s excuse for missed classes, as this requirement may overload already-stressed campus health care facilities and staff (again, we are talking here beyond routine levels of illness).
• Consider ways that Blackboard or other distance- or web-based learning approaches might help students remain isolated during a recovery period and not fall so far behind in their academic work.  Recognize that papers or assignments submitted to you online, rather than by paper, may reduce your exposure.
• Consider relaxing or modifying your policies for class attendance and missed assignments.  It is possible to allow greater flexibility in the manner or timing by which students complete their work without unduly compromising academic standards and expectations.  I know that many of you share my concern about maintaining standards, and recognize the challenge of balancing that value against health and safety concerns; this issue certainly requires discussion among departmental faculty and instructional staff, chairs, and deans. 

The above suggestions focus on minimizing spread of influenza among students, but of course faculty may be infected as well.  Managing our classes when instructors are ill represents a significant challenge.   It is critical that you not attend classes if you are ill or experiencing flu-like symptoms.  I encourage departments to discuss (in advance) steps that can be taken to arrange collegial coverage for each other in the event of a substantial outbreak.  I realize the demand that this puts on everyone, and believe that early planning will help us manage a difficult circumstance. 

The following links provide additional information and guidance on H1N1 influenza and the ways that educational institutions may respond:

http://www.flu.gov/plan/school/higheredguidance.html
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/schools/toolkit/questions.htm
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2009/08/20/swine-flu-may-not-close-college-classrooms-cdc.html

I certainly recognize that much of the brunt of institutional management for a major outbreak will fall on units within Student Affairs, and those units have been planning extensively.  But it is clear that the academic side of the institution can play an important role in educating students, in helping to reduce the spread of flu, and in helping to contain an outbreak should we face such a challenge.  I thank you in advance for your cooperation.  Please stay tuned for further information and guidance as we advance further into the flu season.  Of course, I welcome hearing about your concerns, other issues, and additional thoughts that you may have about sustaining our academic mission in the face of a disease outbreak.

Sincerely,

Donald Christian
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

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September 1, 2009

Dear Colleague:
As we begin the new academic year, I want to share with you important information about the H1N1 virus, more commonly known as “swine flu.” Illness with this new virus has ranged from mild to severe. While most people who have been sick have recovered without needing medical treatment, hospitalizations and deaths from infection with this virus have occurred. As a precautionary measure, New Paltz has taken several steps to deal with the progression of this virus. We will of course increase our efforts should we experience a dramatic increase or surge in the number of confirmed cases.

Campus health professionals and Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance materials all confirm that a crucial first step in reducing the spread of any flu virus, either seasonal or the H1NI strain, is to understand ways to reduce the risk of infection in the first place. The H1N1 flu is spread in one of two ways. One way it can spread is if an individual is in immediate proximity to the area where an infected person coughs or sneezes into the air that others breathe. Another more common way the virus can be transmitted is through hand contact with contaminated objects and subsequently contaminated hands touching the eyes, nose or mouth. The virus can remain active on certain surfaces for up to two hours, therefore, covering your cough, sneezing into the fold of your arm, and washing your hands frequently remain the best and simplest ways to decrease the spread of viruses, including H1N1.

New Paltz is monitoring the situation closely. Should we have a surge in the number of H1N1cases as the semester progresses, we are well prepared. Our staff receives daily updates about the flu from the CDC as well as the Ulster County and New York State Departments of Health, and our campus plans are updated accordingly. The College’s emergency response plan has protocols in place for an outbreak of any illness and we will communicate more specifics if the situation warrants. We will be advising students and parents that in the event of contracting the virus, sick or affected students should stay in their residence hall rooms and not attend classes until 24 hours after full recovery. We also have plans in place to provide a “meal buddy” for each residence hall student who must isolate themselves as the virus runs its course. Additionally, students may be advised to go home for several days to recuperate. We will work with students to maintain their academic progress to the greatest extent possible.  To this end, we will be sending all instructional personnel further guidance on the possible implications of—and responses to—H1N1 in classroom, laboratory and other teaching settings.

The amount of media attention paid to the H1N1 virus has understandably created concern among many people. Please know that New Paltz is ready to handle any situation that arises and that communication of helpful information to the entire community will be a priority as conditions unfold. Students, faculty, staff and parents can stay informed about College plans in the event of an outbreak on our campus web site,  http://www.newpaltz.edu.   Additional information on the H1N1 virus may be found at http://flu.gov.
The safety of the members of our campus community is always our primary concern. While this semester has started out very well, we shall of course plan and work diligently to make this entire academic year productive and healthy.

 Sincerely,

Michael G. Malloy
Director of Environmental Health & Safety