Our success depends on attracting and enabling faculty, staff, students, and community partners who are committed to the TUC mission.
In setting priorities, we will strive to:
Prioritize the health and safety of our students, staff, faculty and community.
Ensure the success of our students through the continuity of high quality teaching and clinical experiences.
Anchor decision making in respect and concern for our community with an understanding of the broader societal context in which they are made; and Position Touro University California for a strong recovery by stewarding our resources wisely for the long-term.We are grateful for the flexibility and hard work of our staff and faculty throughout the COVID-19 global pandemic.
To the extent possible, staff should continue to work remotely throughout the Spring 2021 semester unless their job requires their presence on campus as essential workers, or they are unable to work remotely and have written approval of HR. With safety as our guiding principle, a hybrid learning format will be enacted for the Spring 2021 semester that strives to protect all members of our community. Unless employees have been previously approved by a director or dean to perform an essential task on campus during COVID-19, they should not return to campus until they have been notified by their respective operating unit and supervisor to do so.
TUC is defining a "new normal" with a hybrid academic semester in which the only on campus learning experiences will be those that are deemed "essential laboratory learning." A mandatory COVID-19 surveillance testing program will be implemented for any student, staff, or faculty member that will be physically present on campus. Failure to participate in the surveillance testing program will result in campus access being revoked until a negative COVD-19 test is presented. Throughout the Spring 2021 semester, safety is prioritized and mitigation measures are enacted allowing for restarting of essential laboratory learning.
TUC leadership follows local and state guidance, particularly recommendations on when non-essential employees can return and what learning activities can take place.
TUC is currently monitoring the 14 day COVID case trends in Solano County, the California Department of Public Health Monitoring List for Counties, hospital bed availability, regional testing and contact tracing capacity, and PPE supply. TUC Campus Surveillance testing has <5% positivity rate.
For employees, the timing of returning to work is partially dependent on schools and daycares reopening to ensure families have childcare options. Even if schools or daycares reopen, employees may need increased flexibility and TUC intends to be as accommodating as possible.
TUC's follows three stages of campus access, which should be viewed as a sliding scale in which the University can reduce capacity as needed and in response to changes in the external environment as the pandemic continues. The stages are guided by county/state orders, but TUC may decide to move more conservatively to provide a controlled return to operations. TUC will not accelerate the stages of recovery more quickly than the county and state recommendations.
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State and County public health orders require us to comply with their provisions to slow the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate the impact on the delivery of critical healthcare services. TUC has aligned the TUC Healthy TUC Plan with these requirements as well as those from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) and other recognized authorities.
We should plan and be prepared for the possibility that additional public health orders could be enacted at any time should the pandemic worsen. Everyone should be prepared for this potential disruption and a return to further shelter-in-place restrictions.
- Wear their ID Badge visibly at all times while on campus
- Enter campus through a single campus entrance on Old Hospital Way (the Shipping and Receiving entrance behind the Historic Naval Hospital)
- Complete the mandatory temperature and daily symptom screening at the entrance to campus
- Not come to campus if you are sick or experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms
- Contact student health (students) or HR (staff and faculty) to self-report COVID-19 positive test results
- Participate in TUC's COVID-19 surveillance testing and contact-tracing program
- Wear mandated face coverings at all times on campus—indoors and outdoors
- Mandatory face coverings for in-person lab experiences are program-supplied KN95 + face shield Note: Face coverings do not eliminate the need to follow social-distancing practices—face coverings and social distancing complement each other
- For clinical faculty with outside patient exposure to COVID-19 should follow these general guidelines with the addition of wearing a N95/KN95 mask without valve at all times while on campus.
- Practice social distancing (6-feet minimum) at all times—indoors and outdoors
- Wash or sanitize hands frequently throughout the day
- Practice good cough and sneeze hygiene
- Adhere to TUC's Healthy TUC policies and procedures
- Complete the Healthy TUC Training Module
Further details about these behaviors are outlined in this document. In addition to practicing these behaviors, the Hybrid Spring 2021 environment will include many additional strategies aimed at reducing transmission among our community and promoting a safer workplace. These include:
- A continued remote-work emphasis to reduce the number of people on campus at any given time
- Physically altered workspaces to support social distancing
- Alternating work shifts and other approaches to limit the number of direct interactions among our colleagues
- Enhanced cleaning and disinfection of work areas
- Enhanced cleaning and disinfection after persons suspected/confirmed to have COVID-19 have been in a TUC facility
- Requiring sick employees and students to stay home
- Requiring daily COVID-19 symptom health checks of employees, guests, contractors and vendors before entering campus
- Identifying where and how employees might be exposed to COVID-19 within our diverse work environment
- Using quarantine or isolation practices for those who are symptomatic, test positive for COVID-19, or had a close-contact exposure to someone who tested positive for COVID-19
- Implementing flexible sick leave and associated policies and practices that enable and encourage employees to self-quarantine or isolate if they are symptomatic, test positive, or have had a close-contact exposure to someone with COVID-19
- Using signs and postings at campus, building, and local area entrances to communicate COVID-19 protection protocols
- Planning for possible business interruption due to changes in state and county public health orders, changes in employee availability due to illness, and other workplace or workforce disruptions related to COVID-19
- Providing resources that support mental health, professional development, and other guidance to support the transition back to campus
- Educating employees on TUC's COVID-19 protection protocols
Deans/directors/supervisors will work with their staff to review departmental operations and determine the most appropriate way to implement the Healthy TUC Spring 2021 Plan in their respective areas. TUC EH&S can assist supervisors and/or unit heads with conducting work area assessments. Updates to TUC's return to campus plans will be communicated via email and website postings.
All TUC students, staff, and faculty are expected to comply with the elements outlined in this Healthy TUC Plan. By request, EH&S will provide training and additional resources for supervisors and employees to assist with the return-to-campus transition. As public health guidance and requirements change, we will continually update our Healthy TUC Plan to ensure supervisors and employees have the information and resources to adjust accordingly.
