Safe Start Western
Helping Western create safe and inclusive working environments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Objectives
- Ensure the health and safety of all individuals.
- Effectively address hybrid working (on and off-site) in a thoughtful and inclusive way.
- Ensure consistency and completeness with State, Federal and County Health requirements and recommendations.
Western is Operating at Level 2
Western has developed a system for defining operating levels during the COVID-19 pandemic based on guidance provided by the state of Washington and other sources. Western's operating levels will be set by the University's Executive Leadership based on the current Healthy Washington phase for the North Region, virus activity across the state, and other environmental factors.
Western will continue to operate at Level 2 through spring quarter 2021.
The operating level for summer quarter 2021 will be set mid-spring quarter, and this page will be updated accordingly. The operating level tables provide a general overview of functions, programs, and services at each operating level.
Levels of Operation
Level 0 - Not Operational
Operations | Academics | Co-Curricular | Housing | People |
---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
Fully Off-Site |
Level 1
Operations | Academics | Co-Curricular | Housing | People |
---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
Modified On-Site Presence |
Current Level - Level 2
Operations | Academics | Co-Curricular | Housing | People |
---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
Modified On-Site Presence |
Level 3
Operations | Academics | Co-Curricular | Housing | People |
---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
Modified On-Site Presence |
Level 4
Operations | Academics | Co-Curricular | Housing | People |
---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
Modified On-Site Presence |
Level 5 - Fully Operational
Operations | Academics | Co-Curricular | Housing | People |
---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
Fully On-Site |
Planning for On-Site Operations
Plans developed for regular on-site department work via the Department Reopening Plans will be reviewed and approved by division leadership, and then reviewed and approved by Incident Management for implementation. Requests for occasional or isolated (“one-off”) activities/operations via the On-Site Visit Request will be reviewed by a relevant supervisor and a COVID-19 site supervisor for approval (not required for activities/operations described in an approved Department Reopening Plan).
Questions about the processes should be addressed to Covid19Planning@wwu.edu.
Department Reopening Plans:
Each department desiring to return to campus must provide a plan that addresses the main subjects covered within this website.
These guidelines are intended to set some common understanding and best practices while providing prompts for where flexibility and creativity may need to come into play. Departments can submit their plans through the ReADY system. Departments including EHS, FM, Space Administration and HR will then advise you on anything you must include to help make sure your staff are safe.
For departments conducting Face-to-Face (F2F) classes, please refer to the Safely Restarting Face-to-Face Instruction guidance document.
For departments primarily conducting on-site office work, please refer to the Department Reopening Guidelines.
The information surrounding COVID-19, including State and Federal requirements and recommendations, continues to evolve regularly. Therefore, there may be updates to these guidelines based on new information provided.
How can I make changes to my department reopening plan?
To further improve on our processes, amendments can now be submitted through a standardized Form rather than through a ReADY template. If you had previously submitted a Department or Research Reopening Plan in ReADY, and it was approved, but now you need to make amendments, please use this form. The three main areas this amendment form will address are: personnel, activity, and location changes.
On-Site Approval Form:
Any staff or students who are on-site for reasons not addressed in an approved Department Reopening Plan are required to receive approval through the On-Site Visit Request. This includes both individuals and any gatherings of two or more individuals (events, meetings, etc.), which are subject to the guidance outlined in the Gatherings Levels Matrix. It is worth noting the gathering size limitations of the Safe Start phases do not apply to on-site academic programming (with an approved Department Reopening Plan and conducted with proper social distancing and use of facial coverings); however, Western will be enforcing these limitations for any non-academic, on-site programming. All plans will be reviewed and approved by the relevant individuals, with final approval by a VP or designee.
While preparing plans for on site activities, consider the following questions:
Is the activity consistent with the current operations level?
- Refer to operational level tables
Is the activity consistent with current guidance?
- Refer to Gatherings Guidance
- Function-specific guidance
Email COVID-19 Planning with any questions.