Dear VUSN incoming and current students:
I am following up on Vanderbilt University’s update on our return to campus from earlier this week. It included information about the required return to campus educational module and COVID-19 Return to Campus Acknowledgement, as well as information about symptom monitoring and classroom protocols. Please read the announcement for in-depth details.
This email summarizes and details key items you need to know and act upon.
Fall semester 2020 COVID-19 Return to Campus Acknowledgement
Before returning to campus and the start of the fall semester, all VUSN students, faculty, staff and post-docs must complete the COVID-19 Return to Campus Acknowledgment. The acknowledgment explains the university’s guiding principles and related plans associated with the return to campus, describes certain guidelines and protocols you will be required to follow, and requests you to confirm that you will cooperate to protect the health and safety of our campus community. At the conclusion of the module, you will be asked to acknowledge that you have been informed of the risks and responsibilities associated with the return to campus and agree to follow all Vanderbilt University guidelines related to reducing the spread of COVID-19 infection.
You must complete the acknowledgement in Oracle Cloud by August 12.
To access the COVID-19: Return-to-Campus Acknowledgment, use this link.
The link will take you to a sign-on page. Select the single sign-on (SSO) tab (royal blue color), then use your VUNet ID and password. See diagram below. It is very important that you use the Company Single Sign-On button to access the familiar VU sign-on page for the acknowledgement. Three (3) attempts to log-in the “wrong way” will lock you out. Should that occur, email skyvu@vanderbilt.edu for assistance.
As part of the acknowledgement, you will agree to cooperate with Student Health, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, and other university and public health authorities with regards to campus protocols, including symptom monitoring, testing, contact tracing, and—if necessary—quarantine and self-isolation protocols.
As part of these protocols, it is important for the university to have your current contact information, including mobile phone number, as well as the information for your emergency contact person. To update your mobile phone and emergency contact information, please access the Personal Information application in YES. You can refer to the online user guide for instructions on how to update your contact information. Providing these details will assist the university in providing timely information to both you and your emergency contact as may be needed.
If you have not completed your acknowledgement by August 12, a registration hold will be placed on your record prohibiting any further schedule adjustments until the Acknowledgment is complete. Any student who has not completed the acknowledgment form prior to the start of the fall term on August 21 will have their registration for the fall 2020 semester canceled.
Please complete your acknowledgement and provide your up-to-date personal and emergency contact information as soon as possible to ensure a smooth return to campus.
COVID-19 Testing & Recovery: Graduate and Professional Students
You are not required to be tested for COVID-19 to return to classes. Unlike undergraduate students, all of VUSN’s graduate and professional students, post-docs, staff and faculty live off campus (with the limited exception of those involved in the residential program). For complete details, please review https://www.vanderbilt.edu/coronavirus/faqs/graduate-and-professional-student-covid-19-testing/
You are asked to monitor your health, and should you have symptoms, are required to call Vanderbilt’s Student Health Center (SHC) at (615) 322-2427. https://www.vanderbilt.edu/coronavirus/faqs/symptom-monitoring/
All individuals must be free of any symptoms related to COVID-19 to participate in activities on campus, including attending in-person classes. Campus-wide approaches to safety and the practice of mask wearing and physical distancing are critical, as individuals can be without symptoms and still be COVID-19 positive. Individuals who have been authorized to return to campus after testing positive must also conduct daily symptom monitoring before coming to campus. It is the individual’s responsibility to comply, and it is our shared duty as a community to act responsibly.
A symptom monitoring tool has been created within the existing VandySafe app for daily self-monitoring. We strongly recommend that all Vanderbilt University graduate/professional students use VandySafe on a daily basis. You can find it in the Apple and Google Play stores.
Should you test positive for COVID-19 or need to quarantine due to exposure, you will be asked to self-quarantine at home (off-campus or out of town depending on your program). When deemed appropriate after medical evaluations, university health officials will release students from quarantine or isolation in their off-campus residences. Student Health will work with all such students to do regular symptom monitoring and will hospitalize anyone who becomes seriously ill. VUSN’s Nurse Faculty Practice Division will provide counseling and support for any students in isolation and quarantine.
Additional Information
The Vanderbilt University Return to Campus website has a great deal more information regarding policies, protocols and assistance. Please visit it and review for more complete information on topics such as gatherings, classroom protocols and safety. https://www.vanderbilt.edu/coronavirus/category/community-messages/
Vanderbilt has finalized many new important actions for the fall semester to prepare the campus and to protect the health and safety of the Vanderbilt community as much as possible. The four main tenets of its day-to-day plan for preventing the spread of COVID-19 are critically important:
- At all times, wear face coverings/masks
- Physically distance at least 6 feet
- Avoid large gatherings
- Regularly wash hands with soap and water or use hand sanitizer
It is the actions we each take as individuals—both on campus and off campus—that will have the most immediate and long-lasting impact.
These are difficult circumstances for all of us to navigate. Please know that the university is listening to feedback from town halls, emails and the working groups charged with further developing plans to ensure a successful fall semester. As always, Vanderbilt is committed to providing the best possible education experience for you, its students.
VUSN Specific Information
The School of Nursing is pleased that we will be able to welcome students, faculty, post-docs and staff back to campus for fall 2020 in-person classes.
To make it easier for you to find the most up-to-date and specific information on Return to Campus for the School of Nursing, we have launched a VUSN dedicated VUSN Return to Campus webpage. Please visit it often. Urgent messages will also be delivered via email so check your vanderbilt.edu email frequently. For questions not addressed here or online, contact Assistant Dean for Student Affairs Sarah Ramsey, 615-343-3334.
I look forward to seeing you on campus this fall or later in the year.
Best regards,
Linda D. Norman, RN, DSN, FAAN
Dean
Valere Potter Menefee Professor of Nursing
Vanderbilt University School of Nursing