Flu Information for the KU Campus Community

This page was last updated: November 16, 2009 5:31 PM

Faculty Resources

Provost Dr. Carlos Vargas-Aburto's letter to KU faculty Aug. 27, 2009

If faculty member is experiencing influenza-like illness

In compliance with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Pennsylvania Department of Health recommendations, KU will strongly encourage those with influenza-like-illness to:

  • follow CDC self-isolation guidelines. The CDC recommends isolation until at least 24 hours after fever has resolved (without the use of fever-reducing medications).  It is imperative that infected persons safeguard the health of others by following the non-attendance CDC self-isolation guidelines. 
  • NOT be present in their classrooms, labs, studios or offices during their illness.
  • follow the sick leave provisions of the collective bargaining agreement.
  • alert appropriate officials in their departments as soon as possible to inform them that they will be absent and to find or suggest an alternative to avoid or minimize class cancellations.

What faculty should know to assist with KU's plan for mitigating the spread and impact of the flu

  • Promote to your students flu prevention resources and other non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs).
  • Students should NOT attend class or any public gatherings while ill.  It is imperative that infected students safeguard the health of faculty, staff, and other students by following the non-attendance CDC self-isolation guidelines.
  • Students displaying influenza-like-illness symptoms should contact the Health Center.
  • Symptomatic students residing in university housing will be instructed to leave campus and return home to recover. The CDC recommends isolation until at least 24 hours after any fever has resolved without the use of fever-reducing medications.  Return to campus should be delayed until a student has been fever-free for 24 hours. 
  • Student Services & Campus Life will work directly with any students who have special circumstances that prevent their departure from campus if they should fall ill. 
  • use your discretion to make every reasonable effort to enable students to complete their courses while maintaining the academic integrity of those courses. This extraordinary situation could cause significant stress for infected students as they are required to miss lectures, labs, and studios.

Therefore, with respect to your courses and students, we recommend these procedures:

  • Self-Isolation Guidelines
    • If still possible, please consider including the self-isolation guidelines in your course syllabus.
    • If you cannot include the guidelines in your syllabus, then please consider providing an addendum to your syllabus and/or announcing these guidelines to your class.
    • Reinforce the self-isolation guidelines, recognizing that the current economic environment may drive some students to believe that they should attend class no matter what, rather than risk lower grades or even fewer semester credits.  Please note, that if current H1N1 trends hold, most student absences will be one week or less.  Please help students to understand that when balancing public health and class attendance, public health considerations must carry the greatest weight.
  • Class Absences
    • If possible, establish and include in your syllabus a reasonable timeline and means through which students can inform you that they are experiencing flu symptoms, and therefore, will be absent.  Students should NOT visit you personally to do this since the goal is to limit the spread of this very contagious virus.  Encourage telephone or e-mail communication regarding class absences due to flu symptoms.  If it is not still possible to include this in your syllabus, please announce this to your classes and/or provide an addendum to your syllabus. 
  •  Make-up Work
    • Provide students with a reasonable opportunity to make up missed work while maintaining the academic integrity of the course. Ordinarily, it is inappropriate to substitute for the missed assignment the weighting of a semester's work that does not include the missed assignment. Completion of all assignments assures the greatest opportunity for students to develop heightened understanding and content mastery that is unavailable through the weighting process and supports the university's desire to enable students to make responsible situational decisions without endangering their academic work.
  • Medical Documentation
    • Do NOT expect to receive a health care provider's verification that a student has had the flu. As an important element of self-isolation, University Health Services does not want to encourage students who otherwise do not need medical attention to come to the Student Health Center and add to the congregation of potentially contagious individuals.