Pandemic Resumption Plan

• Union County and local healthcare providers currently have sufficient capacity to provide appropriate contact tracing and testing. EOU consults regularly with our county health officials to maintain readiness standards established by Governor Brown.
• If needed, EOU will provide assistance to Union County and local health care providers for contact tracing and testing.
• If located outside Union County, please contact your local health authority for information on testing and contact tracing capabilities.

Safety Precautions for Students, Faculty and Staff

Eastern Oregon University has been engaged with local, regional, statewide, and national resources in preparing to resume operations and engage with students, faculty, and our community. Planning for resuming activities is a complex endeavor. The overarching principle guiding our planning is to maintain the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff, and our community.

• EOU’s Resumption Plan follows the gating criteria established by Governor Kate Brown and aligns with Union County.  As Union County is approved for Phase 1, 2 or 3, then EOU will follow suit. 
• Face masks/coverings required across campus.
• Plexiglas barriers on lecterns, desks and service counters.
• Physical distancing required across campus.
• Enhanced cleaning/disinfecting:
  • Instructional areas and venues
  • High-touch common surfaces
  • Busy pedestrian traffic areas
  • Personal workspaces
• Capacity analyses/reductions in all campus classrooms and meeting spaces to help ensure safe physical distancing:  
  • Low-density, flexible instructional frameworks (in-person classroom, hybrid, and remote learning)
  • Staggered and modified course scheduling
  • Appropriate small and large group classroom, lab, workspaces, and activity standards.
• Education and promotion of personal hygiene necessary for preventing virus spread (washing hands, covering coughs, etc.)
• Promotion of personal responsibility and safety of others 
• Required daily self-assessments for coronavirus symptoms prior to arriving on campus
• Optional (voluntary) personal protection equipment (PPE) (gloves, gowns, etc.) for employees
• Continued use of technology for meetings
• Continued public health messaging
• Reasonable accommodations provided to employees and students with qualifying disabilities and “at-risk” medical conditions
• An OSHA coronavirus job hazard analysis (C-JHA) will be conducted for all employees, and appropriate PPE assignments for each employee will be determined by their C-JHA
• Campus HVAC and ventilation systems filtration and airflow will be evaluated, and where feasible, may be enhanced to help minimize virus spread
• COVID-19 Infection Reporting and Response Protocols – isolation, quarantine, disinfect, contact tracing and notification
• Emergency leave of absence options for employees in allowable FFCRA and CARES Act circumstances (child care, at-risk, public transportation, etc.). See Updated Summary Table.
• Post-coronavirus illness return-to-campus requirements and approvals in alignment with Oregon Governor Executive Orders, CDC, OHA and CHD requirements and recommendations.  

Read through the entire Resumption Plan here for complete details.

Still have questions?  Submit them to the Campus Resumption Team here.

• To the extent allowable under official public health standards, EOU will seek to resume in-person activities.
• EOU will operate in a low-density, flexible framework.
• EOU will comply with appropriate small and large group activity standards established by the Oregon Health Authority and Union County.

• In-person courses may be taught in modified formats to comply with physical distancing, which could include a combination of in-person time in the classroom, hybrid and remote learning.
• Lower density for classrooms, labs, workplaces and events will be utilized.

For events and event cancellations including Athletics information, please click here.

EOU’s eleven regional centers are located across the state of Oregon in multiple counties, hosted by a variety of agencies, each developing unique resumption plans following the gating criteria established by Governor Kate Brown. Regional centers will provide specific resumption updates as they become available. For more information: online@eou.edu

• EOU will initiate the return of employees to the workplace in August and September to minimize the impact of community spread.
• Not all EOU employees will always have the ability to work from home given the respective job requirements. In these cases, the public health measures implemented are designed to promote a safer working environment.

• Face coverings are a personal responsibility and an effective measure in minimizing the spread of the virus.
• Face coverings are a sign of social responsibility, respect and care for fellow EOU community members.
• EOU requires the use of face coverings and will continue to consult with local government and health authorities on the appropriate use in each Phase.
• Please download EOU’s face mask policy here.

• EOU anticipates being in Phase 1 through July 2020, and will begin moving to Phase 2 beginning on or around August 1, 2020.
• EOU will continue to consult with local government and health authorities on phase timelines.

• Following CDC guidelines, EOU will increase cleaning and disinfecting of high traffic and high touch areas.
• EOU will provide appropriate cleaning materials for classrooms, labs, offices and common spaces on campus for the EOU community to take care of the space they utilize.

• EOU’s Resumption Plan follows the gating criteria established by Governor Kate Brown and will align with Union County. As Union County is approved for Phase 1, 2 or 3, EOU will follow suit.
• A measured approach to routine cleaning will occur in Phase 3, which maintains face coverings and physical distancing requirements.