Employees are strongly encouraged to get a COVID-19 vaccine so that, as a community, we can minimize the risk of transmission to those who cannot be vaccinated and can continue to work without other risk reduction measures. Employees who are fully vaccinated (as defined above) should upload a copy of their immunization card in Workday immediately if they have not yet done so. The Mount will confidentially maintain records documenting vaccination status. Employees who do not upload a vaccination card will be considered to be unvaccinated and will participate in more frequent surveillance testing than vaccinated employees.
If you are “at risk,” as defined by OSHA’s Workplace Guidance, it is recommended that you take extra precautions to prevent becoming infected with COVID even if you are fully vaccinated. At risk individuals include those who have had a prior organ transplant, as well as prolonged use of corticosterioids or other immune-weakening medications that may affect an individual’s ability to have a full immune response to vaccination.
If you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms that are not associated with a previous health condition (like allergies, for example), please immediately leave work and contact your health care provider and Human Resources. Please do not report to work if you are sick and experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms. You may be required by Human Resources to quarantine for 10 days.
Non-compliance with the requirements of this policy may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.
Employees who test positive and have symptoms of COVID-19 must follow CDC guidelines to complete the isolation process:
An employee who tests positive but never develops symptoms of COVID-19 can discontinue isolation 10 days after the date of their first positive test.
Anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 10 days is not permitted on either the main campus or the Frederick campus unless they are in an isolation room.
In the event of a positive case, contact tracing will be initiated to identify close contacts who may be required to quarantine in accordance with CDC guidance. For COVID-19, a close contact is anyone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period within 48 hours (or 2 days) of the infected person developing symptoms or testing positive for COVID-19. All medical information obtained during contact tracing efforts will be protected as confidential.
Fully vaccinated individuals who remain symptom-free are not required to quarantine following a close contact exposure to COVID-19 in accordance with CDC guidance. However, any fully vaccinated employee who experiences symptoms after close contact exposure to COVID-19 should follow the quarantine protocol described below and get tested for COVID-19.
Employees who are not fully vaccinated must contact Human Resources and quarantine for a period of 10 days following a close contact exposure. In addition, you must immediately contact Human Resources under the following circumstances:
Employees who are not fully vaccinated (as defined above) must monitor their temperature and COVID-19 symptoms daily. If you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms that are not associated with a previous health condition (like allergies, for example), contact your health care provider and Human Resources immediately and quarantine for 10 days from the start of the first symptoms.
Employees who are not fully vaccinated are required to participate in regular surveillance testing on campus (either PCR or antigen tests) for COVID-19.
There are no requirements for physical distancing. Room occupancy limits will return to pre-COVID levels and there are no gathering size restrictions (except for the normal fire code limits). This applies to all rooms including the dining halls and classrooms.
The University anticipates a return to standard operations in August 2021. Remote teaching and learning options will only be available by exception. Based on the termination of the state of emergency in the State of Maryland on July 1, the Mount’s Flexible Work Policy was discontinued on July 31, 2021.
As of August 1, 2021, only faculty/staff with a documented disability may request reasonable accommodations to their work environment. Employees who believe that they require workplace accommodation due to a disability should begin the process of submitting a request by contacting the Office of Human Resources.
Faculty and staff who are requesting workplace accommodations at Mount St. Mary’s University are required to submit documentation under the ADA Amendments Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Individuals with disabilities are protected from discrimination and may be entitled to reasonable accommodations and the right to equal access to programs and services.
The interactive process of determining what accommodations are reasonable and appropriate for an employee with a disability is done on a case-by-case basis and involves the employee, the supervisor/manager, and the Office of Human Resources. Employees who believe that they require workplace accommodation due to a disability should submit a request/contact the Office of Human Resources.
Download the MSMU ADA Request Form and submit it to the Office of Human Resources.
A reasonable accommodation is a modification or change in the workplace or the way things are customarily done that provides an equal employment opportunity to an individual with a disability.
All qualified employees with disabilities including regular, full-time, part-time, and temporary employees, are eligible to request workplace accommodations. An employee is considered to have a disability under this policy if he or she has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity, or if he or she has a record of such impairment.
Major life activities include, but are not limited to, caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating and working.
An employee is considered qualified if he or she has the requisite skills, experience and education to perform the job, and is able to perform the essential functions of the job with or without accommodation.
Approved (8/13/2021)
In keeping with our Mount Safe policy, all employees are strongly encouraged to be vaccinated. In addition to our regular on-campus COVID-19 testing clinic, the Mount will also offer an onsite COVID-19 vaccination clinic. This clinic is open to the Mount community, including employees (Aramark/BNN included) & families and students. The combined vaccination/testing clinic is held every other Wednesday from 8-10 a.m. in O’Hara, as of Wednesday, June 23, 2021. Advance registration for both testing and/or vaccination is required.
To participate, please register through the appropriate form:
Daily. All students and employees are required to submit the attestation on a daily basis on days when they would normally be on campus.
Yes. If you would, under normal circumstances, be expected on campus (work, classes, etc.) you need to submit the form. The attestation allows you to note you do not plan to be on campus today).
No. If you are able to answer ‘no’ to all questions, you may proceed.
Close contact means someone was closer than six feet for more than 15 minutes from an individual who is positive for COVID-19. It does not matter if the individuals were wearing face coverings.
If you answer yes to any of the questions on the attestation, you will be advised to not come to campus. If you are an employee, follow your department’s procedure for calling out sick or requesting to work from home and contact your healthcare provider. If you are a student, inform your professors, work supervisors and/or coaches about your absence and contact the Mount’s Health Center.
Contact Human Resources (for employees) or the Dean of Students Office (for students) to inform them of your error. Only these offices can override the error.
Completing the Health Attestation Form daily on your regularly scheduled work days even if you will be working remotely from home will allow the university to track our community’s responses in the event of an outbreak.
The State of Maryland has identified a high nuber of fraudulently filed unemployment claims due to the exploitation of the COVID-19 crisis. Unfortunately, we have learned that a number of Mount employees have been impacted by this as well. All impacted employees have been notified directly.
If you believe you may be a victim of unemployment fraud:
Faculty seeking ideas to support remote instruction have a wide variety of resources available to them in the Continuity of Instruction course. Resources include both technology how-tos and pedagogical methods to support student engagement and success.
Access resources through Canvas
(You may be prompted to login.)
For more information on course schedules, advising and how to register, visit the undergraduate section of the Registrar's Office page.
Want to schedule a meeting with a member of the Learning Services staff? Please complete the Request a Meeting form with some basic information, and someone will be in contact with you soon to arrange a meeting time.
As you teach a distance education course, the friendly staff at the Phillips Library is happy to support you. Our librarians, Mike and Jessica, were both distance education students themselves. They understand the unique needs of distance education students and are excited to help these students reach their educational goals. Part of that process is supporting the faculty members who teach distance education courses.
If you need to submit a support ticket to Information Technology Support Center (ITSC), please complete the Ticket Submission Form.