Spring 2021 Guide for Faculty & Staff

Select a topic area below to view answers, and use keywords or terms in the search bar to narrow your search.

Academics

Athletics

  • Access to athletics facilities is strictly limited during the pandemic. All students living on campus will have controlled access to indoor facilities such as the fitness center and swimming pool via a pre-registration system. More details are available on the Athletics website.

    2/4/2021

Access to Campus Facilities

    • All Williams College buildings are closed to the public.
    • For the campus community, buildings are restricted to card access only.
    • Buildings without card access have protocols in place that are clearly publicized at their locations and on their websites.

    2/22/2021

    • Sawyer and Schow libraries are open to current Williams faculty, students and staff.
    • New hours and services are in place for January through the start of the spring semester.
    • In addition to in-person access, non-contact services are available and recommended whenever possible. Read on for details.

    1/8/2021

  • Access to athletics facilities is strictly limited during the pandemic. All students living on campus will have controlled access to indoor facilities such as the fitness center and swimming pool via a pre-registration system. More details are available on the Athletics website.

    2/4/2021

Health and Safety

  • To learn all about specific testing requirements, eligibility, the testing process, and using CoVerified’s app or web portal to schedule your own tests go to the Faculty & Staff testing page.

    2/2/2021

  • Protection from COVID-19 is not something that Williams, as an institution, can guarantee without the help of the entire college community. Safety requires everyone to comply with the new rules such as testing, symptom monitoring, hygiene, and social distancing. If an employee does not comply with these rules and protocols they will not be permitted to work. Learn more about our community expectations, compliance and conditions of employment, workplace training, social distancing requirements, and more under “Creating a safe work environment” on the Human Resources COVID Guide.

    1/14/2021

    • Employees are required to wear face coverings outdoors on campus when social distancing of six feet or more is not possible.
    • Employees who cannot wear a face covering for medical reasons will be asked to wear a specialized face shield, which will be provided by the college (medical documentation required).
    • Multiple employees working in an open space, even with cubicle barriers, will be required to wear face coverings.
    • Fabric face coverings will be available to faculty and staff, additional during testing hours beginning Monday, February 15, if you need a resupply. More information available in the HR COVID-19 Guide.

    2/8/2021

    • The college has a legal obligation to provide a safe working environment and part of the responsibility lies with the workers themselves. Protection from COVID-19 is not something that the college, as an institution, can guarantee without the help of the entire college community. Safety requires everyone to comply with the new rules such as testing, symptom monitoring, hygiene, and social distancing. If an employee does not comply with these rules and protocols they will not be permitted to work.
    • In addition to safety standards for maintaining social distancing, hygiene protocols, cleaning, and disinfecting, the college has implemented a required training for Coronavirus (COVID-19) Prevention in the Workplace by Safety Skills. Safety Skills uses your work email/Google login, so it should automatically log you in. If you have any trouble logging in, contact the OIT help desk. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact Christina Sanborn, Executive Director for Facilities Operations.
    • All Williams faculty, staff, and students returning to campus are expected to sign a Community Health Commitment that affirms their understanding of procedures and policies, as well as their commitment to the Williams community. This is an important step in affirming our shared responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of our community.

    1/12/2021

    • On Monday, April 19, Massachusetts moves into vaccination Phase 3, open to anyone 16 or older. This includes faculty and staff who work at the college, regardless of your state of residence. Here are the steps you should take to get vaccinated.
    • If you have been vaccinated, we ask that you please get tested weekly if you’re going to be on campus. This policy will continue at least until we know more definitively whether vaccinated people can transmit the virus or not.

    4/15/2021

Working Through COVID

  • Information for immunocompromised employees, families with school-age children, Blue Cross Blue Shield members, and vendors and contractors on topics ranging from leave and time reporting scenarios to managing remote employees can be found in the Human Resources COVID-19 Guide under “Working at the College During the Pandemic.”

    1/14/2021

  • Any employee who travels outside of Massachusetts for any reason is required to follow state requirements for testing and quarantine.

    Business travel (including professional development) is currently prohibited. However, as information evolves, our policies will be updated to reflect state guidelines and CDC recommendations and will be communicated accordingly.

    Updated 1.7.21

    1/7/2021

    • Staff who can do their work remotely should plan to do so through the end of the Spring 2021 semester. Remote work reduces the demands on our colleagues in Facilities, who have taken on additional duties because of COVID cleaning and safety protocols.
    • Review these tips for setting up your home office.
    • Consistent with the telecommuting policy, the college is not responsible for expenses associated with working at home, such as heat, electricity, internet service provider subscription, phone, etc.Individuals should work with their manager on the use and purchase of basic office supplies typical in office supply closets. OIT has assisted many staff already in setting up their office computers at home. The college can not provide two computers for employees.

    1/5/2021