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Face Coverings

As we prepare to have students return to our campuses, we expect everyone to use caution to avoid the spread of COVID-19. Maintaining health and safety on campus is a shared responsibility. To protect the campus community, minimize the spread, and follow CDC guidelines, Snow College is requiring everyone to wear a face covering in shared public spaces on campus, including our classrooms. To help make this possible, the college has provided a face covering for each faculty and staff member. Masks will also be provided to all students living and working on-campus.

It is important to recognize that the primary purpose of wearing a face covering is to prevent the spread of the disease by those with the virus. As we have said before, when you wear a face covering, you protect those around you. When others wear a face covering, they protect you. Together, we protect our community. Face coverings (e.g., masks, scarves, gaiters, bandanas) are required inside college buildings. They are also required outside when maintaining a 6-foot physical distance is not possible. Face coverings must cover both the nose and the mouth.

Using the guidelines from the Governor’s Executive Order, the following points are given to minimize ambiguity and promote consistency across campuses in complying with face-covering requirements:

  • All employees of the college are required to wear a face covering while working on campus as a condition of their employment. Employees who disregard the requirement to wear a face covering may be in violation of Snow policy and subject to corrective action.
  • Face coverings are required in all shared public spaces such as hallways, restrooms, study and breakroom areas, classrooms, conference rooms, etc., and when maintaining a 6-foot distance is not possible outside.
  • Employees working in an open office environment (e.g., cubicles), where multiple individuals may be in close proximity to one another for extended periods of time, must each wear a face covering while others are present.
  • While others are not present, face coverings are not required to be worn by an employee who is
    • The sole occupant of a fully enclosed room or office;
    • The sole occupant of a partially enclosed room, office, or similar space, including a cubicle, that is enclosed on at least three sides by walls or other physical barriers or dividers at a height that reaches no lower than the top of the employee’s head when the employee is seated; or
    • Seated or stationary and maintains a physical distance of at least six feet from any other individual.
  • Face coverings are not required outside of buildings if 6-foot physical distancing is maintained.
  • Face coverings are not required for individuals traveling alone in a college vehicle.
  • Face coverings are not required for individuals eating or drinking and maintaining a physical distance of at least six feet from any other individual who is not from the same household or residence.
  • In certain cases, the use of a face covering is not advised. These cases should be addressed on a case-by-case basis with the employee’s supervisor and, if necessary, Human Resources. Such cases include
    • Individuals with a medical condition for whom wearing a face covering could cause harm or obstruct breathing.
    • Individuals with hearing impairment or communicating with an individual who is hearing impaired, where the ability to see the mouth is essential for communication.
    • Face coverings may be temporarily removed when obtaining a service involving the nose, mouth, or face for which temporary removal of the face covering is necessary to perform the service.
    • Face coverings should be changed or laundered routinely.

We all look forward to the time when we can return to “normal,” but we must recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic may be with us for some time. Like all USHE institutions, we are thoughtfully modifying how we teach, interact with, and serve one another. We are diligently monitoring national, state, and local health reports and guidelines. We are collaborating with the other institutions of higher education to develop best practices, and we are implementing safety measures to stop the spread of COVID-19. We are motivated by an overriding desire to protect the health and well-being of our Badger community while continuing to deliver an exceptional educational experience.