COVID-19 Policies, Topics & FAQs

It is at this time unclear when additional teams/units will be invited to return to campus. Any working and learning activity that can be effectively accomplished remotely, should continue to be done remotely. CU Anschutz is committed to bringing more people and activity back to campus as soon as it can be done safely.

Find information on parking and shuttle services on the facilities management website.

Yes, the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center is open for general gym use, but reservations are required and screening protocols are in place. Learn more here.

Yes. The University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz has been disbursing CARES Act funding to students since May 1. The Financial Aid webpage provides details on how to apply. Read the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Disclosure for more information on these funds and how they were distributed.

The 2020-2021 FAFSA is available now, and more information is on the Financial Aid & Scholarships Office website.

While on campus, contractors and vendors must follow the same Return to Campus protocols set forth for our faculty, students, staff, and community.

If the vendor has an active badge, each person representing that vendor who is visiting campus must:

• Complete the daily health questionnaire every day they plan to be on campus. This must be completed before entering any buildings or doing any exterior work on campus. 
• Wear a mask/face covering at all times while on campus. 
  • Masks/face coverings will not be provided – vendors must provide their own.
• When you arrive on campus, immediately go to a Campus Check-In Location.
  • At the screening checkpoint, you will:
    • Show your email confirmation of having completed the daily health questionnaire (or scan the QR code at the screening location to access and fill out the form).
    • Get a temperature check.
    • Receive a wristband granting access to campus for the day.

Active badges have been approved only for vendors/companies that have provided their COVID-19 plans to CU Anschutz leadership for evaluation.

If the vendor does not have an active badge, the sponsoring department must:

Assign someone from their unit (who has been invited and approved for on-campus activity) to escort the vendor during the entirety of their time on campus. This includes:

• Ensuring each person representing the vendor fill out the daily health questionnaire each day they are on campus. This must be completed before the vendor may enter any buildings or do any exterior work on campus.
  • Vendors should check the “Other (Visitor)” box on the questionnaire.
• Ensuring the contractor(s) wear a mask at all times while on campus.
  • Masks/face coverings will not be provided – contractors must provide their own.
• Escorting them through the on-campus screening process at a Campus Check-In Location:
  • Show the vendor’s email confirmation of having completed the daily health questionnaire (or have them scan the QR code at the screening location to access and fill out the form).
  • Get a temperature check.
  • Receive a wristband granting vendor access (with escort) to campus for the day.

Vendors without active badges may submit a copy of their company’s COVID-19 plans – outlining the company’s health screening protocols, how they manage staff who are exposed or exhibiting symptoms, etc –  for evaluation and approval by CU Anschutz leadership. Contact Facilities Management for details at 303-724-1777.  

Click here for more information and a List of Approved Contractors.

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

This guide helps students, faculty and staff understand what to do in these scenarios.

Learn how to add your phone to activate exposure notifications.

If you are symptomatic, do the following:

• Let your supervisor or professor know, submit a CU Anschutz self-report form, and stay home. You may register for testing, as detailed here, and you will be contacted with further instruction and support.
  • If unsure whether to self-report, please follow this guide.
  • Contact Cody Coburn, RN, CU Anschutz Occupational Health Division Manager, with questions at cody.coburn@cuanschutz.edu or 303-724-4663.
• CDPHE recommends that you self-isolate if you have a positive COVID-19 test, have symptoms of COVID-19 or think you might have COVID-19. Unless you are tested and confirmed to be negative for COVID-19, you should assume that what you have is COVID-19, and self-isolate until:
  • You have had no fever for at least 24 hours (that is 1 full day of no fever without the use of fever-reducing medication like Tylenol and/or Ibuprofen) AND
  • Other symptoms have improved (for example, when your cough or shortness of breath have improved) AND
  • At least 10 days have passed since your symptoms first appeared

Employees or students who are well, but who have a sick family member or other household member at home with COVID-19 (or any other acute respiratory illness), should notify their supervisor and refer to the CDC’s guidance on precautions for caring for a sick family member or partner.

• The CU Anschutz Occupational Health Division can assist with this assessment. Contact Cody Coburn, RN, CU Anschutz Occupational Health Division Manager, with questions at cody.coburn@cuanschutz.edu or 303-724-4663.by contacting Cody Coburn.

CU Anschutz students, faculty and staff can also sign up for testing for children/minors or household members. Find details and sign-up instructions here.

The coronavirus website contains information and FAQs on mask wearing, hygiene, physical distancing, screening process and other protocols in place for approved on-campus activity.

This FAQ addresses common questions about self-reporting, notification processes and contact tracing protocols at CU Anschutz. 

CU Anschutz employees and students, as well as household members, have several options for free COVID-19 testing, depending on whether you:

• have symptoms of COVID-19
• have no symptoms of COVID-19
• have been exposed (within 6 feet for cumulative total of 15+ minutes over 24-hour period of COVID-positive individual); testing allowable 5-7 days after known or possible exposure, and ideal on day 7

Schedule My COVID-19 Test

 

 

 

 

Learn More About My Options

Have COVID-19 Symptoms or Have Been Exposed

Have No COVID-19 Symptoms and Unexposed

Self-report your status. Register for testing at one of these locations*: CU Anschutz on-campus, drive-up testing through Environmental Health & Safety, near the Fitzsimons Building (500). Use access code EHS and your university email address. Minors 12+ eligible for testing at this site. OR Off-campus, drive-up testing through COVIDCheck Colorado at the Aurora Public Schools Professional Learning and Conference Center. Use your CU Anschutz employee/student ID and university email address to register yourself; use passcode F3E5D8BDE to register household members and minors, age 2+.     *testing allowable 5-7 days after known or possible exposure, and ideal on day 7

Register for testing at one of these locations: On-campus testing through COVIDCheck Colorado at Education 1 building (east side, door P26-1R). Enter through a campus check-in location for screening and obtain your wristband before your appointment. Minors 2+ eligible for testing at this site. OR Off-campus, drive-up testing through COVIDCheck Colorado at Aurora Public Schools Professional Learning and Conference Center. Use your CU Anschutz employee/student ID and university email address to register yourself; use passcode F3E5D8BDE to register household members and minors, age 2+.

Questions about CU Anschutz on-campus testing through EHS? Contact occupational.health@ucdenver.edu.

Questions about COVIDCheck Colorado testing or problems registering? Contact  events@cuanschutz.edu.

If you receive a positive test result, stay home, self-report your status, and await further instruction from the CU Anschutz Occupational Health and Contact Tracing team.

If you develop COVID-19-like symptoms*, get tested as soon as possible.

You will receive your results within 24 - 72 hours, either through an email or text message providing a log-in, or through  My Health Connection

If a test is positive or confirmed for COVID-19, you will be contacted with instructions on self-isolation, as well as support available to you and contact tracing details.

If you receive a confirmed test, you must immediately self-isolate. A public health or medical professional will be in touch to review the timelines for when you may be released from self-isolation. 

Please let your supervisor or professor know, and self-report your status. This is especially important in enabling us to monitor the impact of COVID-19 within the community and beyond and to provide support.

• If registering for on-campus testing through Environmental Health & Safety, contact occupational.health@ucdenver.edu for assistance.
• If registering for testing through COVIDCheck Colorado, contact zack.strober@ucdenver.edu or 303-315-5815 for assistance.

CU Anschutz students, faculty and staff can also sign up for testing for children/minors or household members. Find details and sign-up instructions here.

If you are identified as a close contact of a positive or presumptive positive case related to campus contact, you will be contacted directly by the CU Anschutz Contact Tracing Team to be advised of next steps, which could involve testing.

Expanded testing helps to identify asymptomatic cases so they can quickly be isolated and quarantined. These tests are optional and not currently required for those approved for on-campus activity to return to campus.

Schedule My COVID-19 Test

Please see this graphic to determine when to return to work after illness.

All in-person, university-sponsored events and official functions are suspended until further notice. Contact events@cuanschutz.edu with questions.

Hold all meetings of any size remotely, rather than in person, even when attendees are on campus. Do not gather, meet or congregate at any time, inside or outside.

All room requests through spring 2021 are centrally managed, with priority given to in-person student and trainee learning activities that cannot be conducted remotely. Meeting spaces and classrooms not accounted for in approved return to campus plans should be a rare exception.

Those seeking an exception for room reservations must submit this application form. You must receive official approval before EMS reservations will be confirmed. Those approved may receive a reservation for a room different from the specific space requested.

Building diagrams and occupancy maps are available here.

Contact events@cuanschutz.edu with questions.

If you are symptomatic, do the following:

• Let your supervisor or professor know, submit a CU Anschutz self-report form, and stay home. You may register for testing, as detailed here, and you will be contacted with further instruction and support.
  • If unsure whether to self-report, please follow this guide.
  • Contact Cody Coburn, RN, CU Anschutz Occupational Health Division Manager, with questions at cody.coburn@cuanschutz.edu or 303-724-4663.
• CDPHE recommends that you self-isolate if you have a positive COVID-19 test, have symptoms of COVID-19 or think you might have COVID-19. Unless you are tested and confirmed to be negative for COVID-19, you should assume that what you have is COVID-19, and self-isolate until:
  • You have had no fever for at least 24 hours (that is 1 full day of no fever without the use of fever-reducing medication like Tylenol and/or Ibuprofen) AND
  • Other symptoms have improved (for example, when your cough or shortness of breath have improved) AND
  • At least 10 days have passed since your symptoms first appeared

You can find mental health resources and information in the following locations:

• the campus mental health resources page
• the Department of Psychiatry’s COVID-19 Support website
• the Student & Resident Mental Health website
• the HR website
• the State of Colorado’s COVID-19 help website

Students, faculty and staff who believe they have been exposed to COVID-19 or have tested positive are to report that status. CU Anschutz will work with public health authorities if there is danger of significant exposure to individuals who were in direct contact in the workplace with anyone who has reported a positive COVID-19 test result. CU Anschutz is prohibited by law from sharing the content of any reports, including the name of the individual who made the report. Learn more here.

Find an overview on PPE ordering, shipping and procurement here.

Contact your supervisor/unit head, and your unit’s HR business partner, with concerns about returning to campus.

You may also visit our workplace adjustment webpage to learn about our process for responding to concerns and access our form for requests related to current work arrangements.

If you are high-risk or uncomfortable returning to work, please contact your supervisor/unit head, and your unit’s HR business partner.

You may also visit our workplace adjustment webpage to learn about our process for responding to concerns and access our form for requests related to current work arrangements.

Learn more about HR’s policy on paid administrative leave here.

Visit the HR website for resources on child and elder care. Please do not bring children to the workplace or classroom.

While limited mask supplies are available at campus check-in locations, you should bring your own face covering or mask with you every day. Wearing a mask is mandatory at all times, indoors and outdoors. The only exceptions are when you are working alone in a completely enclosed indoor workspace (with a ceiling, 4 walls, and a closed door), or when you are 6 feet or more from all others when outdoors. PPE is provided in some clinical settings. See CDC guidance on masks.

*This exception does not apply in the Strauss Health Sciences Library, where masks are required at all times, even when alone in a study room or other enclosed space.

A homemade cloth mask or other facial covering is acceptable, as long as it covers your nose and mouth. Please note you must wear your face covering or mask at all times, indoors and outdoors. The only exception is when you are working alone in a completely enclosed indoor workspace (with a ceiling, 4 walls, and a closed door), or when you are 6 feet or more from all others when outdoors. A face shield is not an acceptable substitute. View CU Anschutz face mask guidance, and learn more on the CDC website.

*This exception does not apply in the Strauss Health Sciences Library, where masks are required at all times, even when alone in a study room or other enclosed space.

Yes, wear your mask or face covering at all times when indoors on campus. This includes hallways, elevators, breakrooms, restrooms and all other public indoor spaces.

The only exception is when you are working alone in your own completely enclosed workspace (with a ceiling, four walls, and a closed door), or when in a completely enclosed shared workspace (with a ceiling, four walls and a closed door) that has been approved by your COVID official* for unmasked activity. 

• This exception does not apply in the Strauss Health Sciences Library, where masks are required at all times, even when alone in a study room or other enclosed space.
• Cubicles and open-air offices/laboratories are not completely enclosed, so you must wear a mask at all times when in such workspaces, even when workstations are spaced 6 feet or more from others.
• If you are working alone in a completely enclosed workspace and another person enters the room, you must put your mask back on.

*COVID officials work in consultation with CU Anschutz Institutional Planning, Facilities Leadership and Environmental Health and Safety to assess shared spaces for adequate air exchange rates, rest time between users and compliance with existing mask policy.

Yes, you are encouraged to wear your mask or face covering outdoors on campus at all times. It is permissible to remove your mask only when you are able to safely keep at least 6 feet from all other people. This includes parking lots, walkways, public transportation/shuttle bus waiting areas and all other outdoor campus spaces.

You must wear a mask when entering or exiting a dining space or breakroom. When seated, you may remove your mask to eat and drink, but must put it back on when you stand up to use the restroom or to leave. If dining outdoors, ensure you are at least 6 feet from others before removing your mask to eat or drink. See CDPHE’s guidance on dining.

Wash your hands frequently when putting on and taking off your mask, and avoid touching your face covering unnecessarily. Launder or discard and replace your mask daily. See CDPHE mask guidance for more tips.

Find an overview on PPE ordering, shipping and procurement here.

You will receive detailed instructions from your supervisor/unit head or COVID official detailing building entry protocols. Exterior and interior signage is in place to help you navigate, and check-in site locations and hours are listed on the coronavirus website.

An employee should always follow the policies and procedures of the facility or site they are reporting to on a given day. Please contact the affiliate whose facility you will be working in that day for clarification on their policies or procedures.

You will receive detailed instructions from your supervisor/unit head or COVID official detailing protocols for return and any unit-specific guidelines.

After entering through a designated campus check-in location for screening, make your way to your workspace directly, and minimize unnecessary travel within and between campus buildings. Should you need access to facilities in another area for essential work-related purposes, let your supervisor/unit head and COVID official know.

Detailed plans for each floor and work area have been developed, and some workspaces and common areas reconfigured to align with physical distancing requirements. Research labs and workspaces are to be configured to allow for 120 square feet per person for those actively working in one area.

Yes. Your supervisor/unit head and COVID official have centralized cleaning supplies available for check out, and have posted cleaning guidelines for you to follow.

Yes. Completing the questionnaire before arrival is a daily requirement. You can access it through this easy-access link daily prior to arrival on campus, or scan the QR code posted at check-in locations to access. The questionnaire asks the following:  

• Your planned check-in location
• Where you will spend the bulk of your time
• Whether you’ve had symptoms, as outlined by the CDC, in the last 24 hours
• Whether you’ve had unprotected contact or are caring for someone diagnosed with COVID-19 in the last 14 days
• Whether you have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the last 10 days
  

Once you complete the daily questionnaire, you receive a confirmation email showing whether you are approved for entry. Show that email to the screener at the check-point and you will be quickly on your way.

Details on janitorial services and protocols, as well as hand sanitizer stations and other available resources for cleaning on the facilities management website.

Contractor/vendor access and approved contractor information is available here.

Keep up with the latest guidance for Coloradans here.

CO-HELP is Colorado’s call line for the novel coronavirus. People who have general questions about COVID-19 can call CO HELP at 303-389-1687 or 1-877-462-2911, for answers in many languages, or email them at COHELP@RMPDC.org for answers in English. You can also go to the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment’s COVID-19 website.

All non-essential university-related domestic and international travel is suspended until further notice. Only absolutely essential domestic business travel may be considered for an exception. See your supervisor/unit head with requests for exceptions, which are subject to review by school/college deans or the vice chancellor for administrative areas. Requests for same-day, in-state travel may be reviewed by your department/unit head.

If you have received approval for vacation leave in which you plan to travel, even domestically, please understand that the nature of travel restrictions and self-quarantine may change quickly.

We encourage you to consider your health and the health of those around you before returning for approved on-campus activity. If upon your return your work duties cannot be performed remotely and you need to stay home to quarantine, you will need to take leave to accommodate that situation. If you do plan to travel, see the CDC’s COVID-19 Travel Guidance.

• Carefully monitor your health status. If you were exposed to someone who is COVID-19 positive, or if you show COVID-19-like symptoms, let your supervisor/unit head know, submit a self-report, and stay home. You may register for testing, as detailed here, and you will be contacted with further instruction and support. If unsure whether to self-report, please follow this guide.
• Work or learn remotely and practice physical distancing whenever possible.
• If returning from international travel, follow CDC recommendations, get tested and avoid close contact with people who are at high risk for severe illness from COVID-19.