Spring 2021 Campus COVID-19 Information

This webpage will serve as the college’s main information hub, including for announcements, FAQs and resources. Questions or concerns can be sent to covidresponse@alverno.edu, which is checked daily. 

Safeguarding Campus During COVID-19 

Alverno College’s Return to Campus Guidelines (updated for the spring 2021 semester) have been drafted by the members of the COVID-19 Taskforce in consultation with the Administrative Council, members of the Incident Response Team (IRT), academic deans, faculty leaders and president. Additionally, the college's plan was formally approved by the Milwaukee Department of Health.

Due to the changing conditions of COVID-19, Alverno has taken an adaptive approach to its plan, protocol and implementation. The plan is reviewed regularly and updated based on current conditions, public health guidance at the local, state and national levels, and feedback from community members. 

You can find the college's self-reported cases of the virus on our COVID-19 dashboard, which is broken down in two categories: Alverno students and Alverno faculty and staff. For the purposes of reporting, Alverno faculty and staff will be shown in aggregate.

The dashboard will be updated every Thursday by 2 p.m. The fall 2020 semester dashboard is archived on the page.

Vaccine Information

Based on recommendations from the CDC, the college strongly encourages all students, faculty and staff to get the COVID-19 vaccination.

The Wisconsin COVID-19 Vaccine Registry is a helpful resource and allows Wisconsin residents to register for and schedule COVID-19 vaccinations locally – when they are eligible and as vaccines become available. Additionally, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) announced that Wisconsinites can now call 844-684-1064 for assistance with their vaccine-related questions.

For now, the CDC says fully vaccinated people should continue to:

• Take precautions in public like wearing a well-fitted mask and physical distancing
• Wear masks, practice physical distancing and adhere to other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people who are at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease or who have an unvaccinated household member who is at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease
• Wear masks, maintain physical distance and practice other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple households
• Avoid medium- and large-sized in-person gatherings
• Get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms

Based on the CDC recommendations, Alverno has adopted the following protocol for individuals who have been exposed to somebody suspected of having COVID-19 or somebody who has COVID-19, based on whether the Alverno individual has been vaccinated.

• If you have been fully vaccinated, and received the last dose of the vaccine more than two weeks ago but within the past three months and are symptom free, you do not need to quarantine if you can provide vaccination verification to HR.
• If you have not been fully vaccinated, you must continue to follow the CDC’s quarantine process.

This flowchart details the CDC's revised quarantine recommendations for vaccinated individuals.

COVID-19 Reporting Protocol

If you are student and have tested positive for COVID-19, are experiencing symptoms or have been exposed to somebody who tested positive:

• Please fill out the student Covid Notification Form as soon as possible. 
• Someone from Student Affairs will follow up with you once they receive the form.
• Begin isolation/quarantine at home or in your residence hall room, and do not come to campus.
• Before resuming classes and activities, students must complete a Return to Campus form from Student Affairs and be approved by the Dean of Students Office.

This flowchart details the steps that students should take if they are experiencing symptoms.

If you are employee and have tested positive for COVID-19, are experiencing symptoms or have been exposed to somebody who tested positive

• Please report this information to Human Resources: (414) 382-6421
• Please also report this information to your supervisor.
• Begin isolation/quarantine at home and do not come to campus.

Safety Precautions and COVID-19-Enhanced Cleaning  

As a campus community, we have shared responsibility in keeping our spaces clean and safe. Our enhanced housekeeping procedures:

• Classrooms and meeting rooms are deep cleaned at least once per day, and supplies to facilitate self-cleaning are regularly stocked.
• Restrooms are deep cleaned and disinfected daily, and touchpoint restroom cleaning will be performed throughout the day. 
• Public spaces have dedicated housekeeping staff to do regular cleaning, and supplies to facilitate self-cleaning are regularly stocked.
• Plexiglas and other barriers for high-traffic transactional counters have been installed.
• Most elevators should be limited to two occupants per cab.

Campus Services

• The Inferno Café and Hudson’s Servery are open, and the Commons eating and gathering space has been realigned to 1/3 of its original capacity.
• The A-Store is open Monday-Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Alverno community can also shop online.
• Mail services are available Monday-Thursday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• The Computer Center will remain open with published hours.
• Library circulation will remain open with published hours.