Approach

In order to restart research activities in a safe and flexible manner, we implemented a multi-phased approach for the resumption of research activities from the research Ramp Down phase:

Category Ramp Down Phase 1 Phase 2A Phase 2B Phase 3
Effective Date Mar 18, 2020 June 8, 2020 Sept 2, 2020 Jan 4, 2021 June 7, 2021
On-Campus Researcher Population Less than 5% Less than approx. 33%* Less than approx. 66%* Less than approx. 66%* 100% new normal
Remote Work Most activity remote All that is possible All that is possible All that is possible When reasonable
"Research" Activities Critical only Critical + prioritized Expanded Expanded All
Faculty / Staff / Post-docs Essential only Voluntary Voluntary Voluntary Yes
Grad/Med Students Essential only Voluntary Voluntary Voluntary Yes
Co-op Students Essential only Voluntary Voluntary Voluntary Yes
Undergraduates No No Non-credit bearing activities Credit and non-credit bearing activities Yes
Mitigation (e.g., PPE / Physical Distancing / Cleaning) Required - Follow CDC guidelines Required - Follow University Guidance
Approval Required Yes Yes Yes Yes No

*The physical distancing requirements must be maintained at this level of activity and could limit the overall density

Transitioning between these phases is designed to allow safe management of population density requirements with the cumulative increase of activity.  It is anticipated that changes in guidance and process may be required, given new information related to COVID19 and our own experiences.

Given the diverse range of research activities across the University, Colleges / Schools / Departments we use the following broad research categories to characterize all of these activities.

Category of Research Description Example

On-Campus

Activities that require access to specialized equipment, facilities

Can include face to face activities

Lab-based, computational analysis, animal studies

Clinical or behavioral activities that include human subjects

Field-Based

Activities that require data collection in specific locations (on-campus, off-campus)

Can include face to face activities

Community based research, field specimen collection

Non-Clinical, clinical, or behavioral human subjects projects occurring at external sites (i.e., nursing homes, individual homes, community centers)

Clinical – Medical

Activities that include clinical medical interventions, procedures, assessments, or treatment

Clinical trials and investigator-initiated research with human subjects, studies involving “vulnerable populations”

Clinical – Non-Medical

Activities that include non-medical clinical assessments, or treatment

Behavioral assessment of research subjects