Expectations and Accountability Measures

Updated: August 17, 2021

Overview

Purpose

To help promote a safe and healthy campus community, this webpage outlines the expectation that Ohio State students, faculty and staff follow the Safe Campus Requirements outlined on the Safe and Healthy Buckeyes website.

Safe campus requirements include but are not limited to: wearing masks, hand hygiene, health symptom monitoring, participating in contact tracing, quarantine and isolation, and additional safety expectations detailed at safeandhealthy.osu.edu. This document also outlines how the institution will hold students, faculty and staff accountable to these expectations, to help keep our community safe during this pandemic.

Guiding principles

It is essential that students, faculty and staff understand the Safe Campus requirements. Education is the essential first step to ensuring these requirements are followed. Accountability measures will be in place for those who choose not to abide by community expectations. Accountability measures may range from training, to informal coaching, to formal disciplinary action up to and including suspension/dismissal and/or termination of employment. Formal action will depend on the seriousness of the violation and will generally be pursued when it is clear there is intent, a pattern and/or neglect associated with the violation.

Ongoing Behavioral Expectations Under the Safe Campus Requirements

All Ohio State students, faculty and staff are expected to meet the behavioral and safety expectations under the Safe Campus Requirements when they physically participate in any university activity, on or off campus. Failure to adhere to these requirements will be addressed through standard enforcement mechanisms, and an approach built on escalation, whereby adherence will be reinforced through education, choice and peer support before escalating to disciplinary action whenever possible. Where violations are serious and/or ongoing, however, they will be addressed as follows:

Students

A student and/or student organization will be referred for disciplinary action where the student and/or student organization’s behavior endangers the health or safety of campus community members, on or off campus, and/or fails to comply with the directives outlined in the Safe Campus Requirements.

  • During an incident in which a student is not adhering, the student should first be asked to comply (e.g., to wear a mask). If this does not resolve the situation, the student should be reminded about safe and healthy requirements. If the student continues to refuse, the student should be told to leave the location and not to return until they are prepared to follow the requirements.
  • For all situations, except those students who quickly comply when reminded, the incident should be reported to the Office of Student Life Student Conduct for potential disciplinary action and to assist with appropriate tracking. Even if the student’s name is unknown, a report to Student Conduct should be made to assist the university in evaluating adherence efforts; however, it should be acknowledged that Student Conduct will be unable to take disciplinary action without identifying information.

Faculty

Faculty will be provided an informal resolution opportunity through a meeting with their department chair. Continued refusal after this meeting will be addressed through the university process under Rule 3335-5-04.

Staff

Formal corrective action will be pursued when there exists clear intent, pattern or neglect on the part of the staff member to comply with the Safe Campus Requirements. For example, if a staff member refuses to wear a face mask when required, they cannot continue working and should be sent home and required to take leave. Further refusal without an approved accommodation may be determined to be insubordinate behavior and result in formal corrective action. Formal corrective action decisions should be made in consultation with the unit/college HR Consultant/HR Business Partner and Employee and Labor Relations.


Please reference this website for the most up-to-date guidelines. The university’s COVID-19 Transition Task Force’s Safe Campus and Scientific Advisory Subgroup will continue monitoring changing conditions and consult with local and state health authorities. Recommendations and requirements will be refined as needed.