Information for Current Students & Families

Following the guidance of public health organizations, UNI students, faculty, staff and visiting community members will be required to wear face coverings in all campus buildings. Exceptions in certain areas such as in residence hall rooms, private offices or while eating will be posted individually in relevant campus spaces. Face coverings are required in outdoor settings when six feet or more of social distancing cannot be maintained. Students, faculty and staff will receive complimentary UNI cloth face coverings. You will receive details on pick-up times, locations and procedures later this summer. 

Stay home and call the Student Health Clinic at 319-273-2009 to be assessed over the phone. Student Health Clinic Staff will talk you through next steps as needed, including:

• testing and contact tracing

• notifying your faculty

• notifying your on-campus work supervisor

• campus resources for your quarantine or self-isolation

If you live on campus, notify your residence hall office by phone as well.

Stay home and call the Student Health Clinic at 319-273-2009 to be assessed over the phone. Student Health Clinic Staff will talk you through next steps as needed, including:

• testing and contact tracing

• notifying your faculty

• notifying your on-campus work supervisor

• campus resources for your quarantine or self-isolation

If you live on campus, notify your residence hall office by phone as well.

In order to observe continued social distancing guidelines, the university is developing social distancing logistics/procedures for each learning, living and communal space on campus. Classes will be taught in a combination of in-person and online, and all in-person classes will be scheduled in larger rooms to aid in social distancing. More specific information will be shared by academic departments closer to the start of the fall semester on how this will impact individual classes. This information will vary course-by-course, and will be sent by faculty members directly to their students.

Social distancing will also be critical in spaces outside of the classroom. For example, furniture in communal spaces will be rearranged to ensure social distancing is observed as much as possible.

At this point, we are asking all students and employees to self-check each day before coming to campus or leaving their dormitory. If you have symptoms of COVID-19 you should stay home and contact the Student Health Center or other medical provider.  

This guidance could change later in the fall, depending on the presence of novel coronavirus in our community. The university will continue to use the Black Hawk County Health Department for contact tracing.

This spring and summer, UNI Facilities Management has increased cleaning and sanitization procedures. These increased cleaning schedules will continue throughout the fall.

Each department will be provided two transaction barriers (sneeze guards), a refillable hand sanitizer dispenser with counter stand (refills provided by Facilities Management), one bottle of hand sanitizer for each employee, and one floor decal reminding about standing six feet apart. This standard configuration will work for most departments. For those departments with more unique operational needs, they may submit a FAMIS request to complete a Certification of Hazardous Assessment for Departments to help identify additional needs or materials. 

In addition, every building entrance will have a hand sanitizer dispenser. 

While study abroad opportunities through UNI have been postponed through January of 2021, many of the university’s other off-campus educational opportunities will continue as planned, observing the protocols and procedures of those partner organizations and schools. If you have specific questions related to your planned internship, research project or student teaching assignment, please contact your adviser.

The university’s subcommittee focused on community engagement and outreach is working quickly to determine our approach to on-campus events as well as off-campus outreach. They also continue to monitor guidance from external partners such as NCAA and Iowa Department of Public Health. Detailed schedules and plans related to athletics, concerts, and other events - as well as safety protocols designed to protect the health of event participants - will be released in the coming weeks.

Tuition rates are remaining flat for fall semester 2020. Tuition costs are priced based on credit hours, and with the new academic calendar students will still be able to complete a full semester of coursework with the associated credit hours. The early start date and the removal of fall semester breaks to build in additional class days will allow us to offer a full academic semester, while also positioning the university to plan for a healthy and safe learning environment.

Housing and dining rate information is available on the Department of Residence COVID-19 web page.

Offices that provide services to the public are being provided transaction barriers, stickers and signs that provide physical distancing directives, and hand sanitizer. All employees and students are also required to wear face coverings. Office administrators can request additional supplies through FAMIS.

Yes. Face coverings are required in all public areas of campus buildings, including elevators, restrooms, hallways and corridors.

Drinking fountains and bottle stations will be available and will be disinfected daily.  

Custodians will perform one deep cleaning per day and at least one additional touch point cleaning per day in all restrooms. In cases where it does not impact privacy, restroom doors will be propped open to reduce touch points.

HVAC systems constantly circulate air through the buildings. We are increasing the rate of airflow and the amount of outside air brought into buildings. The total volume of air inside rooms will be exchanged a minimum of 6 times per hour. In addition, new, high-efficiency air filters have been installed around campus.

Departments should follow CDC guidelines for these spaces. As part of department offices, these spaces will be cleaned by custodians two times per week.

We are using 40% of the designated capacity of classrooms to provide more space for students to spread out. Classes have been reassigned to new, larger rooms across campus and designated seating has been marked off to help people distance properly.  

Students with any health-related concerns or questions should contact the UNI Student Health Clinic at 319-273-2009, option #1, or visit the clinic website. After-hour care options are also available.

The Student Health Clinic is now open for limited in-clinic visits along with Zoom telehealth appointments. Students must call 319-273-2009 option #1 to be assessed over the phone prior to making any type of appointment. Masks are required for all appointments at the Student Health Center. Clinic staff are available 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Counseling Center will also provide mental health services via tele-health (through Zoom). Please call 319-273-2676.

Visit the 2019-nCoV Prevention and Treatment page to learn about how to protect yourself from respiratory illnesses, like COVID-19. The CDC always recommends these everyday preventive actions to help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses:  

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. 

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands. 

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick. 

• Stay home from work, classes, social events when you are sick.

• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.  

• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.   

There is information for people who have had close contact with a person confirmed to have, or being evaluated for, COVID-19 infection available online.

The UNI Counseling Center offers after-hours crisis counseling to UNI students or any person concerned about a UNI student. Call the Counseling Center after hours at 273-2676 and press 2 to speak to a mental health counselor about your concerns. Counselors can also assist callers in accessing Counseling Center services or other campus resources.

Students with disabilities are encouraged to review the Student Accessibility Services (SAS) COVID-19 Questions page for common questions regarding COVID-19 and accessibility. If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact SAS directly at (319) 273-2677 Relay 711 or accessibilityservices@uni.edu.

If you are the victim of bias or witness bias related to COVID-19 or anything else, please visit our Safety at UNI website and click on the “Report an Incident” box. You will be prompted to select an option.

The University of Northern Iowa is committed to promoting an educational, working and living environment that is free from all forms of discrimination. 

Several universities have experienced an increasing number of reports of stereotyping, harassment, and bullying directed at persons perceived to be of Chinese American, and more generally, Asian descent due to misinformation about the virus. The COVID-19 is a public health issue and is not the fault of any person, country or ethnic group. 

Acts of bias, discrimination and harassment—whether via words or actions, publicly or privately expressed—counter the university’s core values, vision, mission and strategic plan. It is essential that we be supportive, respectful, and inclusive of the members of the UNI community who may have friends and families in the countries impacted.

 

Submit this COVID-19 absence notification form, and the Dean of Students office will help you notify faculty. Also, make sure that you have called the Student Health Clinic for additional resources and support.

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Students should contact their instructors to receive information on how they’re going to continue with online classes. Our Remote Access page also has helpful resources for the UNI eLearning Suite of tools.

Due to COVID-19, all tutoring and coaching sessions will be done by appointment only and students will have the option to meet with a tutor in-person at Rod Library or via Zoom. The Learning Center hours will remain the same, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Thursday. For more information, go to tlc.uni.edu/schedule, email TheLearningCenter@uni.edu, call 319-273-6023 or visit the TLC desk located on the main floor of Rod Library. If you are unavailable during normal tutoring hours, online tutoring is also available through Smarthinking. You will need your CatID and passphrase to gain access. To access the Smarthinking platform, go to tlc.uni.edu/online. 

You can reserve a study room or meeting room in Rod Library through their online scheduling system, RodScheduler. If the room is not already scheduled, walk-in use is allowed as well. Users are expected to adhere to the occupancy limits and mask requirements noted in RodScheduler.

The library does have laptops available for check out at the Library Services desk. A list of the laptops and other devices is located on the library's website along with the length of time they may be checked out.

Rod Library computers are available for public, including campus visitors who request a guest computer pass, during building hours.

Laptops/devices: Rod Library & IRTS have laptops and tablets for checkout. Details: https://askus.library.uni.edu/faq/118212

WiFi: UNI has increased WiFi, including a drive-up option. See details at: https://it.uni.edu/remote#internet

Your local public library may offer WiFi access. Again, contact them directly for information. Public libraries across the U.S. have been asked to boost their WiFi signals to extend to parking lots, so that may be possible in some locations.

Iowa State University Extension offices in each of Iowa's 99 counties have high-speed internet. Contact them directly to determine usage privileges, hours, drive-up WiFi availability, etc.

If you live near another academic institution, you may be able to access their campus guest WiFi or use Eduroam if it is an Eduroam campus like UNI (see list below). Campuses that don't use Eduroam will differ in what, if any, wifi they offer for guests.

A smartphone may also be able to serve as a wireless hotspot. Note that charges may apply if you do not have unlimited data. Contact your plan carrier for more information.

For a list of possible service providers with discounts, see https://it.uni.edu/remote#internet

Printing: Printers are located throughout Rod Library as well as in campus computer labs: Student Computer Centers and residence hall computer labs. 

Other: There are a number of tools to make remote work easier, including scanning apps such as Genius Scan (creates pdfs with a smartphone) and speech-to-text software for phones and/or computers (see list below). Zoom video conference also has an app as well as a phone-only call-in option for live meetings. See UNI IT with any questions about particular software needs.

Whether in person or online, all federal aid financial (including grants and loans) will still be available as usual to students based on their fall enrollment. In order to qualify for a Federal Direct Loan a student would simply need to be enrolled half-time (6 hours for undergrads), have a 2020-21 FAFSA filed and be in good academic standing.

If courses remain online through the fall 2020 semester, Veterans Affairs has said we can count them as residential courses. 

An update to the travel moratorium that was implemented in March on all domestic, non-essential travel by state employees was sent to student, faculty and staff on June 18.

Due to the continued global health emergency and concerns surrounding COVID-19, the University of Northern Iowa is canceling fall and winter study abroad programming scheduled for students and faculty to depart before January 10, 2021.

Yes. CDC recommends travelers avoid all nonessential travel to an affected area at this time. For any travel plans, stay up to date with CDC’s Coronavirus travel information site.