UTH

Vaccine Distribution Updates

UTHealth is working with local government officials to ready COVID-19 vaccination plans for UTHealth’s front-line workers. We anticipate that in the coming weeks and months, the vaccine will be made available to all UTHealth faculty, students, and staff, including those at regional campuses. 

Drs. Boerwinkle, Arias and Delclos have answered School of Public Health community questions regarding the vaccine and its distribution. Those videos are available on the Vaccine Q&A page. 

Vaccine enrollment survey

Please log in to the SPH COVID-19 Resources intranet page to access the survey link. 

At this time, if you want to get a vaccine, as a student, staff, or health worker, you MUST fill out this survey, which includes questions that are helping the university prioritize doses based on risk and health factors. You only need to complete the survey once.

The survey is brief and takes less than 5 minutes to complete. You will need your employee or student ID number ready, which is available in the self-service section of the website (for faculty and staff) or in myUTH (for students). 

COVID-19 Resources and Updates

To keep our community informed about the vaccine, the science behind it, and its safety, UTHealth has developed several resources to keep our school community and the public informed. We encourage you to check these resources regularly, as they are updated when new content becomes available. 

Public resources: 

Internal community resources (must log in to access):

Spring 2021 COVID-19 Updates

As we continue to monitor and respond to the ever-changing COVID-19 pandemic, we have made the decision to continue offering our courses using a hybrid format for the Spring 2021 term. 

We appreciate your continued patience during these unprecedented times and look forward to seeing you all back on campus once feasible. If you have questions or concerns, please email SPHStudentServices@uth.tmc.edu. 

Below are the guidelines for the spring semester.

  • The majority of in-person/ITV courses (courses with a PH, PHM, or PHD prefix) will be hybrid and utilize WebEx to host class. We are fortunate to be able to leverage the flexibility afforded by the WebEx platform. Faculty may be teaching from off-site, their office or in the classroom. Similarly, the students may be offsite or in the classroom (exceptions are noted below).
  • Some lab-based or practice-based courses may be held in-person; faculty will reach out to students directly with plans for these courses, including precautionary and preventative actions that will be taken to ensure the safety of students and faculty.
  • Online courses (courses with a PHW, PHWM, or PHWD prefix) will continue to be delivered totally online as usual.
  • Students enrolled in independent studies, PH 9997 Practicum, PHM 9998 Culminating Experience/Thesis Research, PHD 9999 Dissertation Research should work with their faculty advisor or supervising faculty member to make appropriate arrangements.

Faculty and staff will be reaching out to communicate new procedures and etiquette for their classes before the start of the term. If you have any questions about how your course will be delivered, please contact your instructor directly.

Coming to campus: All students

Additional information about visiting campus will be updated prior to the beginning of the spring term.

Students must follow all safety guidelines and protocols issued by UTHealth when visiting campus for any reason. If you already know that you will be attending class in-person, please complete the UTHealth COVID-19 Screening Form prior to arriving on campus. 

F-1 and J-1 students: New updates 

International students who are sponsored on an F-1 visa are required to attend classes in person per federal regulations. At this time, the federal government has not issued a waiver for international students to attend courses online or via WebEx for the Spring 2021 term. At this time, students sponsored on F-1 visas should prepare to attend class in person at their respective campus. 

As part of this process, F-1 and J-1 students will also need to log their visits to campus. Signs with QR codes will be placed throughout all the campuses prior to the first day of class. Students will simply scan the QR code using their smartphone’s camera, and fill in the linked Qualtrics to log their visit. For those who do not use a smartphone, the URL for the survey will also be provided on the signage. Please note that the form should only be accessed and completed while on campus. All class rooms have been prepared for appropriate social distancing and have sanitation supplies available. In addition, School of Public Health facilities are working to provide enhanced cleaning and housekeeping.

All F-1 and J-1 students must reside in the same city as their assigned campus during the semester, and should register for in-person classes as they have in the past to comply with their visa status for Fall 2020. F-1 and J-1 students cannot enroll full-time in online courses; when registering for courses using myUTH, in-person courses are those with either PH, PHM, or PHD prefixes. International students with questions or concerns about courses can contact Kate McMillan.

Joining a streaming class in WebEx

A link to the teaching faculty member’s personal WebEx room used for hosting the class will be placed on each course’s Canvas page prior to the first day of classes for the fall term. Step-by-step instructions for how to join a streaming class are available on the SPHCOVID19 Resources page on the School of Public Health Intranet, along with contact details for technical support teams. You must use your UTHealth credentials to access Intranet.

Practicum updates

The University has lifted regulations and restrictions surrounding practice-based experiences for the Spring 2021 term. Practicum experiences for the Spring 2021 term will follow traditional guidelines and expectations, with the exception of international practice experiences, which will be subject to international travel restrictions put in place by the CDC and U.S. Department of State. Given the circumstances, students who would prefer to pursue a remote experience are welcome to do so. For additional information and guidance, visit the Practicum Overview page on mySPH.

Student fees

In general, fees will continued to be charged if the service is being offered, regardless of whether individual students are taking advantage of the service(s). The following fees will continue to be charged as these services are still operational:

  • Shuttle Bus fee: The Shuttle Bus is still running and available to all students.
  • Student Health and Counseling fee: These services are available remotely for students throughout Texas and are especially important during these challenging times.
  • Writing Support Services and Library fee: All library and writing services are available remotely. 
  • Recreation Center fee: The recreation center is open and available for use as of August 17.
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