OP 170 - Communicable Disease
Number: OP 170
Effective: May 31, 2022
Department: Facilities Planning and Management
Last Revision: June 7, 2022

Purpose

To establish guidelines for implementing measures to prevent, manage, and mitigate the spread of communicable disease affecting the College of Western Idaho community.

Scope

Applies to all CWI students, staff, faculty, and visitors.

Definition

Communicable Disease: An infectious disease that is spread from person to person. Examples of Communicable Diseases covered by this policy include:

  • COVID-19
  • Hepatitis A
  • Pandemic Influenza
  • Meningitis (viral and bacterial)
  • Rubella
  • Mumps,
  • Rubeola
  • Cholera
  • Diphtheria
  • Norovirus
  • Tuberculosis
  • Novel viruses or other diseases determined by the Incident Command Team to cause a significant risk of health to the College community.

Communicable Disease Threat: A significant threat to the health to the College Community, including epidemic or pandemic, as identified by Public Health Officials. 

Communicable Disease Response: Measures taken to prevent, manage, and mitigate a Communicable Disease Threat, which require Board approval or ratification, including but not limited to:

  • Emergency closure(s)
  • Face covering requirements
  • Contact tracing

Communicable Disease Response Team:  A committee of CWI administrators responsible for directing, coordinating, and providing necessary support in response to a Communicable Disease Threat.  At a minimum, the Communicable Disease Response Team will include members of President Cabinet, Executive Operations Team, the Director of Safety and Security, and any other individual whose background and experience will assist in designing and implementing appropriate Communicable Disease Response(s). The designated title of this team and its members may vary depending on the nature of the Communicable Disease Threat.

Public Health Officials: Local, regional, state, and national or federal health departments and agencies, including Central District Health, Southwest District Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Policy

CWI is committed to providing a safe working and learning environment for all members of the College community by preventing, managing, and mitigating, to the extent possible, the spread of Communicable Disease. This Policy recognizes the Board of Trustees’ authority to approve certain measures to prevent the spread of Communicable Disease pursuant to Idaho Code while delegating to CWI administration the authority to take emergency action(s) in response to a Communicable Disease Threat. The Board shall ratify such emergency action(s) where appropriate and shall recognize that the response to the dangers posed by the Communicable Disease must be based on the information immediately available to on-site campus administrators, working in conjunction with and at the direction of Public Health Officials.

Guidelines

The authority and responsibilities for responding to a Communicable Disease Threat shall be as follows. 

Board of Trustees:

  • Authorize recommendations made by CWI administration to implement Communicable Disease Responses when such recommendations are made prior to a regular Board of Trustees meeting.
  • Ratify decisions made by CWI administration to implement Communicable Disease Responses when such decisions are made on an emergent basis. Such ratification will occur at the next Board meeting immediately subsequent to the decision(s). 

President:

  • The President shall determine when to authorize and initiate the Communicable Disease Response Team.
  • The President shall receive any reports of Communicable Disease Threats from the Communicable Disease Response Team and shall determine appropriate information to be shared with the College community. 
  • The President shall be kept apprised of a Communicable Disease Responses rendered by the Communicable Disease Response Team and will ensure the Communicable Disease Response Team has the resources necessary to immediately address Communicable Disease Threats.
  • The President shall include in the President’s Report to the Board of Trustees any emergency Communicable Disease Responses requiring Board authorization or ratification.  Such authorization or ratification shall be included as an action item on the regular or special meeting agenda of the Board of Trustees. Non-emergency measures shall be presented to the Board for authorization prior to implementing the Communicable Disease Response. Emergency items requiring ratification shall be included in the next regular meeting immediately subsequent to administrative decisions. 

Communicable Disease Response Team:

  • The Communicable Disease Response Team shall track epidemics, pandemics, and outbreaks of Communicable Diseases which pose significant threat to the health of the College community. 
  • Upon receipt of a report of an epidemic, pandemic, or outbreak of Communicable Disease which may pose a significant threat to the health of the College community, the Communicable Disease Response Team shall determine the validity of the report. 
  • If the report is verified, the Communicable Disease Response Team shall convey necessary information to the President. 
  • The Communicable Disease Response Team will work in conjunction with or at the direction of Public Health Officials to determine appropriate measures to protect the health and safety of the College community.
  • The Communicable Disease Response Team shall render emergency Communicable Disease Responses as necessary and shall report such responses to the President for presentation to the Board of Trustees.

STUDENT AND EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITIES

Students, faculty, staff, and campus visitors must adhere to the following health and safety measures:

  • Report Communicable Diseases as instructed in campus communications or at the direction of CWI administrators;
  • Cooperate with contact tracing agents;
  • Wear protective apparel such as facial coverings, when required;
  • Adhere to rules and directives imposed by any building authority, including without limitation, campus security, instructors, deans, managers, building administrators, or the President; 
  • Assist with cleaning and disinfection when required;
  • Respect and adhere to any building signage, including building closures, heightened disinfection, or facial covering requirements. 

Failure to adhere to the foregoing health and safety measures may result in the following:

  • Removal from on-campus activities, including in-person classes or employment;
  • Discipline pursuant to the Student Code of Conduct or Employee Code of Conduct.

LEGAL REFERENCES:

Idaho Code § 33-2145. PROCEDURES TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE.