Read this email on the Web

Finance and Business Operations - Wayne State University

Dear university community:

With spring break upon us, we want to answer questions you may have about travel guidelines related to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) threat. These recommendations are from our Presidential Coronavirus Committee and are in accordance with U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations.

  • Wayne State will not approve travel to any jurisdiction identified by the CDC with a Level 3 Travel Warning for coronavirus: currently mainland China, Iran, Italy and South Korea. This will also apply to any other country or region that is added to the Level Three Travel Warning list in the days and weeks ahead. We also ask that you restrict travel to Japan, the only nation so far to be on the Level 2 Travel Warning list for COVID-19.
  • We also strongly discourage personal travel to countries or regions with a Level 3 Travel Warning.
  •  If you decide to travel, educate yourself about health resources in the areas under consideration. You may be subject to governmental travel restrictions with little or no notice, and airlines may limit or cancel flights without warning. You will be subject to any restrictions in place at the time of your return.
  • If you plan on domestic travel, please note that the known prevalence of COVID-19 infection in the United States is changing rapidly. Please visit the CDC website for daily updates about spread and outbreak clusters, and check for the latest information before embarking on any trip.
  • If you are a student, staff or faculty and do travel to an area affected with COVID-19, we ask that you quarantine yourself upon your return for 14 days and monitor your symptoms. If you are a student who requires a quarantine, you will need to contact your instructors to make accommodations for your coursework. If you live in campus housing, the university will work with you on accommodations. Please visit our coronavirus FAQ  on additional precautions required upon your return.
  • If you exhibit symptoms of COVID-19, please alert your primary care physician or the Campus Health Center (313-577-5041). If necessary, the Campus Health Center will provide guidance for the COVID-19 testing protocol. Visit the CDC website to learn more about symptoms.
  • Faculty and staff are encouraged to file a CARE report with the Dean of Students Office if they are aware of any students who are concerned that they have been exposed to COVID-19 or who are concerned that they are experiencing symptoms.
  • The evolving situation related to the COVID-19 virus means we must face the possibility of faculty/staff canceling pre-approved university business-related travel plans. The reason may be due to a canceled conference and/or when travel is considered inadvisable. 
  • In this case, the faculty/staff member’s first course of action should be to seek a refund from the vendor(s) where the expense was paid (airline, hotel, conference host). If a faculty/staff member is requesting reimbursement from WSU for expenses related to a pre-approved university business trip that they did not attend, it is an exception to policy and needs the approval of a dean, or an associate provost/associate vice president or higher in order to process reimbursement. Visit here for details on the Travel policy.

A full description of what Wayne State is doing about the potential threat of the COVID-19 virus can be found on our website.

Our priority is to keep the campus community safe and well. Please enjoy your spring break, and we'll see you soon.

Rebecca Cooke

Interim Vice President for Finance and Business Operations, and Chief Financial Officer; and Treasurer