Since I am working remotely, and I can do that anywhere, am I required to stay in town?

No, you are not required to stay in town. During this time, if you are fulfilling your University responsibilities (e.g., teaching courses, research commitments, service commitments) and other university duties remotely, you are not considered absent from campus. However, if you travel for any reason out of state (or even to known hot spots in the state), please notify your chair/director/dean.

Can faculty and students come into their lab right now?

Faculty or Staff that have been approved as essential personnel by your College Dean and VP for research have lab access. If for any other reason you need access for essential reasons (e.g. obtain research materials that were left in the lab), please contact your Department Chair or School Director. Building access to obtain access to research labs requires approval from your Department Chair/School Director, College Dean, and VP for Research prior to building entry and will only be provided in critical and emergency situations.

ARE THERE CYBERSECURITY PRECAUTIONS TO BE CONSIDERED WITH REMOTE DELIVERY?

Yes. It is recommended that faculty use their University issued machine to conduct classes. If using a personal computer, please do not save any sensitive data to your home devices. When interacting with services, such as Banner, that contain sensitive data please use the University's VPN. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen an uptick in phishing, hacking attempts, and other malicious behavior. Please be mindful of this. Do not open attachments you are not expecting and do not share your login information with anyone. For more information, please check out this site.

IS MY ONLINE MATERIAL HIPPA AND FERPA COMPLIANT?

Blackboard Learn and Collaborate Ultra platforms do meet the FERPA requirements. Please see here for the details. LMS platforms, generally speaking do not meet HIPAA guidelines as they should not be used to house patient data. This is the case for Kent State University’ version of Blackboard Learn and the primary vendors: Learn Ultra, Canvas, and Desire 2 Learn. Blackboard has a statement on HIPAA in section 10.b of this page. Most video conferencing platforms are not HIPAA compliant. Microsoft Teams and the Health Care version of Zoom are HIPAA compliant.