COVID-19 Guidelines

The following is a general overview of how Facilities Management will transition its various COVID operating strategies back to normal campus operations in preparation for the fall semester.  This will happen in stages over the course of the summer and acts as a supplement to the University of Arkansas Return to Campus Guide. Campus users may still request partitions online.

Guidelines will be routinely evaluated and adjusted as necessary in accordance to university and state guidance. 

Beginning June

Custodial Services

• Continue common area and bathroom touch-point cleaning and disinfecting. This will include high traffic areas such as building points of entrance, elevators, lobbies, etc. 
• Begin transitioning back to cleaning individual offices per pre-pandemic protocol
  • including: emptying personal trash in offices on Tuesdays and Fridays, light in-office cleaning to include vacuuming, sweeping, and/or mopping, dusting, and disinfection
• Hand sanitizer dispensers will be located and serviced at building points of entrance
• Central waste collection cans will remain outside office areas for occupant use
• The locking and unlocking of buildings and classrooms will resume normal protocols per the schedule provided from the Registrar's Office and special instructions from Building Executives. 

Facility Operations

• Individual drinking fountains will remain out of service through the month of June.
• Bottle fill stations will continue to be available and included on custodial cleaning cycles. Please view the map of bottle fill stations for more information.

Building HVAC Systems

• HVAC systems will no longer operate under pandemic conditions including running systems 24/7, which exceeded ASHRAE and CDC recommendations of building system operations.
• HVAC system operations will transition to meet the CDC recommended practice of starting systems two hours prior to occupancy and going to an unoccupied setting two hours after normal occupancy. 
• Laboratory and special purpose facilities will continue to operate as they have before COVID, during the pandemic, and now post pandemic.
• Bathroom exhaust fans will return to normal operating mode in those buildings that have central heating and air conditioning systems.

July 5- August 2

Classroom Occupancy

• Over the course of the month, classrooms will return to their pre-pandemic seating arrangements. 
• Numbering will be removed from desks, floors, and chairs. Pre-pandemic occupancy signs will be reinstalled or uncovered.
• Full capacity should be restored for the fall semester.

Custodial Services

• Will continue twice weekly personal trash pickup 
• Will continue to transition staff from heavy disinfection activities to normal custodial operations with the remaining focus on high touch-point areas
• Signage and floor stickers used for queuing areas will be removed
• Furniture in common areas (lobbies, breakrooms, lounges, etc.) will be returned to pre-pandemic form

Facility Operations

• Will begin returning conventional drinking fountains to in-service over the course of the month
  • This includes external cleaning and sanitizing and extended potable water flushing according to the equipment manufacturer's recommended practice
  • Bottle fill stations will remain in service
• Facilities Management will continue to convert single use drinking fountains to dual use (conventional and bottle fill) or to bottle fill only, as appropriate to meet building code.  Please view the map of bottle fill stations for more information.

Building HVAC Systems

• Through July, we will continue to run campus HVAC systems on recommended CDC operating schedules (two hours before and post normal occupancy)
• Research laboratories and special purpose facilities and spaces will continue to operate on their permanent schedules as were in place prior and during the pandemic.
• Excess outside air cycles will be returned to code-required outside air configurations with the exception of spaces that have high occupant densitiy- this will include space such as band and choir practice rooms
• Demand control ventilation will be reinstated over the course of the month where applicable
• Bathroom vent fans in buildings with stand-alone heating and air conditioning systems will transition back to pre-pandemic operations