Mercy College Flu Reporting

Policy for Absence from Classroom Lectures or Skills Laboratories: A student who shows symptoms commonly associated with seasonal flu should self-isolate and refrain from attending classes in order to limit the spread of the disease to other members of the class or instructor(s).  In the event this would result in an absence from classroom lectures or participation in skills lab sessions, the student will be required to go online to the College website and electronically complete a “Flu Self-report Form” and submit it noting all classroom teachers’ whose lectures/skills labs the student will miss.  The absence from class for a reported case of the flu will only count as one (1) occurrence (regardless of the number of days a student is away).  The classroom teachers will then communicate with the student electronically to determine what areas of class content the student can and should make-up while the student is away from the classroom.

It is the student’s obligation to follow-up with classroom teachers to ensure that required missed content is completed as outlined in course syllabi.  Failure to complete required make-up content may lead to a lower grade or failure of the course. The student with computer access should send the form by email for each day they are absent with flu symptoms.

Policy for Absence from Clinical Rotations: A student who shows symptoms commonly associated with seasonal flu should self-isolate and refrain from attending clinical rotations in order to limit the spread of the disease to patients or other health care workers.  In the event that this would result in an absence from clinical rotations, you will be required to go online to the College website and electronically complete a “Flu Self-report Form” and submit it noting your clinical instructor.  The absence from a clinical rotation for a reported case of the flu will only count as one (1) occurrence (regardless of the number of clinical rotations you are away).  Make-up fees associated with clinical rotation absences will only be charged once during a bout of flu this academic year.  Repeated bouts of the flu will result in additional clinical fees being charged in the same manner.  Your clinical instructor will then communicate with you electronically to determine how you should plan to make-up missed clinical experiences.

It is the student’s obligation to follow-up with clinical instructors to ensure that required missed content is completed as outlined in course syllabi.  Failure to complete required make-up content from clinical rotations may lead to a lower grade or failure of the course. The student with computer access should send the form by email for each day they are absent with flu symptoms.

Reporting Procedures for Students without Home Computer Access: Students who do not have access at home to a computer to report a flu illness should stop by the Campus Receptionist workstation to pick up paper copies of the “Flu Self-report Form” so that they may have them at home in case they are absent.  These students will need to contact all instructors as outlined in course syllabi to inform them that they will be absent at the beginning of the illness and in advance of return to class/skills labs/clinical rotations.  The “Flu Self-report Form” should be submitted to the College student health office upon return to class as outlined in this document, in order to comply with reporting requirements for the incidence of flu absences.

Procedures for Students Enrolled in Online-only and Web-assist Distance Learning Courses: Students enrolled in online-only courses, who do not need to visit a Mercy campus (College or Medical Center) as part of the coursework, are excluded from any requirement to obtain a free seasonal flu vaccination in those semesters.  Should on-campus courses be required for Spring 2010 for example, these students would need to participate in a free vaccination clinic.

Determining When to Return to School: The CDC recommends that individuals with influenza-like illness remain at home and away from other people until at least 24 hours after they are free of fever, or signs of a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medications.  This could take from 2-5 days based on recent experience this flu season.

Mercy College will not require a medical doctor’s note to return to class or clinical rotations following a bout of the flu.  Students should send an electronic “Flu Self-report Form” to their instructors and the College student health nurses the night before their anticipated return to class.  Students do not need to visit the College student health nurses for permission to return to class or clinical rotations for absences caused by the flu this academic year.