To: Rensselaer Faculty and Staff
From: Robert E. Palazzo, Ph.D., Provost; Curtis N. Powell, SPHR, Vice President for Human Resources
Date: October 5, 2009

As part of Rensselaer's business continuity and pandemic planning process, the Institute's Emergency Operating Committee has continued to meet to assess information provided by federal, state and local health officials in anticipation of a potential outbreak of the H1N1 and seasonal flu viruses. An outcome of this initiative was the development of a temporary attendance data collection tool that will be used to obtain daily information on the number of ill faculty and staff. The Student Health Center and Office of Residence Life have developed and implemented a separate system to track student reported influenza cases.

For employees, a web-based business continuity planning tool has been established for Rensselaer faculty and staff to enter daily attendance data related to H1N1 influenza or seasonal flu viruses. This is a temporary tool, designed for the exclusive use of Rensselaer leadership to determine how best to continue academic and administrative operations. Also, the information collected will assist with tracking the spread of the illness and the assessment of our capacity to continue teaching and work schedules on a daily basis.

To track faculty and staff cases, the system will rely on the self-reporting by faculty and staff, or reporting by designated department attendance coordinators. The system will be Web-based, with a Website for faculty or staff members or designated administrators to access daily. In order to be effective, this system will require that faculty and staff communicate each business day whether they are experiencing flu-like symptoms and their physical location (i.e., working on campus; working from home with administrative portfolio and academic dean approval; working elsewhere; or not working). Completing the online form will take approximately two to four minutes the first time it is completed, and no more than two minutes each day thereafter.

The data collection tool, which will be implemented on Thursday, October 8, 2009, does not replace the requirement to contact your department directly to report attendance in accordance with your department's standard procedures. It also does not replace the current procedures to request and receive approval for leaves of absence, such as Paid Time Off (PTO), Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave or Short-Term Disability.

Each administrative portfolio and academic school has designated an attendance tool coordinator, who will be responsible for ensuring data are reported for faculty and staff on a daily basis. We have scheduled a briefing session for those individuals on Tuesday, October 6, 2009, 3:00-4:30 p.m. in the Darrin Communication Center (DCC), Room 324.

Faculty and staff members are requested to familiarize themselves with the data collection tool by viewing a brief webinar (http://mmsbreeze.itops.rpi.edu/p35459634/) prior to October 8. If you have any questions regarding this process, please contact Mr. Larry Hardy, Director, Division of Human Resources via email at hardyl2@rpi.edu or via telephone at extension 3065.

For additional information and updates about H1N1, please see Rensselaer's Web page at http://www.rpi.edu/about/flu/index.html for Institute information, and www.cdc.gov/H1N1flu for government information.

Thank you for your cooperation and assistance, as we work together to minimize the impact of the H1N1 and the seasonal flu on our community.