Anticipating a difficult H1N1 flu season, UC Davis is asking deans and department chairs to plan how faculty members will accommodate sick students, and how they will cover their classes if many faculty members are out sick. Also, Information and Educational Technology offers information to support academic continuity and staff working from home.

In a Sept. 29 letter, Provost Enrique Lavernia and Academic Senate Chair Bob Powell ask deans and department chairs to plan for how their units will continue to teach if faculty are out ill with the H1N1 flu and how faculty will accommodate students who miss class because they are ill.

“It may be tempting to forgo planning and hope that the H1N1 virus does not seriously impact our operations,” they write. “The fact is that H1N1 has already impacted members of the campus community.”

To help out, IET has launched a pandemic Web site that was developed in collaboration with the campus emergency team — see iet.ucdavis.edu/pandemic. This site includes materials that describe the technology-based options, services and resources faculty may wish to use as temporary instruction alternatives. It also provides guidance on how to work from home.

If faculty or staff are feeling flu-like symptoms, they should contact their primary care providers.

More information on the campus’s H1N1 efforts, including tips and resources, can be found at www.ucdavis.edu/emergency/h1n1.