Continuing Research & Creative Activities

Colorado State University and the Office of the Vice President for Research are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic with a centralized plan for gradually returning research and creative work to campus and off-site locations.

Beginning May 17, 2021, the third phase of increasing in-person operations will begin. Laboratory occupancy will return to up to 100%. Pandemic health measures remain in place – face coverings at all times with sanitation protocols in place. Other updates to our current operations include:

• No restrictions or approvals required on domestic travel.
• International travel requires two approvals.
• Office spaces require 3 ft distancing.
• The RTW plans are no longer required.
• Expected practices have been summarized by PPT here.

The research community prides itself on a purposeful return to research and creative works that focused first on researcher health. The initial phase started on May 28 to incrementally increase in-person operations to 30% building occupancy and included an approval process designed to ensure pandemic health, lab safety and health-monitoring processes are in place for on- and off-campus research and creative works.

Based on the ability to maintain compliance with regional, state, and national safety guidance, we began the second phase on July 1 to increase in-person operations to 50% building occupancy. This percentage may change. The occupancy of all rooms and spaces must be monitored for 6 feet of physical distancing. When accommodating that requirement, the vast majority of rooms and spaces will be occupied by far fewer individuals than 50 percent capacity.

In both the first and second phases of return to research operations, the focus was placed on projects identified as high-priority using criteria developed by the colleges in collaboration with the OVPR. Faculty were asked to work in close partnership with departmental, college, and university leadership to develop health and safety plans to return to operations. As we continue to increase capacity on campus, we remain focused on researcher health.