A Safe Return to Campus
Community Commitment to Strengthened MIT Sloan Values
Nothing could be more central to our school’s mission than to develop and implement principled, innovative ways to maintain our community’s health and well-being during a public health crisis while helping communities across the world whom we can impact positively through the example of our success. This challenge is significant because any one of us could unwittingly spread the novel coronavirus if we follow our usual habits for interacting and building community.
We will strengthen our community by helping one another develop new habits that Follow the Four Ws. Compliance with these norms will be expected. We will work together to strengthen support for these community values.
Our Commitment to Keep Campus Safe + Open
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Section 1: Living Our Mission and Values
The mission of the MIT Sloan School of Management is to develop principled, innovative leaders who improve the world and to generate ideas that advance management practice. We believe that now, more than ever, the world needs the kind of leaders and ideas we are known for at MIT Sloan. We also know that, at least for the next year, our community must reinvent many of the ways in which we deliver on our mission.
As we face this challenge together, we seek to balance important goals: the desire to maximize a sense of community, teamwork, and in-person and hands-on interactions as foundational aspects of our approach to education, and the imperative to keep the health of all of our community members at the center of everything we do.
MIT Sloan’s community values will be critical to our shared effort to provide best-in- class educational experiences for our students and to generate ideas made to matter in the world while also keeping our community safe. We expect that each individual in our community—faculty, staff, and students—will commit, in very specific and active ways, to not only personally live by these values but also hold others accountable to them. We will be especially focused on these applications of our MIT community values in the coming year:
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We are an integral part of the MIT community and located in Cambridge, MA. Therefore, at all times, we must adhere to Institute, city, and state laws, regulations, policies, and guidelines regarding public health and safety to minimize the risk of COVID-19 infections both on the MIT campus and in the surrounding communities.
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In our appreciation for the unique circumstances each of us faces, we recognize that each individual in our community has the uninterrupted right to continuously assess their personal COVID-19-related health risk and make choices to protect their health and well- being.
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We understand that we will be required to be flexible and adaptive in the face of the evolving risks posed by the COVID-19 virus. Policies and processes may change in order to ensure that we maintain the appropriate level of safety for our entire community and we will change with them.
Section 2: Expectations of Individuals
In order to uphold these principles and to maintain the health of our entire community, MIT is dedicated to providing timely and accurate information about public health guidelines and expectations. It is incumbent upon each of us as individuals to read, know, and adhere to these guidelines, both when we are on and when we are off campus.
MIT has the following expectations of individuals based on the need for MIT Medical to provide testing in a timely and effective manner and to respond to positive tests in a way that best limits the spread of the virus. Each community member who wishes to have access to campus agrees and commits to the following:
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I will follow all guidance from MIT Medical as well as city, state, and federal authorities regarding testing and self-quarantine procedures.
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I will pay attention to my health status. If I exhibit symptoms of COVID-19, test positive for COVID-19, or come into close contact with someone who I know has symptoms of COVID-19 or has tested positive for COVID-19, I will stay in my on-campus room, suite, or apartment, or off-campus residence, self-isolate, notify MIT Medical, and await further instructions.
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I agree to comply with MIT’s COVID-19 testing requirements and health monitoring practices and to complete a daily health attestation using the COVID Pass including reporting on deviations (as defined by MIT Medical) from my individual normal health metrics as observed on my wearable and home devices provided by MIT Sloan.
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I will self-monitor by using a wearable personal device provided by MIT to measure and report, as part of my daily health attestation, deviation from my individual normal health metrics (based on guidance from MIT Medical) of body temperature, heart rate, breathing rate, and oxygen saturation level.
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I will keep my own wearable measurement data. If I test positive for COVID-19, I will allow data from my wearable device from the preceding week to be provided to MIT Medical. (Data from an individual’s wearable device will not be gathered by MIT unless that person’s results indicate a possible infection).
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I understand that I may not enter campus buildings without an approved daily individual health attestation using the COVID Pass.
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I will provide truthful contact tracing information as requested by MIT Medical or public health authorities.
In addition to the above, each of us will have responsibilities with respect to our personal conduct both on and off campus.
On campus:
- When in ANY shared community space, I will wear an approved face mask or covering and maintain appropriate social distancing as instructed AT ALL TIMES. These spaces include, but are not limited to:
- Classrooms
- Labs
- Cafés and other food-service areas (approved face coverings are required unless stated and eating)
- Hallways in both academic and residential buildings
- Common areas in both academic and residential buildingsMIT Sloan School of Management
- Outdoor campus spaces (e.g., pathways, gardens, and courtyards)
- During meetings or gatherings with other students, staff, or faculty
- I will respect building protocols:
- I will use only my own MIT ID card to access campus spaces. I will not “tailgate” into buildings on another’s card swipe, nor will I allow others to tailgate on my card.
- In order to meet campus density requirements, I will come to campus ONLY on my scheduled class days and times.
- I will observe appropriate entry and exit points, using only my assigned entrance and following new signage designed to minimize crowding.
- I will follow wayfinding indicators and other signage designed to maintain social distancing.
- I will not gather with others in hallways between classes or at other times.
- I will observe posted restroom protocols.
- I will follow guidelines for group gatherings both indoors and outdoors, and will neither host nor participate in gatherings that exceed attendance limits, whether school-sponsored or not.
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I will comply with any other building or classroom norms and expectations.
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I will not invite anyone to campus who is either non-MIT affiliated or otherwise unauthorized to be on campus.
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I will follow recommended hygiene practices, including thorough, frequent hand washing and the use of hand sanitizer, especially when returning from outside, after using a restroom, and before meals.
Off campus:
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I will stay home if I am sick, even if I am experiencing symptoms of an illness other than COVID-19.
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I will consistently comply with evolving MIT, state, and federal travel guidelines and policies.
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I will follow guidelines for group gatherings both indoors and outdoors, and will neither host nor participate in gatherings that exceed attendance limits, whether school- sponsored or not.
In our shared effort to maintain community health, we must work together as a community to follow these new behaviors and to keep our campus safe. Each of us commits to being open to and accepting of corrections from others when they remind us to follow these guidelines.
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I will actively encourage correction and reminders from other community members regarding potential infractions—for example, if I forget to wear my approved face covering or don’t observe social distancing.
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I will take initiative to remind other community members to follow the guidelines as needed.
As we work together to follow these safety guidelines, we will continue to live our MIT Sloan values and treat each other with fairness and caring. We will intervene respectfully only when an individual is in clear violation of a guideline, and report infractions only after making an honest attempt to address these infractions in an empathetic and thoughtful manner. If any one of us is not following guidelines and needs to be reminded to do so by another community member, we will respond respectfully and immediately comply with the stated protocols.
I understand that failure to comply with the expectations above may result in an “after- action-review” by the Strengthening MIT Sloan Values Committee and/or a referral to the MIT Committee on Discipline. I also understand that interim measures—including immediate removal or restriction from campus—may also be taken to protect MIT and surrounding community members.
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