ODESSA, Texas — Colleges and universities in West Texas are welcoming their students back this week.
The first five days have run smoothly, but students' safety is still of utmost importance.
"Everyone has really taken to the guidelines we've put in place and they have adhered to those guidelines, so we're really thankful that people are willing to do whatever it takes so that we can minimize risk here on the campus and really maximize safety," Tatum Hubbard, UTPB Chief of Staff said.
UT Permian Basin has reminders all across campus that COVID hasn't gone away.
"A lot of campuses across the country are using these symptom tracker apps. So everyday, ours is called campus clear. Once you've done it a couple of times it even sends you a nice message each morning and says how are you feeling?," Hubbard said.
If a student feels symptoms or is exposed to someone with the virus, they can either fill out a report form through this app or via the campus website.
Then the university's contract tracing team will reach out to see who the student has interacted with, if they need a test or need to quarantine.
The form reporting and contract tracing team exist at Midland College and UTPB.
At Odessa College, students are asked to report to the Vice President of Student Services via email or phone immediately.
"We want to empower them to make smart health decisions so that they stay safe, so that their families are safe and so that our community is safe as well," Hubbard said. ________________________________________________________________
Contact information/report forms for each university and college:
- UT Permian Basin
- Midland College
- Odessa College: Contact the Vice President of Student Services via email kmckay@odessa.edu or phone 432-335-6683 immediately.