What you need to know about returning to campus

Welcome Trojans, to the Health Sciences Campus! Whether you’re a faculty member, staffer, returning student or just joining us, please help us promote your wellbeing as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. We have established new accommodations and rules at HSC. On this page you’ll find information about what remains open and what areas and services are closed; operating hours for dining and other services; new procedures; and where to turn if you have questions. The number one goal is to keep everyone safe, while also providing the most rewarding experience possible.

Building Access

How to access a building

All students, employees and visitors are required to complete a daily symptom check prior to entering facilities on campus. The daily symptom self-assessment is performed via Trojan Check (please visit the link for more information on Trojan Check).

Depending on the building, protocols will be established for safe distancing while entering and exiting the building and classrooms. Strategies will be implemented such as separate entryways for students to reduce bottlenecks when students enter and leave class.

Entry into rooms on campus is strictly prohibited unless you are attending a class at that time; have reserved the room for a specific time; your PI has requested access for you to perform bench research; or you are utilizing assigned study space.

Building-specific guidelines will be provided to students regarding entry procedures, assigned doors for entry, and common space usage.

Important links to review when visiting campus:

Safety Protocols

The following protocols are required for all:

  • Maintain physical distance from others (at least 6 feet or 2 meters).

  • Wear a face covering at all times while on campus.

  • Practice good hand hygiene by washing hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

  • Avoid in-person group interactions whenever possible. When group meetings must occur, please utilize physical distancing and wear a face covering.

  • Maintain compliance with Fire/Life Safety Codes and Regulations for occupancy, exiting, and access for persons with disabilities.

  • Monitor yourself for signs and symptoms and stay home if you feel sick, particularly if you have a fever, cough, or difficulty breathing. (CDC’s list of COVID-19 symptoms)

What to do if you are sick/exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms:

  • Students: please contact USC Student Health at 213-740-WELL (213-740-9355)

  • Faculty and Staff: please contact your health provider, notify your supervisor. Telecommute if possible, and please seek guidance from your HR partner. If you have been in a USC facility, please notify the university by calling the COVID-19 hotline at 213-740-6291

  • More information can be found at: https://we-are.usc.edu/faqs/health-and-safety-faqs

Scrubs:

In order to avoid the spread of germs from patient care areas to the general public, we encourage you to limit your interactions following class to only necessary communication or change your clothes before going to common areas for mealtimes or other authorized group activities.

Tent usage protocols:

Tents are being installed in the Pappas Quad area. Tents could potentially be used as breakout areas, for eating lunch or for studying. Physical distancing will need to be maintained in the tents, and furniture will be placed to help maintain distancing. Capacity of tent is around 30%.

Additional information on tents is forthcoming.

On-campus study spaces:

In addition to the tents on Pappas Quad, programs will assign available study space to students in their program. Capacity signs and safe space usage guidelines will be posted in the spaces.

Norris Medical Library

Norris Medical Library is closed until further notice.

Lounge areas:

All lounges at this time are closed.

Restrooms:

  • Maintain physical distancing when using restroom

  • Wear a face covering while in restroom

  • Leave every other stall unoccupied

  • Use paper towels to dry hands after hand washing

  • Use a dry paper towel to operate door handles and locks

  • Use toilet seat covers

  • Close the toilet lid (if available) before flushing

  • Use wipes or cleaners if provided to wipe over the surfaces you touched

  • Avoid personal care, such as combing of hair, applying makeup and brushing teeth, in restrooms

Elevators:

  • Maintain 6’ distance while waiting in elevator lobbies.

  • Maintain 6’ distance while in an elevator.

  • Please adhere to any posted signage restricting capacity

Stairwells:

  • In staircases, if you see someone is in the staircase, wait at the stair landing for them to pass safely.

  • Staircases should be used instead of elevators, where feasible, to minimize elevator usage.

  • Please adhere to any posted signage restricting capacity

Visit the USC Environmental Health & Safety Safety Protocol Resource Page

Food and Beverage Options

The following facilities are available:

Starbucks

  • Open Monday through Friday 6:30am to 3PM

    • Closing early due to reduced student population on campus daily

      • Will track sales and increase hours as necessary based on the needs of the business

    • No changes to menu or service provided

    • GrubHub ordering recommended to avoid groups and gathering while waiting for customers items

    • Social distancing signage and floor dots already in place

Panda Express

  • Open Monday through Friday 10:30am to 3pm

  • Closing early due to reduced student population on campus daily

  • Will track sales and increase hours as necessary based on the needs of the business

  • No changes to menu or service provided

  • GrubHub ordering recommended to avoid groups and gathering while waiting for customers items

  • Social distancing signage already in place, floor dots will be installed to further ensure social distancing

Plaza Marketplace/Verde

  • Open Monday through Friday 7am to 3pm

  • Closing early due to reduced student population on campus daily

  • Will track sales and increase hours as necessary based on the needs of the business

  • No changes to the menu or service provided

  • Additional classic favorite items added to the GrubHub menu offering more variety as well as lower pricing

  • Items with longer preparation time offered on GrubHub only to avoid gathering while waiting for these items to be made

  • Social distancing signage already in place, floor dots will be installed to further ensure social distancing

Qwench

  • Closed

Soto Cart

  • Closed

It is critical that all Trojans at HSC strictly follow the above guidelines to safeguard the health and safety of all who enter the HSC campus.

Parking:

  1. Effective immediately, parking will remain free for all USC Faculty, Staff and Students through December 31, 2020, subject to the following conditions:
    • Permits ARE still required. If you previously purchased a permit online and have it in your possession, please put it on your vehicle and display it at all times while parked at USC. If you do not yet have a permit, but need one, please log into (or create) your Transportation account here, and order one. Again, you will not be charged for the Fall semester, but you need to display a permit so we know you are a USC constituent and your vehicle will not be cited. All new permits purchased online now may be printed from home so they can be used immediately; when ordering online, please use a future date (e.g., tomorrow) for the effective date, and 12/31/2020 as the expiration date.
    • Parking is ONLY free in normal, unreserved spaces in the campus parking structures, OR the location specified by your existing permit type. (For example, if you have a Troy Hall permit, you may park in Troy Hall OR any normal, unreserved space in a campus structure.) Citations will still be issued if you park in any red zone, ADA space, pay-by-plate location, EV space, or other reserved area without the appropriate permit for that particular space.
  2.  

  3. Parking for campus guests, vendors, contractors, department reservations and any other non-USC permit holders will be the normal rate of $14/day. All campus parking zone restrictions still apply.

  4. On August 7, Senior Vice President David Wright and Chief Health Officer Dr. Sarah Van Orman announced the health requirements regarding access to campus (see memo here). Everyone who comes to campus, including faculty, staff, students, guests, contractors, etc., will be required to show proof of their daily health attestation at various vehicle or pedestrian Trojan Checkpoints. The fastest and easiest way to do this is using the Trojan Check app. Anyone who cannot show proof will be asked to pull over/step aside and complete a health attestation before entering campus. 

Resources

If you have any questions, please review the following online resources:

Faculty Resources:

Zoom Teaching Studios –  Faculty have a variety of venues from which to teach online classes. In addition to using their home or their on-campus office, an instructor can reserve an empty USC classroom. KSOM also has five new Zoom teaching studios, complete with high-quality monitors, microphone and lighting. Read this story for more information and a link to reserve a room.

Important Phone Numbers:

Important Email Addresses: