This page contains information for faculty and other researchers about UT and CNS' multi-level approach to increasing research operations in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On September 11, 2020, the Office of the Vice President for Research announced plans to allow some forms of human subjects research to resume on campus and to increase the workforce density cap to 50% beginning September 23. The increase on workforce density applies not only to human subjects research but to all research groups currently authorized to conduct on-campus research under RL3. Read the full announcement here. Additionally, the Office of the Vice President of Research announced that beginning October 14, 2020, undergraduate students may resume on-campus research with the approval of their supervising Research Level 3-approved principal investigator (PI). Please note that these announcements apply only to investigators who are RL3-approved. If you are not currently approved, please follow the instructions below to apply for RL3 approval.
REQUEST RL3 APPROVAL
If you are NOT currently approved for RL3 activity, email CNS_SRI@austin.utexas.edu for information about submitting a RL3 request.
ADJUST YOUR COHORT COMPOSITION
If you are currently approved for RL3 activity but need to adjust your cohort composition (including adding undergraduates), please email CNS_SRI@austin.utexas.edu to receive a link to revise your cohort selection. If you decide to reorganize the personnel in your cohorts, any researchers reassigned or added to an existing cohort must quarantine themselves for 10 days prior to returning to campus in their new cohort.
All researchers in the same building or complex will need to follow the same cohort schedule. This applies even if you do not wish to bring back additional members of your group and instead choose to maintain your lab as a single cohort at less than 50% workforce density. Cohort model details and schedule for your building are available on the CNS Cohort Models webpage.
RL3 caps the Workforce Number at 50% of the total research workforce, which refers to the maximum allowable percentage of researchers on-site. Visit the Research Restart FAQs page (link below) for clarification on calculating your Workforce Number.
Please do not resume projects that cannot be stopped again on short notice. We should anticipate the possibility of returning to more restricted research levels, should COVID-19 infections rise again.
Refer to the steps, links, and resources below to learn more about research activities permitted in this level and to find useful templates for resuming research in your lab.
begin or reactivate human subjects research
Three requirments must be in place before you may reactivate or begin face-to-face interactions with study participants:
- You must have approval through the CNS Associate Dean for Research.
- You must have IRB-approval for the activities you will conduct. If your study procedures are already approved, no further notification to the IRB is necessary for reactivation.
- The study must fall within the scope of the currently approved Human Subjects Research Restart Tiers (A, B, and C). Details are available here.
Submit a RL3 Research/Fieldwork Restart Request
If you are not currently approved for RL3 activity email CNS_SRI@austin.utexas.edu for information about submitting a RL3 request. Even if you have a current research exemption, you still need to request approval for this level of research activity.
Submit an RL3 Personnel Request
If you are currently approved for RL3 activity but need to adjust your cohort composition (including adding undergraduates), please email CNS_SRI@austin.utexas.edu to receive a link to revise your cohort selection. If you are submitting a personnel/chort request for the first time, follow the steps below.
Step 1
Confirm that you have are eligible to submit a RL3 Personnel Request. To be eligible to submit a RL3 Personnel Request you must have an approved CNS Research Restart Request for Research Level 3. If you are not currently approved for RL3 activity email CNS_SRI@austin.utexas.edu for information about submitting a RL3 restart request. Once approved for RL3 activity, confirm the cohort model adopted for the building in which your primary lab is located. Cohort model details and schedule for your building are available on the CNS Cohort Models webpage.
Step 2
Gather and prepare all applicable information required for submitting your personnel request, in particular research personnel contact information, EIDs, and work location(s) building and room number(s). Buildings must be identified using official 3-character abbreviations. Requests that do not provide the 3-character abbreviation will be returned for revision. Refer to the UT Maps webpage for official building abbreviations. Review the CNS RL3 Personnel Request Guide (link below) before you begin completing the online request form. The guide provides information required for your submission.
Step 3
Complete the RL3 Personnel Request. CNS will process your request in the order they are received and will return approvals as quickly as possible.
Protect Texas Together
With the launch of the Protect Texas Together App for students, faculty and staff (available to download here), the CNS daily health attestation survey has been retired. The Protect Texas Together app is designed to help individuals track their symptoms each day and — based on those symptoms — indicate whether they are cleared to come to campus. While completely voluntary, use of the app is strongly encouraged for anyone coming to campus.
Here’s some information about how the Protect Texas Together App works:
- Users can track their symptoms each day with the app, which can provide a daily campus pass for those without any major COVID-19 symptoms.
- If the app’s algorithm determines that an individual may have COVID-19 based on the symptoms that person selected, the app will decline to provide a pass and instead direct the user to contact either University Health Services or UT Health Austin for guidance or testing. Faculty and staff members can also go to the provider of their choice.
- Beyond daily symptom screening, the app allows users to easily and quickly log in and out of campus rooms (for contact tracing purposes), access local COVID-19 information and resources and connect their EID to a proactive community test ID, should they volunteer for asymptomatic testing.
- The Room Check-In and History function will be used for contact tracing purposes in case there is an outbreak in your building, and we urge you and your staff to use it throughout the day. This is especially important for the common spaces shared among different labs (core facilities, instrument rooms, stockrooms, etc.).
- For those without a smartphone, a phone-based survey application is also available by dialing 800-325-8903. This uses the same algorithm as the app to indicate whether a person is safe to come to campus, but works on any phone. The phone-based survey requires a unique access code, which is available here. Those without internet access or in need of further assistance should call the UT Service Desk at 512-475-9400
- Campus visitors without EIDs can use this symptom-monitoring app developed by the CDC if they wish. community.
Links and Resources
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Outlines all of the information you will need to complete the CNS RL3 Restart Request Form.
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Outlines all of the information you will need to complete the CNS RL3 Personnel Request Form.
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Policies, best practices, and a checklist for resuming research operations in your lab.
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Current Level: 3. Limited research activity has resumed on site.
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Answers to frequently asked questions regarding research restart.
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Resources and procedures for planning the restart of your research operations
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Sign-in template to capture critical information for contact tracing
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Visit VPR's Research Restart page for more information and resources.
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