Hanson urges faculty to loosen attendance rules in face of H1N1 virus

Ho-fung Hung is no stranger to epidemics. For the assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, the threat of H1N1 brings back memories of the 2003 SARS outbreak.

Hung was finishing his dissertation at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology when the government shut down the university two months into the semester. All classes went online.

Although swine flu is less serious than SARS, IU is preparing for the worst.

Before the start of school, provost and executive vice president Karen Hanson sent out guidelines to faculty, urging them to prepare for an onset of the H1N1 virus. Hanson recommended that faculty learn how to conduct classes online and consider loosening rules for attendance and extensions, such as not requiring proof of illness or not enforcing penalties.

“To limit the spread of any highly communicable disease, it is very important that individuals with the flu stay away from classes, labs and other gatherings and that they do not go to crowded locations like health services and physicians’ offices solely to obtain documentation of illness,” Hanson said in a memo to faculty.

Check tomorrow's edition of the Indiana Daily Student for the full story.