Ahead of the faculty return to campus, university officials asked faculty and staff to work from home during the first week of January. 
In a Jan. 2 press release, Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President Greg Hartman announced a brief move to online operations from Jan. 3 to Jan. 7 in order to prevent the rapid spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19 across Texas after family gatherings during the holidays. An exception will be made for all employees who provide onsite duties. 
“Talk to your supervisor if you’re unsure about whether you should return to the office/workplace tomorrow, Jan. 3, or if you should work remotely,” Hartman said in the release. 
The press release also shared recommendations that the university “strongly encourages,” though does not require, including COVID-19 and flu vaccination, COVID-19 testing before returning to campus and mask wearing while inside buildings. The release also reminded employees they should not attend work if they are ill and should self-report all COVID-19 positive cases to the university portal for monitoring.
Additionally, the release stated need-to-know reminders regarding the COVID-19 pandemic including the shortened isolation period announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, and information on the transmissibility of the new omicron variant. 
“New protocols recently outlined by the CDC specify the shortened recommended isolation and quarantine period after testing positive or having a close contact with someone who has the virus,” Hartman said in the release. “Even if a person is vaccinated, they still can contract the virus, but their symptoms are expected to be considerably milder.”