Guidelines for Off-Campus Activities, First Semester, SY 2022-2023 (OVPLS Memo)

The Loyola Schools recognizes that off-campus activities are an important component of our students’ education.

These past two years, however, students have not been allowed to conduct off-campus activities due to the COVID-19 situation.

Compared to the situation two years ago, however, when there was a lot of uncertainty regarding COVID-19, there was as yet no vaccination, and surges resulted in overwhelmed health care facilities, the situation today is much improved which opens the possibility of resuming off-campus activities.

Recognizing the pedagogical value of off-campus activities, starting this first semester, school year 2022-2023, courses may include off-campus activities as a component of their courses/programs but students in these courses may opt for alternatives to these off-campus activities^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}  that the instructor must specify in the syllabus.

The conduct of off-campus activities must follow the General Guidelines on the Conduct of Off-campus Activities of the Ateneo de Manila University issued by the President’s Council in October 2018. The 2018 guidelines can be found here: http://go.ateneo.edu/Guidelines-OffCampusActivities

The 2018 guidelines included but are not limited to the following requirements:

1. Off-campus curricular activities shall be included in the syllabus.
2. For college students, parent’s or guardian’s consent must be secured at least two (2) weeks before the activity.  The written consent must be given to the instructor who in turn will turn it over to their office head.
3. For field trips, educational tours, and immersion activities^[1], a risk assessment should be submitted to the office head of the instructor for approval two weeks prior to the activity. The following are the risk assessment forms for groups: http://go.ateneo.edu/RiskAssessment-Groups and for individuals:  http://go.ateneo.edu/RiskAssessment-Individuals
4. For field trips, educational tours, and immersion activities, a person-in-charge with first-aid and medical emergency training must be designated.

In addition to the 2018 guidelines, the following additional regulations are mandated given the current situation:

1. Students who were given permission to remain online may not participate in off-campus activities.
2. Participation in off-campus activities must be voluntary. Alternatives to off-campus curricular activities must be provided and clearly stated in the syllabus.
3. All off-campus activities are prohibited when the National Capital Region or the area where the off-campus activity will take place is at COVID Alert Level IV or higher; when CHED, the local government, or other relevant government agency so requires; or when the university administration deems it unsafe to proceed with off-campus activities due to COVID or other safety and security concerns.
4. Off-campus activities must comply with applicable IATF and CHED regulations on maximum capacity for indoor and outdoor activities depending on Alert Levels.
   
   1. Alert Level I: Full indoor and outdoor venue capacity
   2. Alert Level II: Maximum 50% indoor capacity and 70% outdoor capacity
   3. Alert Level III: Maximum 30% indoor capacity and 50% outdoor capacity
5. Faculty or professionals who plan to include off-campus activities in their courses must inform the Office of Student Services (oss.ls@ateneo.edu) of the nature and location of the activity. The Office of Student Services will apply for approval for off-campus activities from the relevant local government units, or, for activities outside the National Capital Region, may ask the faculty/professional to ask approval for off-campus activities from the relevant local government units. Note that processing of approvals will take at least one month.
6. Students who opt to participate in the off-campus activity have to fulfill the following requirements:
   
   1. They must submit to their instructor a signed Declaration and Undertaking at least two weeks prior to the activity. The Declaration and Undertaking can be found here: http://go.ateneo.edu/LSDeclarationUndertakingOffCampusEvent. The concerned instructor must submit the signed Declaration and Undertaking to the office head of the instructor before the activity.
   2. They must obtain health clearance from the Office of Health Services (OHS).
      
      1. For off-campus activities with less than 2 months of cumulative exposure, schedule an appointment with the OHS for assessment (healthservices.ls@ateneo.edu).  If you have active comorbidities, you may need to secure certification from a primary attending physician for fitness for the off-campus activity. Certificates coming from primary physicians must be in the physician’s letterhead with contact information.
      2. For off-campus activities with more than 2 months cumulative exposure:
         
         1. Secure a request for chest x-ray, complete blood count and urinalysis through email at healthservices.ls@ateneo.edu  If these laboratory results are available within the last 6 months, students may proceed to the next step. The student may accomplish these requirements from their own preferred laboratory/clinic.
         2. Once results are available, schedule an appointment with the OHS via Blue PHR.
         3. Bring the laboratory results to the OHS on the scheduled date of your appointment.  Certificate is issued on the day of the appointment presuming results of the tests are clear. If treatment is warranted based on the result, certification is waived until after treatment.
         4. If the students have their own private health care provider, they may secure a medical certificate reflecting the doctor’s letterhead with contact information for verification and provide a copy to the Office of Health Services via email. Laboratory requirements will still be required for submissions from external physicians.
   3. They must obtain clearance from the Office of Guidance and Counseling (guidance.ls@ateneo.edu).
   4. They must show proof of travel and health insurance to their instructor.
   5. Students doing fieldwork must submit an itinerary including information on transportation arrangements to their instructor as well as a tentative timetable for return visits two weeks prior to their initial fieldwork. For subsequent visits, students doing fieldwork must inform their instructor of their itinerary at least a day before the fieldwork.

Note that, as stated in the 2018 guidelines, international educational tours or field trips, internships, clerkships, on-the-job trainings (OJT), and practicums are excluded from these guidelines as these are governed by separate protocols or guidelines.

These guidelines are subject to change at any time, based on future advisories from the University or relevant government agencies (e.g. IATF, DOLE, DOH, LGUs, CHED, and/or DepEd).

^[1] _{Educational Tours- off-campus learning activities involving mobility of students with the supervision of a person-in-charge outside the premises of the institution which lasts for more than one (1) day, and involves relatively more places of destination than a field trip in accordance with specific degree program requirements.}

_{Field trip – off-campus learning activities involving mobility of students with the supervision of a person-in-charge outside the premises of the institution but is of relatively shorter duration usually lasting for one (1) day and with fewer places of destination.}

_{Immersion activities – curricular or non-curricular off-campus activities involving students spending a substantial amount of time in a marginalized or vulnerable community aimed to motivate students to be more socially aware of the realities in which they can make a positive impact.}