Self-reporting COVID-19 Infections or Exposure

Students, faculty and staff who test positive for COVID-19 or are exposed to or experience symptoms of COVID-19 must complete the checklist at go.niu.edu/covid-checklist. Login to the checklist using your NIU credentials. After completing the checklist, you will receive immediate guidance via email with important next steps. The customized, web-based checklist is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and it replaces the COVID-19 Helpline.

COVID-19 Screening Checklist

Have you recently received the COVID-19 vaccine?

Please do not submit a COVID-19 Screening Checklist if you recently received the COVID-19 vaccine and you are experiencing side effects of the vaccine (fever, chills, fatigue, headache, and body aches). A checklist should only be submitted if side effects begin or last 4 days following vaccination with day 1 being the date of the vaccination. For example, if the date of vaccination is Thursday, only submit COVID-19 Screening Checklist if side effects begin or last beyond Sunday.

A successful semester requires every member of the NIU community to take timely and definitive actions to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Based on the latest guidance from public health officials, these protocols are designed to help us quickly identify individuals who might be infected and to immediately take steps to prevent the spread of the disease. The protocols apply to any member of the campus community who meets any of the following criteria:

You have COVID-19.
You have been exposed to someone who is positive or presumed positive with COVID-19.
You are showing symptoms associated with COVID-19.

Flowchart to protecting yourself (PDF)

If you are an employee who meets any of those criteria, you should immediately contact your health care provider and self-quarantine until further guidance is provided by their health care provider or the DeKalb County Health Department (DCHD). You must also complete the COVID-19 Screening Checklist to answer a series of screening questions. Until cleared to return, you will be prohibited from entering the workplace or physically interacting with coworkers or students. Those who refuse to answer questions about whether they have COVID-19 symptoms and whether they have been tested will also be barred from campus.

Tracking and Tracing

When a member of the university is found to be infected, the DCHD will conduct contact tracing. Contact tracing is used to prevent the spread of infectious disease by identifying people who have an infectious disease and their contacts (people who might have been exposed) and working with them to interrupt disease transmission. For COVID-19, this includes asking individuals diagnosed with the virus to isolate and those they have been in contact with to quarantine at home voluntarily. The health department also will provide support and guidance for those who have potentially been exposed to the virus.

If you are a student who meets any of the above criteria, you must complete the COVID-19 Screening Checklist. You also should contact your health care provider. If the Northwestern Medicine Student Health Center at NIU is your health care provider, do not go to the health center without first calling (815-306-2777). After taking those steps, you should self-quarantine until receiving further guidance from your doctor or DCHD. If you fail to follow these guidelines, you might be referred to the university conduct process.

Personal Health