COVID-19 University Event Registration Information
At this time, community levels of COVID-19 are increasing, and event guidance is updated to reflect increased precautions to limit transmission of COVID-19. Gathering for events that include unmasked activity has increased risk of transmission of COVID-19 at this time. We all rely on layers of protection (including vaccination, masking, etc.) to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19 on campus. The below outlined measures and guidance for university events allows for members of our community to assess their own comfort and ability to participate in these activities, while ensuring that our Contact Tracing teams have the best information available to follow-up with identified cases on campus.
In-person, university-sponsored extracurricular activities (on or off campus) that bring together individuals outside of their primary job responsibilities or duties should continue to be registered in advance. Participation in social events remains a personal choice and should not be considered compulsory. All UIC events must follow the guidelines listed below. To register your event, please complete the form at the bottom of this page.
Key changes to current guidance:
- Risk awareness should be provided to participants. Unmasked activities are currently a risk for transmitting and acquiring COVID-19 because events may include participants from counties of moderate transmission risk.
- Masking is strongly recommended for all UIC sponsored events.
- Events that include eating and drinking must provide seating areas for individuals eating to unmask at a distance from those outside of their social circle or household
Unchanged guidance:
- Stay home and do not come to campus if you are ill or have COVID-19 symptoms. This continues to be the first and most important safety measure to maintain a healthy and safe campus environment.
- The risk of severe infection with COVID-19 can be mitigated by vaccination and treatment.
Please email COVIDEVENTPLAN@uic.edu with additional questions or information about event authorizations.
Please note that this events policy is subject to change based upon any continued developments in federal, state or local guidance (Updated: 7/18/22).
Event Registration or Review Process Heading link
EHSO Pre-Approval Requirements: Any event with over 100 attendees OR any event that requests deviations from the guidelines below must submit a safety plan for review and approval by the Environmental Health & Safety Office (EHSO) at least one (1) week in advance of the event. For these events, please complete the form at the bottom of the page.
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Student organization requests
NO CHANGE
UIC-registered student organizations wishing to reserve space for Student Center East, Student Center West, and outdoor areas in 2022 must use UIC Connection. Safety plans are required for events with over 100 people or requesting an exemption from the event guidelines. Spaces will be open and may have limited availability. Visit the Center for Student Involvement website to learn more and email StudentInvolvement@uic.edu with any questions or concerns.
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Health sciences colleges student organization requests
NO CHANGE
UIC-registered student organizations from health sciences colleges should work with their respective colleges for event approvals.
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UIC Colleges and Other Units
NO CHANGE
Event coordinators should submit their event registration using the form below. If the event is hosting more than 100 individuals or requesting an exemption from the current event guidelines, event coordinators should also include the event safety plan during registration.
COVID-19 University Events Guidance Overview Heading link
Updated on: July 18, 2022
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Safety Plan: Depending on Number of Attendees
NO CHANGE
Organizers must submit a safety plan for proposed events with more than 100 individuals or when requesting an exemption from the current event guidelines for each proposed event. -
Capacity: Conditional Limitations
NO CHANGE
- Indoor events: Limited to pre-pandemic, UIC Fire Marshall approved room capacity limits.
- Off campus events: Limited to City of Chicago (or applicable municipality) capacity mandates. Work with event site to determine appropriate capacity limits.
- Outdoor events: No capacity limits.
Please reference UIC’s COVID-19 Campus Visitor Guidelines about inviting external attendees to campus.
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Social Distancing: Conditional
CHANGE
- Indoor Event: NO social distancing required; however, event must provide seated areas for eating unmasked away from those outside of a social circle or household.
- Outdoor Event: NO social distancing required
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Masking: Strongly recommended in all settings
CHANGE
Masking is strongly recommended at UIC. Masking is required in healthcare, research, and instructional settings and on UIC and public transportation. The library is considered an instructional setting.
In other settings and for UIC events, masking is strongly recommended but not required.
Decision about wearing a mask is a personal decision based on a personal assessment of risk. These factors should be considered in a personal assessment of risk:
- level of community transmission
- vaccination against COVID-19 decreases risk of hospitalization and death significantly
- Recent infection (typically re-infection within 90 days is not likely; however, with new strains infection can occur within 90 days)
- For immunocompromised individuals, vaccination and for some prevention of infection with EvuSheld decreases the risk of hospitalization and death
Event organizers should strongly promote the wearing of masks at events.
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Eating & Drinking: Permitted with Safety Guidance
CHANGE
Eating and drinking is now permitted at university-sponsored events – on or off campus – outside of the health care, research and instructional settings.
Event organizers must provide spacing for any seated eating to allow for distance from those outside of a social circle or household when unmasked.
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Vaccination: Required (with exemptions)
CHANGE
Organizers should encourage all attendees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
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Monitoring: Required
NO CHANGE
The COVID-19 monitor should retain the name, UIN, email, and phone number of attendees if needed by contact tracers.
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Screening: Required
CHANGE
- Attendees: Organizers are encouraged to ask for documentation of COVID-19 vaccination and must ask health-screening questions to ensure no one ill is attending events.
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Contact Tracing
A key component of contact tracing is to obtain a list of persons who may have been exposed to infected individuals. If an individual receives a positive test result it will be important to begin compiling a list of persons with whom they have been in direct physical or close contact, particularly if that involved close contact (within 6 feet for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period, and is regardless of mask-wearing). For this purpose, it is important to maintain records of all individuals who participated in/attend an in-person university event.
UIC contact tracing will be in touch with anyone who receives a positive saliva test or submits a positive test result and provide any recommendations based upon any event participation, if any.
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Multiple Day Events
For events that take place over the course of multiple days, or for programming that welcomes visitors to campus over an extended period of time (e.g. several weeks), campus environmental health and safety or contact tracing may follow-up with specific recommendations or guidance. In general, multiple day events should take into consideration the following:
- Recommended issuing temporary UINs to allow for testing and access purposes.
- Endorsing the use of testing available on campus and throughout the community.
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Testing
Getting tested before joining any indoor gathering with others who are not in your household helps reduce the spread of COVID-19. A positive test result alerts individuals of infection and that gatherings should be avoided to reduce risk of spreading the disease to someone else. Throughout the pandemic, UIC has relied on COVID-19 saliva testing and contact tracing programs to minimize the spread of COVID-19 among our campus community. UIC now offers the SHIELD Illinois saliva-based test on campus. Read updated COVID-19 guidance for the summer and fall.
Assemble Your Event Safety Plan Heading link
Any event with over 100 attendees OR that requests deviations from the guidelines should submit a safety plan as outlined below.
- Event date, duration, frequency, proposed location, and expected number of attendees, purpose of the event/gathering
- If the event will be located indoors or outside, or involving a tent.
- If the event involves food or beverage and how it will be served.
- Proposed layout of the event showing locations of tables, where attendees will sit or stand, and hand sanitizer locations
- How the safety plan will be monitored and ensured
- How you intend to screen attendees to the event.
COVID-19 University Events Approval Form Heading link
Please complete the form below to register a university event.