Dear UH Faculty and Staff:

I am so grateful to all the members of our community who have worked diligently to support the University’s important mission of teaching and research while delivering on our operational plan to keep our campus safe during the pandemic.  We look forward to welcoming our community back to campus in the fall and returning to the face-to-face activities that we celebrate as University of Houston traditions.

Today, I am sharing details with you about two new opt-in programs, the Cougar Vaccination Incentive Program and the Cougar Testing Incentive Program.

For the Cougar Vaccination Incentive Program, through Sept. 30, 2021, all faculty and staff who choose to voluntarily participate in this program will receive $50 in ShastaBUCKS, and 10 randomly selected participants will have their faculty/staff parking permits paid for the 2021-22 academic year.  If you do not have a parking permit, you will receive $445 in ShastaBUCKS.

For the Cougar Testing Incentive Program, faculty and staff who complete COVID-19 testing at the on-campus Curative testing kiosk will receive a $2 credit each time they are tested.  The $2 credit can be applied to Cougar Cash or ShastaBUCKS.  Details on this program can be found on signage located near the Curative testing kiosk at the Student Center.  Similar incentive programs are available for students, and they will be receiving details on how to voluntarily participate in these programs from Richard Walker, vice president for student affairs and enrollment services.

If you have already received your COVID-19 vaccination, please log in to Access UH (uh.edu/access) and click on the Cougar Vaccination Incentive Program icon. You will receive specific instructions about uploading your documentation for verification.  After you submit your documentation, this document will be deleted, once it has been verified.

Need to be vaccinated? Use the Texas Health and Human Services website to help you find a vaccine location.  The data suggests that vaccination remains the best intervention for reliable protection.  If you have not been vaccinated, I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the pertinent information, consult with your doctor, and seriously consider being vaccinated.  Should you choose to get vaccinated, you can the follow the steps above to become a Cougar Vaccination Incentive Program participant.

All Cougar Vaccination Incentive Program participants are automatically eligible to participate in the parking permit incentive component of this program. The $50 in ShastaBUCKS incentive will be distributed beginning the week of August 23, after verification of documentation is confirmed, and will continue through Sept. 30.   The parking permit incentive component will be awarded the week of Oct. 4 and Parking and Transportation staff will contact recipients directly.  The incentives will be taxable income to faculty and staff.  If you have any questions about the Cougar Vaccination Incentive Program, please email coogvip@uh.edu.

Thank you for all that you do to support our UH Community, and we are looking forward to an amazing fall semester.

Go Coogs!