Reopen Fall 2020 Weekly Update: July 31, 2020

Please visit the Guide to Fall 2020 website for additional information. If you have questions, not answered there you can always email reopen@denison.edu or call 740-587-5607 from 10 am - 4 pm EST (voicemail is available after hours).

Letter from President Weinberg

President Weinberg’s July 29 letter to students and families about the fall semester and Denison’s work to build best safety protocols for the campus, based on science, data, and advice from experts in the field. He notes, “This year will be fluid and unpredictable. It will require us to continuously assess and respond to whatever is in front of us. Our plans are evolving and will continue to do so.”

Self Quarantine Reminder
As communicated in President Weinberg’s July 29 letter, we are asking all students to limit their exposure by self-quarantining starting August 1. This includes staying home, limiting visitors at home, not sharing things like towels and utensils, and if leaving the house is absolutely necessary, following very strict protocols related to mask wearing, social distancing, and hand washing. The more that every student can limit your exposure to others during these next two weeks, the less the likelihood that anybody brings COVID to campus.

Community Care Agreement
Denison is a deeply relational campus — students, faculty, and staff form incredible bonds that are the foundation of the unique Denison experience. We care about and for one another and we will rely heavily on that culture of caring this fall. This will be a semester unlike any other, and it will take the sincere commitment of every one of us to stay well so we can stay together on The Hill.

With input from students, we have finalized a Community Care Agreement that outlines the actions students will agree to take to protect their own health and that of their fellow Denisonians (students, faculty, and staff). The agreement outlines expectations for mask wearing, social distancing, socializing responsibly, participating in Denison’s testing protocols, and more (all of the things we’ve been communicating about over the last few weeks). It also makes clear that we will take violations of the commitment seriously. Each student returning to campus will receive an electronic version to sign before moving onto campus. All students received a copy of the agreement via email along with a link to sign and confirm their acceptance of the agreement. All students who intend to be on campus this fall must sign the agreement before moving in.

Students Committ to Denison's Culture of Caring

Travel Advisory
Recently, Governor of Ohio Mike Dewine issued a travel advisory recommending that “Those entering Ohio after travel to states reporting positive testing rates of 15% or higher for COVID-19 are advised to self-quarantine for 14 days.” In response, we have consulted with our experts and have contacted all students in these states with requirements for those students to fulfill prior to coming to campus. In addition to our protocols for all students to quarantine, and monitor and report their symptoms for 14 days prior to entering campus, these students are required to submit negative results from an SARS-CoV-2 RT PCR test.

IMPORTANT: COVID-19 Pre-Move In Training
On July 30, students received an email from the Wellness Center asking them to be on the lookout for an email from Awareness and Prevention Education that will be hitting inboxes in the next couple of days. The training takes 15-20 minutes to complete and we ask all students to complete it by Friday, August 7.

Daily Symptom Check-In Reminder
A reminder that we are asking all members of our community to monitor their symptoms daily. This past week, as we piloted the symptom-checking reminder system, we experienced a few hiccups the first day. Several students did not receive the email reminder and were not able to access the survey in their MyWellness Portal. However, by the second day every student received their reminder to check their symptoms and report them to the survey and we are happy to report that more than 1,700 recorded their symptoms on the second day of reporting! The survey reminders are sent to students every morning between 8 and 10 a.m. Please continue to monitor your health daily and submit the results in the survey. Helpful tip: bookmark the MyWellness Portal page on your device’s web browser to make your daily symptom check-in easier!

Return to Campus Checklist
This year, we are asking that students returning to campus pack lightly, leaving larger furniture at home. In addition, we’ve generated a list of things we think might be helpful to bring along:

Thermometer (for daily symptom checks)*
Personal cleaning supplies (disinfectant wipes and sprays, paper towels
Hand sanitizer *
Personal face masks *
Lawn/bag chair (to provide you the flexibility to socialize outdoor
* Please note that students should arrive on campus wearing a face mask. Denison is providing hand sanitizer and seven face masks to students as they come to campus. A thermometer will be available for those who forget theirs. We recommend that students bring extra supplies as an additional precaution.

And, before return, students must also:

Monitor symptoms daily
Self-quarantine starting August 1
Read and sign Community Care Agreement
Complete training module

Information Sessions

Upcoming sessions:

July 31 (Today) - Health and Wellness
August 5 - Residential and Social Life

If you are unable to attend, these sessions will be recorded and available for viewing on the links provided above. You may presubmit your questions for these sessions using this form.

Watch the recording of The Classroom Experience and Academic Life information session.

Questions of the Week

Is the academic day being extended? When will students be notified of the time and location of classes?
On July 30, students received an email confirming that the academic day will be extended. The new day runs from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. The extension of the academic day does not alter the frequency or duration of courses, it just changes the meeting times. The email informed students that by August 6, schedule adjustments to the new course grid will be available.

For students studying remotely, will classes be synchronous or asynchronous?
Some classes will be synchronous and some will be asynchronous depending on the course and how the faculty member is designing and planning to teach the course. Faculty will be updating NoteBowl over the next week to provide students with updated information on how courses will be conducted.

Can I take some of my classes remotely, even if I am on campus?
If students are on campus, they are expected to participate in their classes in the on-campus format their professors have indicated, unless they are ill or in isolation or quarantine.

Can I pick up my packages at Move-in?
Yes, packages that have been shipped to Denison may be collected at your Move-in time. We encourage families to take advantage of this option, and order items for students’ rooms that can be sent directly to Denison. Textbooks and course materials may also be pre-ordered and will be available for pick-up. This will allow students to fully stock their rooms without having to leave campus for a trip to the local big box stores, and give families more time to help their students unpack.

How do I retrieve items I stored at Denison this past Spring?

We plan to deliver items in storage to the students' rooms - items will be waiting for you when you arrive for your scheduled move-in time slot. More information is available here.

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This Week:

Letter from President Weinberg

Students Committ to Denison's Culture of Caring