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Dear UMKC Faculty and Staff:
A few weeks ago, we shared our Roos Return plan with its phased approach for returning faculty and staff to campus. Today’s letter provides updates on how we are planning to be #RooReady to welcome students as classes begin Aug. 24. Our goal is to make our fall semester both safe, and academically and socially engaging, in this age of COVID-19.
Reopening for fall semester classes has many complexities as a result of the pandemic. Just one example: We are limiting classrooms to 25% of capacity in order to allow for recommended social distancing, so we need more classroom spaces and more sections of individual courses than ever before. We are reviewing our 5,887 courses to figure out which ones can remain in-person, while simultaneously developing blended and online options. For in-person classes, we have been mapping out how to spread those across campus while maintaining a great in-classroom experience. We are extending the school day and using every suitable space on campus to offer those in-person experiences.
That’s just one of the many logistical challenges. Here are some other updates:
Health and safety
Our overriding priority in preparing for the fall semester has been, and continues to be, the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff. Recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and local health agencies guide all of our planning. As those guidelines change or evolve, we will change with them.
We will be recommending, but not mandating, that everyone wear masks while on campus. We will have a hotline in place for reporting confirmed COVID cases so we can track cases and communicate any concerns to our campus. Furthermore, we will have stringent plans in place to disinfect facilities, install Plexiglas barriers and other important steps as part of our campus safety plan.
The academic experience
We are working hard to create engaging classroom experiences with a wide variety of delivery modes. Currently, the majority of our fall classes are scheduled to be in-person. That said, we plan to be ready if a COVID outbreak happens. Our guiding principle is that all courses need to be accessible and format flexible to allow for a quick and smooth transition.
We expect most students to have a schedule that combines in-person classes with some blended or online courses, unless they specifically request all online. But bear with us – the delivery mode, class times or room assignments may change as we finalize the schedule to balance in-person instruction with safety. Click here for more details.
The campus experience
Residential Life
Residence halls will be open with some modifications. Those include:
• Room Configuration: furniture will be arranged to maximize distance between individuals.
• Lobby/Front Desks: Sneeze guards and hand sanitizer stations have been installed at all front desks. Distribution of board games, kitchenware, etc. will be suspended.
• Guest policy: Once move-in is completed, guests will be limited to residents from the same building. Room-/suitemates are expected to respect each other’s reasonable requests for privacy and must have permission from their room-/suitemate(s) before hosting a guest.
• Study and Community Lounges: Will be closed.
Dining services
• Service at all locations, both residential dining and retail dining, will be either directly served or prepackaged. No self-service.
• Food service will offer a combination of pre-order take-out options and modified on-premise dining in the Dining Center and retail locations. On-premise dining will be limited to 50% of seating capacity at all locations.
• A new app will allow students to place orders, complete secure payment using their dining plan or payment card information, and schedule pick-up times at all locations.
• Dining Center hours will be modified to allow for more frequent cleaning and disinfection of the dining area between meal periods, while offering longer periods of time for students to access the full breakfast, lunch and dinner offerings.
• All locations will move toward contactless entry and transaction. FreedomPay at all locations currently accepts Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Student activities
We are planning a variety of co-curricular programs, events and activities that will take place both on campus and virtually during the fall semester. We’ll begin with our Week of Welcome program, a chance for new students to explore campus, make new friends and learn what it takes to succeed at UMKC. The schedule of events will be updated soon.
Our campus community is approaching these preparations in a serious and responsible manner. All of us are in this together and with cooperation, collaboration and mutual support, we will have a great semester!
Looking forward to seeing you this fall.
Sincerely,
Jenny Lundgren, Ph.D.
Provost
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