| Dear Red Wolves Students:
As you get ready to come to campus this fall, I wanted to let you know the ways things will be different compared to Fall 2019. Like everyone else in America, our operations have been significantly impacted by coronavirus. We have described general changes that the entire campus will experience this fall in our Return to Learn plan (especially from an academic perspective). I also wanted to provide you with specific details about how student life will be affected.
Before we get to the details, please know that we are continuously monitoring the spread of coronavirus locally and across the state. When we started creating our Return to Learn plan, COVID-19 was predicted to peak in late April. Now, it looks like it may happen in October (although predicting the spread of COVID-19 has been very challenging for the experts). Governor Asa Hutchinson was sufficiently concerned about the data that he mandated the wearing of masks across Arkansas, starting this week. Our hope is that this new mandate will significantly reduce the number of people testing positive for COVID-19. If things deteriorate significantly, please understand that we may need to shift to all-online instruction, just as we did in the spring. The timing for that decision will be determined by the virus, by science, and the actions we take. The good news is that we learned a lot from the spring, and I am confident that we are much better prepared to make that transition if we need to. But the ONLY way for us to remain on campus this fall is for all of our students and employees to follow the COVID-19 directives that we have put in place. I have faith in the A-State family’s ability to keep their fellow Red Wolves safe.
Living on Campus
We already have more than 300 of your fellow Red Wolves students living in our residence halls and enrolled in on-campus classes for the Summer II semester. We anticipate the residence halls being open for the Fall 2020 semester this August as well. In the coming weeks, residents will be assigned an individual move-in time. Instead of move-in day being concentrated on just a couple of days, we will spread the process out over a three-week period prior to the first day of class, which, by the way, is Tuesday, August 25, this year – not on Monday as in the past. We want to reduce crowding and help you acclimate to the campus.
The residence halls have been thoroughly cleaned and the furniture in common areas has been rearranged to comply with physical distancing rules. We have posted community standards reminders to help you remember the new rules. And, we are placing a cloth A-State face covering in each resident’s room prior to their arrival. After move-in, residents will be encouraged to maintain proper hygiene, to communicate expectations to roommates, and to notify the university if they become ill or go for COVID-19 testing. University Housing will provide a detailed move-in procedure to each resident’s A-State email address prior to move-in.
Masks and Physical Distancing
I cannot stress this message strongly enough. We are requiring that all students, employees, and guests wear masks when entering or exiting a campus facility, and when physical distancing is not an option. Students and instructors will be required to wear a face covering in class. We are a research university, and we are persuaded by the overwhelming evidence that shows that the proper use of face coverings plays a big role in limiting the spread of coronavirus. I wear a mask to protect others from me (in case I am infected and do not know it). That is the reason that doctors and nurses use masks in the operating room – to protect the patient.
All A-State students will receive a mask to use while on campus. Our instructors have the authority to remove students from their class if they refuse to wear a mask (we will provide instructors with spare masks to use in case students forget theirs). Students who refuse to wear a face covering are subject to a student conduct referral. Employees will be held to the same standard, by the way. I have been VERY impressed by the high percentage of students and employees who are wearing masks on campus this summer.
We have also prepared all university buildings for students, employees, and guests to return to campus. Common-space seating has been rearranged, maximum occupancy signage is placed on bathrooms, elevators, meeting rooms, classrooms, offices and lounge spaces, and six feet of distance cues have been placed on the floors. It will likely take all of us a while to get used to these new regulations, but I encourage you to maintain the furniture reconfigurations and signage in each building. Abiding by these measures is a vital step toward allowing campus activities and face-to-face classes to continue for the Fall semester and into next spring.
Dining
A-State is working closely with our food service provider Sodexo to offer quality, accessible, and compliant offerings for the Fall semester. All food service venues will be open and we will offer a mixture of in-person dining, grab-and-go, and online ordering. More details about on-campus dining will be communicated prior to the start of the Fall semester.
Student Events
Campus events hosted by registered student organizations, campus departments, Greek life, club sports and others will follow the federal, state, and campus guidelines. All events will require that participants engage in appropriate physical distancing while using face coverings. While we all understand that a vibrant campus community is an essential component to college life, it is imperative that we work together to mitigate the spread of the virus. While some virus spread is inevitable, it is important what that we work together to safeguard our fellow Red Wolves. Registered student organizations and Greek life chapters will receive detailed instructions on how to safely conduct events from the Leadership Center.
Academics
Your instructors have spent the summer re-thinking how we will offer our classes this fall. If we conclude that we need to change our mode of instruction, we will announce that as soon as possible. But, assuming that we are still offering primarily in-person classes this fall, here is how things will work. We have determined the number of students that can be seated in each classroom while maintaining six-foot distancing from each other. This resulted in our needing to re-assign where classes will be taught. This was a huge task and we are still working out the details. But you will be separated from your fellow students by six feet in each of your classes. All students will be required to wear masks in the classroom. Our instructors will be wearing either face masks or face shields when they are teaching. Depending on classroom availability, some instructors MAY create hybrid versions of their class (with fewer students being in a room at one time). Some faculty members have converted their classes to all-online. As soon as they have determined how your class will be structured, your instructors will reach out to you to clarify how their classes will operate in the fall.
Just like any other semester, if you are ill or you are required to isolate or quarantine during the semester, you will work with your instructors on a plan for keeping up your studies. A few students have asked me about the possibility of taking all online classes in the fall. We have always had a number of online courses available for students, but we have about twice as many online courses available this fall. I recommend that students work with their advisers if they want to explore an all-online option. By the way, you can keep up with our academic plans at our Return to Learn Continuity of Teaching, Learning, and Discovery task force site. Our plans are all based on current guidance from government agencies (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Arkansas Department of Health) as well as best practices recommended by the American College Health Association.
Resident Isolation and Self-Quarantine Plan
The university is collaborating with NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine to create a COVID-19 sample collection site on campus for students and employees who show symptoms of coronavirus infection. We are also collaborating on a contact tracing protocol for our campus to limit the amount of time between a positive test and efforts to contact people who may have been exposed. We have established isolation and quarantine protocols for those who are affected by COVID-19.
Students who test positive for COVID-19 will be required to isolate at The Village apartments or other available on-campus residence (or return home) for a time period established by a physician. Students identified through the contact tracing assessment as having been in direct contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus will be required to quarantine, most likely in their current residence, for a time period established by a physician. “Direct contact” means sustained interaction with an infected person that is less than six feet apart, not wearing a face covering, and for longer than 15 minutes. Residents in isolation or quarantine will continue their coursework online and will receive meal deliveries in their rooms. We are encouraging residents to bring items during move-in that may assist if isolation or quarantine is needed (e.g., a microwave, mini fridge, kitchen utensils and supplies, disinfectant and cleaning supplies, personal hygiene items and preferred electronics). Students who are in isolation or quarantine will not be allowed to leave their room if they remain on campus. Quarantined and isolated students who leave their room are subject to a referral to student conduct.
Return to Learn Protocols
In everything we’ve sent out to the Pack, I’ve emphasized the on-campus changes. Here’s a short video that discusses many of the details related to masks, physical distancing, and the Return to Learn changes to classrooms and buildings. I’m asking that every student coming back to campus this fall watch this video created for our employee return. Keep an eye out for more videos for students soon.
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| In conclusion, your university is working daily to create protocols to support your academic and personal achievement while at A-State. We all share in the responsibility of maintaining the health and wellness of our campus community. Remember, the best protection is to wash your hands, physically distance from others, wear a mask when you are around others, and remain at home if you are ill.
I look forward to welcoming you back home to campus in August.
Wolves Up!
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