A few weeks ago, I provided information about our preparations to resume on-campus instruction this Fall semester. I am pleased to report that, earlier this afternoon, our Board of Trustees approved a specific plan to begin classes on August 24, as scheduled.
Our Academic Plan
For more than a month, an Academic Planning Group assembled and led by Provost Susana Rivera-Mills analyzed a wide range of potential scenarios that would enable our University to continue to provide high quality educational experiences to all of our students this Fall semester during these extraordinary times. The task force analyzed the vast array of courses that we offer to both undergraduate and graduate students, and the task force evaluated how our faculty can use technology to improve learning outcomes. The recommendations of the task force were also informed by strategies and tactics that some other institutions are developing.
Based on the recommendations provided by the Academic Planning Group, the Board today approved a plan for the Fall 2020 semester with the following key components:
- All classes will commence on August 24, as scheduled, with on-campus instruction being conducted consistent with prevailing guidance from federal, state, and local public health officials. To achieve this objective, we will schedule more class sessions in the evenings and perhaps on weekends, if necessary. I also anticipate that courses with large enrollments may be divided into smaller sections or taught online.
- Faculty will prepare all courses with sufficient flexibility and adaptability to enable them to transition effectively during the semester to online instruction and back to on-campus instruction based on conditions on our campus and in our community.
- Faculty will front-load those learning activities that are best facilitated by face-to-face instruction so that those activities are completed before the Thanksgiving break. After the Thanksgiving break, all remaining instruction, as well as all final projects and exams, will be completed online.
- The University will cancel the two-day Fall break and will schedule class sessions on Labor Day. The rationale for these changes to the academic calendar is to enable our students to have 13 weeks of on-campus instruction before the Thanksgiving break.
- The University will offer more online courses to accommodate faculty and students who may be in high-risk populations.
In two weeks, the Provost will send a message to faculty and staff within Academic Affairs with more detailed information about these changes and our expectations. She and I fully appreciate that these adjustments will require additional preparation from our faculty and staff. But we have great confidence in the dedication of our faculty and staff—and their determination to adapt and to innovate in order to serve our students and to fulfill our mission.
Moreover, we have heard from many returning and prospective students that they value the personal educational experiences that we provide at our University. In order for them to benefit from the distinctive, high-impact learning opportunities that will ensure their academic and professional success, we must be creative and determined. I am grateful to our faculty and staff for their unwavering commitment to our students.
Residence Halls
Today, the Board of Trustees authorized us to implement a plan to enable our students to return to our residence halls in August. While we have not yet finalized all of the details of that plan, which will be informed by guidance from public health officials, I anticipate that our plan will include the following key components:
- In order to mitigate the risk of students transmitting the novel coronavirus while living in a residence hall, we will adjust the room assignments to reduce the number of students who use the same restroom and other common areas.
- Our custodial staff will clean and sanitize these facilities more frequently than usual.
- We will retain a sufficient number of rooms in our residence halls and in other University-owned facilities to quarantine and isolate students who may be exposed to or who may test positive for the COVID-19 virus.
- In order to mitigate the risk of transmission in our dining halls, we will continue to prepare all orders as “to-go” for students, as well as for faculty and staff.
I anticipate that we will complete the plan for our residence halls within the next ten days. At that time, our staff will promptly communicate more details with our students and their families.
Return to Campus Plan
The Board of Trustees also authorized us to monitor and modify our Return to Campus Plan for faculty and staff. We developed this plan based on recommendations that we received from the Task Force on Recovery and the University’s Strategic Transition (TRUST). I encourage all faculty and staff to read the plan.
Beginning June 1, more staff and some faculty will begin to return to working on campus. Before returning to campus, each employee must complete a self-certification form that requires the employee to answer some questions about the employee’s health, including whether the employee has recently experienced any of the symptoms of COVID-19. Every employee is also required to perform a daily assessment of possible symptoms. The form will be maintained confidentially and separate from an employee’s personnel file.
The plan also provides that all employees are strongly encouraged to wear face masks at all times while working on campus. An employee is required to wear a face mask (a) when the employee is in the presence of other people and social distancing is not practicable, or (b) when the employee’s supervisor has determined that a face mask is necessary in order to ensure that a specific job can be performed safely.
The University has ordered 50,000 reusable face masks for faculty, staff, and students. When we have received these items, we will let you know how you can obtain a face mask. We presently plan to distribute two face masks to every faculty, staff, and on-campus student who requests them.
The University is also in the process of purchasing plexiglass barriers that can be installed at employee work stations that involve regular personal contact with other people.
Beginning July 1, many more staff and faculty will return to campus, particularly as we anticipate resuming on-campus instruction in August. Today, in order to extend our efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the Board of Trustees authorized us to implement flexible working environments and schedules. The Board has established a goal of reducing by one-third the number of administrative personnel who work on campus at any one time. To meet this goal, we have developed guidelines for professional and staff employees and their supervisors. Access the guidelines.
Additional Health and Safety Protocols
The TRUST working group is developing specific recommendations for the implementation of other important health and safety measures.
Testing: Public health experts have uniformly advised that testing is a critical component of a plan to stem the spread of COVID-19. Today, the Board of Trustees authorized us to implement a plan to make testing readily available to our students and to our faculty and staff. We are presently negotiating a comprehensive agreement with a healthcare provider to make testing accessible on our campus for anyone who is symptomatic. Once we have finalized the details of this arrangement, we will share them with you. As part of this plan, we will require anyone who tests positive to self-isolate for an appropriate period of time, and we will conduct contact tracing consistent with the procedures established by the Indiana State Department of Health.
Influenza Vaccinations: Public health experts also advise that large organizations should encourage employees to get a flu vaccination in the Fall. The rationale for this advice is that, if the number of people with COVID-19 increases later this year at the same time the seasonal flu returns, there is a risk that healthcare providers will not be able to treat all of the ill patients. To minimize this risk, it is prudent for all of us to get a flu vaccination this Fall. To encourage this responsible behavior, the Board of Trustees has authorized us to expand access to and the availability of annual flu vaccinations for all students and employees. Later this year, we will provide more information to you on this topic.
In the next few weeks, I will provide you with more information about several additional health and safety protocols that we must implement to ensure the safe return of our students to campus in August. In anticipation of their presence on campus, we may modify some of our existing protocols, and we will develop specific protocols for the wide variety of activities that typically occur on our campus, including: student co-curricular and social events; use of our recreation facilities; conferences, concerts, and performances; and intercollegiate athletic practices and competitions.
All of our protocols will be guided by the strategic priorities of our mission. All of our protocols will be based on recommendations from the TRUST working group. And all of our protocols will advance our paramount priority—the health and safety of our students, our faculty and staff, and our campus visitors.
Conclusion
As we face this uncertain future together, I am increasingly confident that we are taking the necessary precautions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and neutralize the harm that the disease can inflict, particularly upon vulnerable people. My confidence stems from knowing that so many diligent and intelligent people, especially the members of the Academic Planning Group and the TRUST working group, have carefully evaluated the risks and thoughtfully developed the recommendations that we continue to implement. They have worked with deliberate speed to inform our plans and our specific strategies.
I also draw confidence from the increasing public health expertise that demonstrates that we have the capacity, both individually and collectively, to mitigate the risks that we are facing. Undoubtedly, there are some aspects of this pandemic that are not within our control. As a result, we must accept some continued uncertainty and ambiguity. And we should be humble and agile.
The past two months have demonstrated, however, that we do have the ability to take reasonable and rational steps to keep ourselves and each other healthy—to control our own destiny. To fulfill our mission safely, we all must comply with the protocols that have been approved by the Board of Trustees, based on the recommendations of our colleagues and other experts.
I am confident that these new protocols will be effective, because the members of our campus community have demonstrated, time and time again, that we are committed to our enduring values. One of those values is “social responsibility”—which we define as acting for the benefit of other people. That commitment is particularly important today and tomorrow, because so many of the protocols—like wearing a face mask—are intended primarily to protect other people.
In short, we will be able to fulfill our mission to our students, because you—our faculty, our staff, our alumni, and our friends—will continue to make the adjustments and the sacrifices that are required of us. And for that enduring commitment, I am deeply grateful.
