Higher ed providers mapping out return

Tentative plans form amid ‘fluid situation’

Nevada’s public colleges and universities have created reopening plans for fall semester, many of which include a mix of in-person and online learning.

The Nevada System of Higher Education’s Board of Regents will hear presentations Thursday about each school’s reopening plan but isn’t slated to take action. A 278-page document, which includes a plan that each of NSHE’S eight schools developed, is included in meeting materials online.

At UNLV, university spokesman Tony Allen said in a Monday email to the Review-journal, “This is all included in the plan, but I’d just again stress that the health, safety, and well-being of the university community remain our top priority and guide all of our decisions.”

The COVID-19 situation is “very fluid,” and plans could be modified, he said.

Nevada college and university campuses were closed in midmarch, and distance education continued for the rest of the school year. In early May, NSHE announced that schools could resume in-person classes in the fall and on a limited basis for the second half of the summer.

There are a number of similarities among fall reopening plans for UNLV, Nevada State College and CSN.

For the fall semester, which begins in late August, most are planning to offer in-person, hybrid (with in-person and remote components) and online classes.

There won’t be any in-person classes with more than 50 participants or more than half a classroom’s maximum occupancy, whichever is more restrictive, assuming that current statewide gathering-size restrictions are still in effect.

Some schools, including CSN and UNLV, are aiming for about a 50-50 mix of in-person versus online instruction. But at Nevada State College in Henderson, the school plans to have 70 percent of its classes online and 30 percent in a hybrid format, President Bart Patterson said Monday.

As part of their reopening plans, UNLV, CSN and NSC all mention asking those coming onto campus to use a COVID-19 screening tool daily.

NSC isn’t requiring COVID-19 testing or temperature checks, Patterson said, but he added that employees and students will be expected to use daily self-assessments to gauge whether they’re experiencing symptoms or were exposed to the virus.

Reopening plans for UNLV, NSC and CSN mandate the use of face coverings while on campus in compliance with Gov. Steve Sisolak’s statewide order. That includes indoor and outdoor spaces.

Contact Julie Wootton-greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.