Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Face masks likely to be norm on Florida campuses this fall
Florida’s public universities should develop plans for reopening this fall that address the use of face masks and coronavirus testing, while relying on a “shared responsibility” from students and employees to follow social distancing rules, according to guidelines approved Thursday by the state.
The Board of Governors, which oversees the state university system, approved a “blueprint” for a fall reopening of campuses, which have largely been shuttered since mid-March, when they switched to onlineonly classes. The guidelines cover Florida’s 12 public universities.
But state leaders acknowledged that resuming normal campus activities could accelerate the spread of the virus this fall if the universities are not careful.
The state university system serves 420,000 students and 72% of them attend campuses in counties outside other than the one where their primary residences are located, Chancellor Marshall Criser said during Thursday’s board meeting, which was conducted by video conference.
“We are going to be moving a significant number of people from one health environment to another health environment,” Criser said.
The state’s broad guidelines recognize the 12 campuses are scattered across the state and may be under different local social distancing orders in the fall, Criser said.
But the blueprint sets a few statewide standards. For example, students and employees should receive training that covers the new requirements for wearing masks and practicing social distancing. The consequences for not complying with these policies should also be made clear, the state said.
“Every individual coming to a state university campus should be prepared to accept personal responsibility for their actions,” Criser said.
Board of Governors member Charlie Lydecker agreed.
“I don’t think any of it works unless all members of the university system take personal responsibility,” he said
Resuming normal academic endeavors should be the university’s priority, but they can consider allowing extracurricular activities to continue if conditions allow for it, Criser said.
University leaders should also evaluate class sizes and classroom densities and consider moving courses outdoors and to non-traditional spaces, the state says. And, the proposal added, alternatives should be made available to students and faculty members who are at elevated risk.
Last week, the University of Central Florida’s trustees saw a presentation that showed a couple of classrooms at roughly half capacity or less. Some classes could be moved to large meeting rooms or arenas, university leaders said.
The guidelines say universities are encouraged to “consider varied course scheduling and calendar options,” as well.
The University of South Florida, for example, said this week it will switch to online-only courses and exams after Thanksgiving.
The change is “intended to avoid potentially thousands of students, faculty and staff from returning to our campuses after traveling for the holiday.”
The state guidelines also say each campus’s plan should detail who should be tested for coronavirus, as well as when and how often that should occur, the state said.
Universities should use a survey or screening methodology to identify and prioritize people who should be tested. This should include reporting travel to areas with a high numbers of cases. The plan should also include allowing health care providers to respond quickly to campus “hot spots.”
As universities finalize plans to reopen they should make sure they gather input from instructors, said Marshall Ogletree, the executive director of United Faculty of Florida, the union representing faculty and professional employees at UCF and other universities.
“Every individual coming to a state university campus should be prepared to accept personal responsibility for their actions.”
Marshall Criser, state university system chancellor