CU outlines its fall semester
Mandatory masks, socially distanced classrooms and smaller dorm groups
Masks will be mandatory on campus. Students living in dorms will be grouped into cohorts of a couple dozen peers who take courses together to minimize contact with others.
And students might double as contract-tracers, receiving college credit for helping track down and reveal those who came in close proximity of someone diagnosed with the new coronavirus.
The University of Colorado on Tuesday offered the first taste of what a novel, pandemic-adjusted fall semester could look like on the Boulder campus. It’s a plan that is expected to cost the university an additional $10 million to $15 million in accommodations and add-ons needed to operate safely amid the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.
Students, who will not face tuition or fee increases in the fall, are likely to begin a mix of in-person and online courses Aug. 24, then finish up their classes and take finals remotely after Thanksgiving — a move designed to let them head home and stay put rather than risk carrying COVID19 back to school.
With uncertainty about classroom learning still lingering, Coloradans’ eyes were on the largest higher education institution in the state as CU Boulder announced plans and protocols to give students and staff an idea of what college will be like when they can return, at least partially, to campus.
That will include wearing face
coverings: Masks will be provided — and mandatory — for students and employees, CU officials said.
The Boulder campus, which enrolled more than 35,000 students in fall 2019, aims to be less populationdense.
First-year students will be assigned on-campus housing and live with roommates as usual, but there will be “exceptions” to the traditional requirement that all first-year students live on campus. Freshmen who live and learn together will be placed in “small cohort groups” in a bid to reduce the spread of the virus.
Classrooms will be socially-distanced — held in larger spaces with classes split into multiple sessions. To better limit the number of people on campus at a time, classes will be spread out from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Larger lecture classes are likely to be online with labs and studio-style courses prioritized for in-person learning.
Joe McComb, a 19-yearold CU Boulder sophomore, was left wondering Tuesday how many of his classes would be online and how many would be in-person.
“If all my classes are forced to be online, I’m not going to take many,” McComb said. “I could take six credits. I could take none and just get a job or an internship. I’m trying to figure out what’s the best way to maximize my experience this semester.”
McComb is looking forward to moving out of his family’s home in Denver and into his first apartment with friends in Boulder, regardless of what his next semester at CU holds.
He knows it won’t be like a typical college though.
“I feel pretty safe for the most part,” McComb said. “I know it’s scary for us all and it can kill anyone of any age, but I’m not as concerned about myself because I’m young and if I got it, I’d probably be OK. I am concerned about other people, though. College students my age aren’t the only people who live in Boulder. We all need to be safe and careful.”
Health and safety training
experience,
Safety training for oncampus faculty, staff and students, including instructions about physical distancing, face masks, hygiene and following public health orders, will be required.
Students will take a “CU 101” course focusing on the epidemiology of COVID-19, mental health and student behavior expectations.
Rather than the typical cafeteria-style dining halls, students on campus can grab a bite to go or order ahead for pick-up.
The campus will have the capability to test students, faculty and staff for COVID19, CU officials said. A rapid-response team will be responsible for tracking, notifying and isolating infected patients. Students are being considered as contract tracers. Residence halls will be reserved for quarantine and isolation.
The university warns students who break social distancing by partying offcampus can be held accountable by local law enforcement like any other citizen for breaking public health regulations. Off-campus sorority and fraternity housing would fall under county jurisdiction for following public health guidelines, CU officials said Tuesday.
Leaders of the Interfraternity Council on the Hill, CU’s fraternity organization independent of university control, said they would be meeting this week to talk about the organization’s future, fall recruitment and what they can and can’t do safely within public health guidance.
CU plans to update its student code of conduct to include consequences for going against COVID-19 public health regulations.
Returning to campus
CU Boulder shut down normal campus operations and initiated remote learning March 16 in response to the new coronavirus.
Tuesday marked the first steps toward a return to campus as a limited number of researchers and support staff come back to conduct research that can’t be done remotely, the university said.
Come fall, CU Boulder’s plan calls for flexibility to adapt and adhere to changing public health guidance and provide students and staff a mix of the experiences — in-person and remote, when applicable — that work best for them.
The campus acknowledged there will be some risk involved in any model CU Boulder adopts.
“This is a moment in our history in which our imperatives to lead, innovate and impact humanity are coming together for the future of our university,” Chancellor Phil DiStefano said. “Our vision to be a leader in the humanitarian, social and technological challenges of the 21st century is embodied by all of us right now. Our success is dependent on all of us working together. Our challenge as a campus community is to ensure our mission endures. Our mission to serve the public good is more vital now than ever.”