Opening the Fall 2020 Semester
Sent to current students June 16, 2020
Dear students,
Back in March, I charged a team of staff known as the Crisis Management Team (CMT) to develop a plan for opening the campus for in-person instruction with the start of the Fall 2020 semester. The CMT has been hard at work with senior staff, the deans, faculty and staff members from across the University to develop this plan and is guided by our top priority: the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff.
While work toward the full plan continues, we have arrived at some key updates reflective of our current intentions that we would like to share with all returning students so you can better plan for what to expect this fall. Additional details will be shared throughout the summer as they become available. We will also continue to post all updates related to our planning in response to the global pandemic at uarts.edu/COVID19, eventually linking to the full Fall 2020 Opening Plan once it is finalized.
Health & Safety Partners
First, and as previously shared, the University is engaging one of the most elite and preeminent healthcare providers in our city, Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health, to partner with us in addressing the health and safety needs of our re-opened campus. By expanding our existing partnership with Jefferson, we will ensure that the health and safety protocols we enact for reopening UArts for in-person instruction meet or exceed the social distancing standards recommended by the CDC and governing authorities, as well as surpass best practices for higher education institutions. UArts is continuing the partnership with Jefferson’s Department of Family and Community Medicine to provide primary care services for our students, and we could not be more pleased to further expand its advisory role as we develop the health and safety reopening guidelines for the UArts community. Planning conversations began in March and continue among the senior staff of our respective institutions.
The Fall 2020 Academic Plan
At this time, it is the intention of the University to have new, first-year students begin classes on Monday, August 17. A remote new student orientation program will begin for this cohort on August 1. New students living on campus will move into the residence halls over August 12 and 13 and all new students will then participate in an in-person orientation program leading up to the start of classes.
Returning students will begin their in-person instruction on Monday, September 14. Upper-level students living on campus will move into the residence halls over September 12 and 13. A remote re-orientation program for returning students will be available beginning August 17.
All in-person instruction will be completed by Saturday, November 21 just prior to Thanksgiving break, but the semester will officially end December 19. Residential students will be required to move off campus over November 21 and 22. Thereafter, remote and alternate forms of instruction will continue for most courses through December 19. You will receive details on the specifics of your schedule over the course of the summer. I am attaching a table of these important dates to this email as well, which will also be available at uarts.edu/COVID19. Residential students will soon receive a revised bill with a prorated charge for room and board based on the schedule of in-person instruction.
In addition, resuming in-person instruction requires that we as a community plan for the following:
- UArts Healthy Promise
- All community members who wish to return to campus, including students, faculty and staff, will be required to complete a training and sign a UArts Healthy Promise. The details of the Healthy Promise are still being developed but in general will consist of individual actions that we each must agree to in order to minimize the spread of COVID-19. It will likely include measures such as requiring all individuals to wear masks; maintain a minimum distance of 6 feet (36 square feet per person) from each other at all times in studios and classrooms; and abide by sanitation and cleaning protocols that will be established and customized for various spaces across campus. The UArts Healthy Promise will become an addendum to the student, faculty and staff handbooks, and adherence will be required.
- Adjusted Course Meeting Times
- To meet these requirements, and to provide any specialized cleaning regimens that may also be required, some changes in class start times and room assignments will be necessary and may require evening and weekend scheduling, as well as additional instruction spaces. More details will be shared as they become confirmed within each School.
- Critical Studies & lecture-based Major Requirements delivered Remotely
- To minimize the number of students, faculty and staff on-campus at any time and to maximize our ability to practice the highest level of social distancing, the academic plan for the Fall 2020 semester will require that all Critical Studies courses and lecture-based major requirements be delivered remotely. This will also facilitate students who are unable to return to campus due to heightened health or family concerns to have the choice to continue earning credit towards their degree program. For those students who return to campus, your schedule may comprise a hybrid experience.
- Student Support & Academic Services Adjusted
- Our staff and faculty are hard at work to develop safe and socially distant delivery plans for student support and academic services. How services are delivered within areas like Academic Advising, the Counseling Center, the Registrar’s Office, Media Resources, the Library and Financial Aid, among others, may change. Detailed plans for each area will be made available prior to the start of the fall semester.
- Continued Support for Most Vulnerable Students through UArts Cares Fund
- In the spring 2020 semester, more than 300 students were supported through UArts Cares with over a quarter-million dollars awarded from March through the end of the term. We recognize that the global pandemic continues to have tremendous impact on our students and their families, and that many continue to face immediate hardship including housing insecurity, food insecurity and/or a significant loss of income that may impact their ability to successfully complete the Fall 2020 semester. We will continue to provide UArts Cares funds in the fall semester for those facing immediate hardship. In addition, if any student is concerned about their ability to meet the cost of enrollment for fall 2020 and there has been a change in your finances since you filed a FAFSA for the 2020-2021 academic year, please contact the Office of Student Financial Services at finaid@uarts.edu to discuss your concerns.
In closing, please know that we will continue to be responsive to new guidance and directives as issued by the local, state and federal authorities including the CDC. We will continue to update students, faculty and staff as information becomes available, and ask that you share messages such as this one with your family. You may also want to encourage your family to sign up for the Generations newsletter, through which we will share important public updates.
Best wishes,
David Yager