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In recent months, the nation has experienced the spread of COVID-19 fueled by the Delta variant, reminding us that the battle against COVID-19 is not yet over. To help prepare the university for potential surges this fall, the Resurgence Analysis Team has been updating the institution's Resurgence Plan with current mitigation options. Similar to our plan from the last academic year, this new plan will include several phases with many mitigation options to select. Our intention is that through the creation and utilization of by creating and utilizing this plan, we can responsibly carry forward the operations of the university with the least amount of disruption. The new plan will should be completed and posted to Confluence next week.
In response to the increased spread of COVID-19, the CDC released new guidance earlier this week related to face coverings. The most significant change is a recommendation that everyone, including vaccinated individuals, wear face coverings "in public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high transmission." The Resurgence Analysis Team, Academic Continuity Team, P6, and Senior Leadership Team will continue to monitor the impact of this changeguidance, along with any updates from the Minnesota Department of Health. At this time, no changes revisions to our Fall 2021 Return to Campus plans are required, but our plans will remain subject to change as future state and federal guidelines evolve.
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As we anticipate fall semester 2021, we recognize that some students may be impacted by COVID-19 and will need to be in , requiring isolation or quarantine. Utilizing lecture capture throughout our last academic year enabled us to support students in ways that would have been impossible otherwise. This fall, we will be taking another needed an additional step to support our students academically by providing class recordings if a student is unable to attend class due to a pre-approved University-sponsored event. We want to encourage students to participate and engage in university-sponsored activities, and they can now do so knowing their academic experience will be more fully supported. These new Lecture Capture guidelines were carefully developed with input from faculty, students, staff, department chairs/assistant deans, faculty senate, ACT, and P6 before going to SLT for final approval. The guidelines also guidelines also contain several examples of when using lecture capture is recommended but not deemed necessary for our students. More information about using lecture capture and utilizing supports to be provided will be shared as we approach the beginning of the semester.
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Since physical distancing is encouraged but not required this fall, we will need to be more prepared to identify students if contact tracing is neededbecomes necessary. At this time, a close contact is still defined as someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period. Health Services has stated the value of having seating charts available for every class should the need for contact tracing occur. To help address this need, all faculty will are asked to create a seating chart for each class this fall and post it to Moodle for Health Services to access when needed. Additional details on this process will be shared closer to the beginning of the term.
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To help clearly communicate expectations to students this fall, an updated COVID-19 syllabi statement has been developed. Created by the Academic Continuity Team, it is now being reviewed by the Faculty Senate and Department Chairs / Assistant Deans with the goal of having it finalized next week. This statement will provide important student information related to the following areas:
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Updated classroom signage for fall has been created by our awesome Marketing Team. You can have a sneak peek of the new signs here. The plan is to have the current signs replaced with the new set by Friday, August 20.
Feedback About Returning to Campus
If you have any feedback that you'd like to share about the return to campus this fall, you are invited to do so through this anonymous form. We appreciate hearing your thoughts!
Upcoming Development Opportunities
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