UI details COVID-related changes for fall term
The University of Idaho plans to offer in-person classes this fall, but will switch back to a remote delivery of education after Thanksgiving.
In an email sent to students Thursday, UI President Scott Green said the recent decision will help curb the spread of the coronavirus. Green also announced that UI’s winter commencement ceremony, scheduled for Dec. 12, has been canceled.
“Because comprehensive testing of all students is not realistic after Fall Break, and knowing many people leave during this break to visit other areas, possibly with higher instances of outbreak, we will end in-person class delivery on Friday, Nov. 20,” Green said.
Classes will resume virtually Nov. 30, and final exams for the fall semester will be given in an online, or remote, format. Offices, including student services, will remain open on the Moscow campus while students attend classes remotely.
As students, faculty and staff prepare to return to the campus in August, Green said UI is aware of the increase in COVID-19 cases throughout the state, a situation university officials are closely monitoring.
“We will continue to rely on data and the advice of our public health officials as we navigate delivery this fall,” he said. “Everyone should be prepared for the unfortunate possibility that we may need to transition quickly to online/remote delivery should the data and advice from our public health officials change.”
Those who return to campus will be required to acknowledge the “Healthy Vandal Pledge,” which requires daily symptom monitoring before reporting to work or class. Face coverings will be required at all of UI’s locations, including in outdoor settings when 6 feet of physical distancing is not possible.
Students at the Moscow campus will be tested for COVID-19 as they return for the fall semester and will likely be tested again in January before the start of the spring semester.
“Students who test positive and live on campus will be isolated on campus in a facility away from other students and monitored by Idaho Public Health,” Green said in the email. “Students living off campus are expected to quarantine in their own residence.”
Students may also be asked to have their temperatures checked before entering high-traffic buildings on the Moscow campus.
Most classrooms will operate at 50 percent capacity. Student computer labs will remain open during the fall semester with appropriate social distancing in place.
“The task in front of us will be difficult at times, but I am confident that by coming together as a Vandal Family, looking out for one another and doing our part to deliver the stellar, in-person education we are known for, we can and will navigate through this together,” Green said
UI plans to hold a commencement celebration May 15 to honor the students who earned their degrees during the pandemic.
The university recently received $993,000 from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund that will be used to bolster remote learning. UI will use the money to purchase software, hardware and other digital infrastructure to improve its delivery of online instruction.
“The university’s pivot to online instruction during COVID-19 demonstrates we can support students in a digital learning space,” Green said in a news release. “We are committed to our in-person offerings this fall semester, and in parallel will use funding like this investment from Gov. Brad Little to help us continue to improve online offerings so we can better serve students where they are.”
Tomtas may be contacted at jtomtas