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Aug. 5, 2020

Dear Faculty and Staff,

Get ready! We’re going to give you lots of information. This message is long but worth reading.

If you haven’t already, please look at the chancellor’s message from Friday. As a campus community, we all have been working hard to execute our plan for a safe and healthy return to campus on Aug. 24. We’re grateful to all of our faculty and staff for their hard work and focus on preparing the campus for fall 2020. We appreciate those of you who have been on campus and we’re excited to welcome back those who are returning at this time.Ìý

We want to share details on our plan, including dates; which on-campus services will be available; which will remain remote; as well as more information on teaching, learning and the different modes of operation in which we’ll be engaging this fall. Our plan is comprehensive. We’ve included a significant level of detail for your reference and encourage you to revisit this message and to bookmark and regularly visit our COVID-19 webpage for access to additional specifics and updated campus resources.Ìý

First, know that our plan is informed by research, emerging knowledge and best practices at every critical point. Our goal is to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19 in our community by greatly reducing–by at least 55%–the number of in-person interactions that could spread the virus. We’re taking a comprehensive, mutually-reinforcing and far-reaching approach, deploying a potent cross-section of methods.Ìý

The plan we’re acting on is a compact: it requires that faculty, staff and students each do their part and follow the processes and protocols outlined below to create a safe return to campus. We believe each person within our campus community has the character, commitment and focus to make this plan succeed.Ìý

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Campus MeasuresÌý

There are four modes of campus operation based on COVID-19 conditions. We’re opening under an expanded operation that includes the flexibility to reduce or expand in-person activities as necessary. We will need to be prepared to respond quickly as conditions change, and need you to be flexible too.

COVID-19 testing

• Students living in the residence halls and Bear Creek are required to complete a COVID-19 test within five days prior to move-in. For students who are unable to get a test before arriving on campus, testing will be available during their move-in appointment.
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently confirmed that surveillance testing of asymptomatic individuals is appropriate at universities. Based upon this feedback, we are using the RT-LAMP test developed on campus, among others, as a surveillance tool to monitorÌýour population for signs of COVID-19 before they show symptoms.
  • At this time there isn't a testing requirement for students living off campus. A simple extension of a testing requirement for all students living off campus would not produce information of significant public health value and would likely stress testing resources. However, for students living off campus the plan is to provide access to the testing options that will be available for all students:Ìý
    • Testing for students with symptoms.
    • Testing for students identified through campus contact tracing as potentially having been exposed.
    • Testing for higher-risk groups as part of the campus’s ongoing surveillance testing strategy.
• If an employee is identified through campus contact tracing as having been potentially exposed on campus, that person will be informed by Medical Services of testing options as part of the campus contact tracing process.Ìý
• Our initial testing will be backed with our surveillance testing throughout the course of the semester to allow us to detect and respond to COVID-19 infection in the community.
• As we return to campus, we will see an increase in positive COVID-19 tests, which we expect because we will be detecting both asymptomatic and presymptomatic cases. It will allow us to respond more effectively and prevent otherwise undetected cases from spreading.

Physical distancing

• Changes being implemented to achieve required physical distancing will reduce the density of the campus population. We’ve created academic scheduling, classroom capacity limits and seating arrangements that support density reduction and physical distancing.

Face Coverings

• We will all be required to wear face coverings indoors and outdoors while on campus, consistent with state and county health orders.
• We have placed orders for 80,000 reusable cloth masks, with a goal of providing two each for all students, faculty and staff. Distribution plans will be announced soon. We will also have a supply of disposable masks to supplement our stock of reusable masks. Face coverings are a crucial tool in maintaining campus safety, and we will depend upon all faculty and staff to help us in preventing infection.

Cleaning/sanitization

• We will continue enhanced cleaning and disinfecting protocols of high-touch surfaces and restrooms and general cleaning of common spaces.
• We have ordered disinfecting wipes for all classrooms. We will provide them so that instructors and students have the opportunity to wipe the surfaces they touch in a given class period. Custodial staff will disinfect all classrooms each night.
• We have placed orders for hundreds of hand sanitizer stations and refills for high-traffic areas and all main building entrances.
• Spray bottles of cleaning/disinfecting solution and paper towels will be provided to building proctors for use in offices, labs or areas not routinely serviced by custodial staff.

Building access

• Most buildings on campus will be locked and require a Buff OneCard for access. This will limit the density within buildings and maximize safety.Ìý
• Students, faculty and staff will have Buff OneCard access to all academic buildings with scheduled, active teaching from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday.Ìý
• Students, faculty and staff who normally have weekend and after-hours access to specific buildings will still have that access to those buildings.
• The Protect Our Herd public health awareness campaign is active and will promote best COVID-19 practices. Our communications team will be working with the Facilities Task Force and other departments to design and place signage around campus that reinforces health, safety and operational protocols for COVID-19 mitigation.ÌýÌý

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC)

• We are implementing what we believe to be the most comprehensive science-based ventilation strategies of any Pac-12 university, and one of the most comprehensive in the country. Our experts in Facilities Management and Environmental Health and Safety have collaborated closely with CU Boulder faculty experts José Luis Jimenez (chemistry), Shelly Miller (mechanical engineering) and Matt McQueen (integrative physiology).Ìý
• We have assessed every HVAC system across our campus to ensure each is providing proper ventilation to mitigate virus spread. Our mitigation strategies are robust and in line with–or exceed–industry best practices. The Facilities Task Force’s HVAC subgroup has posted operational protocols that are the result of this collaboration and that will guide our campus implementation efforts.
• Buff Bus capacity will be significantly reduced because of physical distancing requirements. Buff Bus riders should plan for longer wait and commute times and consider alternative forms of transportation like cycling and walking. Face coverings will be required during Buff Bus transit.
• We will reduce densities in our buildings by providing open-air, multiuse tents across more than a dozen locations on campus for students to use between classes. The tents are equipped with wireless internet and power.Ìý

Residence halls

• Students will communicate with resident advisors (RAs) through one-on-one virtual Buff Chats and will have opportunities for hall-specific events and programming.Ìý
• Visitor and guest policies have been updated to reduce the number of people in the residence halls and Bear Creek.Ìý

Dining

• Campus Dining Services will begin opening locations the week of Aug. 17. Dining centers, grab-n-go locations and the Alfred Packer Grill will accept meal plans only; meal plans will only be available to residence hall students.Ìý
• The campus community can access retail markets, restaurants and cafes. Campus Cash and credit/debit cards will be accepted at these locations.Ìý

Student Recreation Center

• The main Student Recreation Center will be limited to students from Aug. 10–31. Some facilities and areas will be modified, closed or may require reservations.Ìý
• As we monitor building capacity and safety protocols, we will evaluate the possibility of opening to additional community members. For full details visit the .Ìý

Activities

• We are extending the moratorium on events until at least Aug. 16.Ìý

Training and monitoring

• We have initiated comprehensive training for those returning to campus. Faculty and staff who return in any capacity must complete the Skillsoft training
• For each day they are on campus, all faculty and staff must fill out the daily health questionnaire.ÌýÌý

Teaching and Learning

• A regular 16-week semester will begin on Aug. 24, with some courses, as appropriate, offered in eight-week sessions during the overall semester.ÌýÌý

• All teaching and exams after fall break will be conducted remotely to allow students to travel home and remain there until the spring semester begins.

• Students are expected to comply with all safety measures. The CU Student Code of Conduct has been updated to require compliance with Boulder County Health and CU Boulder requirements.

• All departments and programs are expected to teach and provide an in-person experience for students in all undergraduate and graduate degree programs.Ìý

  • Â鶹ÊÓƵ half of the classes being offered in fall 2020 are fully in-person or hybrid in-person.

• To make it possible to house classes in reduced-capacity classrooms and to accommodate students and faculty who are not able to teach or learn in person, departments and programs have moved about half of their classes to fully remote modes and about one-quarter of their classes to hybrid modes with both in-person and online and/or remote components.

• To enable required physical distancing within classrooms, we have significantly increased the number of spaces on campus we use for instruction and have expanded class scheduling across all weekday hours Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Faculty and students may find that they are teaching and learning in spaces not previously used as classrooms and at more late-afternoon and evening times.Ìý

• Classroom technology

  • By the start of the fall semester, an additional 350 classrooms will be equipped with remote-capable lecture technology, a sevenfold increase since the end of the spring semester.

  • The Office of Information Technology has rolled out a that allows instructors to create high-quality videos, screencasts and slideshows.Ìý

  • OIT is building a service to provide tech copilots to assist faculty members in the remote-capable classrooms.

  • The Resource Alignment Implementation Team (RAIT) has secured one-time funding to provide who have specific, identifiable teaching responsibilities and have currently unmet personal technology needs.

• Required syllabus statements related to COVID-19 classroom behavior–that applies to all classroom settings–will be sent by the Office of Undergraduate Education to all fall 2020 instructors.Ìý

• Information on health-related accommodations will be sent by the Academic Instruction Implementation Team to all fall 2020 instructors.

Child Care

Finally, we understand there are additional challenges for parents, and there will be more to come especially as school districts make and modify plans for the school year. For parents who have child care responsibilities due to COVID-19 alongside their work responsibilities, the campus continues to support remote working where possible. We are also providing paid leave through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act where working remotely is not an option. Please visit the Human Resources website for more details and child care support.Ìý

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We have worked tirelessly with leading experts to develop these comprehensive measures. Nothing is guaranteed, and we will face challenges, but we are constantly reevaluating based on the latest information available, and we will continue to do so. We believe we are creating one of the safest, healthiest campuses in the country.ÌýÌý

Be aware that the Research and Innovation Office will host a series of forums with researchers and administrators about how they are applying their work to prepare for our return to campus. Also, please join us and Chancellor DiStefano for an employee forum this month. Details are forthcoming.

We look forward to seeing you in some capacity in less than three weeks. In the meantime, please continue to share your concerns and your ideas and be sure to visit the CU Boulder’s COVID-19 webpage for more information.Ìý

Again, thank you all for helping us get to this point, and for everything you will do in the future to help us fulfill our mission.Ìý

We are Buffs together,

Russell Moore
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Patrick O’Rourke
Interim Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer