By Philip DiStefano
This year has been one of the most difficult in the University of Colorado Boulder history. Students not only had to say goodbye to in-person experiences with classmates, friends, campus activities and student groups, they also had to navigate new ways of learning and new ways of carrying out timeless rituals.
Faculty and staff were called upon to work in completely new ways and the community felt the economic impact of cancelled events, students leaving town and social disruption caused by some students who remained in Boulder with too much unstructured time.
While our students continue their academic journeys from home, we have been working tirelessly to develop a plan for the near- and long-term future of the university. Our guiding principles for all of our decisions begin with the health and safety of students, faculty, staff and everyone in the community, while upholding our university mission.
As we focus on health and safety, we are working with experts and making the most informed, empathetic decisions we can with the best health information available.
During these trying times, we have to continue serving the public good while ensuring the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff and community.
In service of that call to action, this week I announced our plan for a return to CU Boulder campus this fall, called our “Road Map to Fall 2020.”
As with all of our COVID-19 decisions, we sought input from experts and collaborated with leaders. The plan was developed in consultation with CU Boulder faculty, staff and community epidemiology and public health experts. It was informed by more than 1,500 points of input from students, faculty, staff, parents and community members.
We discussed the proposed plan with the mayor, city manager, Boulder Police Department, county commissioners and representatives of surrounding cities where many of our students, faculty and staff live. We also discussed it with representatives of other community partners, such as the Boulder Chamber, Small Business Development Center and the Uni-Hill Neighborhood Homeowners Association.
We believe this process has led to a balanced, effective, safe and healthy plan for a return to campus this fall.
Classes will begin as scheduled on Aug. 24 and finish remotely after fall break on Nov. 29. Even with students on campus, we will teach a hybrid model of both in-person and virtual learning to prioritize health and safety and minimize risk.
Our plan aims to mitigate the COVID-19 risks for the community as a whole and provide flexibility for the university’s most vulnerable, at-risk populations. We are establishing clear physical distancing protocols supported by limiting population density on campus. We are significantly increasing testing and requiring all returning faculty, staff and students to complete pre-arrival COVID-19 training and commit to following health and safety protocols throughout the semester.
We aim to reduce each person’s potential for infectious contacts by at least 55 percent through a series of measures. These include:
• Requiring masks for anyone on campus in public spaces
• Following all health regulations while off campus
• Designating cohorts of students who live and study together to reduce person-to-person interactions
• Moving larger classes to virtual environments
• Increasing cleaning and sanitation of public spaces while providing cleaning supplies for student use
• Reserving residence hall space for quarantining and isolation
• And offering take-out options in our dining halls
We will have rapid response teams for tracking, notification and isolation of infected individuals. We will continue remote work arrangements for many staff members and provide new return-to-work protocols for some staff.
All of this will be accompanied by an appendix to the student code of conduct. This will enable us to educate our students about new campus expectations, as well as public health orders and other safety measures for students on and off campus. If a student is found responsible for intentionally violating a policy, there are a wide variety of sanctions the university can impose.
We recognize students congregating off campus in large groups with poor social distancing is a significant concern for the community, as it is for us. We are working closely with city police, campus police and our office of student conduct and conflict resolution to tighten compliance and identify new approaches to intervene and educate students to make safe decisions.
The flexibility built into our plan enables us to prepare for a variety of COVID-19 scenarios with the best information available. The campus will continue to update and improve the model based on feedback received from the campus and Boulder communities. In short, we will become the most COVID-19-ready campus we can be.
We will make our best efforts to uphold our university mission while addressing the needs of the broader community in the safest, healthiest way possible. The future of our university is at stake, but we have faced adversity throughout our history and always come back stronger. I have no doubt we will this time, if we all work together.
Philip DiStefano is the chancellor of the University of Colorado Boulder.
