Updated Jan. 13, 2021

Fall 2021 Semester

The fall semester will mark a return to a more traditional in-person experience, and plans include:

  • The fall academic calendar will be back to normal, including fall break. Fall semester classes will begin Monday, Aug. 23.
  • The majority of courses will be in person.  
  • Colorado Law students, faculty, and staff may continue to access the Wolf Law Building using their Buff OneCards to study and engage in research activities, such as work on a journal. Please review the library's guidelines for access, hours, and entrance requirements. Study spaces and group study rooms can be reserved in MyLaw by members of the law school community.

Learn more.

Currently, noncritical services and professional staff are conducting work from home, and the law school building is locked. Those with a Buff OneCard keyed to the Wolf Law Building can access the building if necessary, for example, to retrieve an item from an office. However, faculty, staff, and students who wish to be in the building to work, attend class, or study must follow the procedures below. The building remains closed to members of the public.

We will provide aggressive cleaning protocols, and we will ask you to wear a mask and practice strong personal hygiene discipline, particularly when indoors. Please consult the university’s COVID-19 Updates & Resources website for the latest guidance and updates.

Testing

Monitoring Testing

New testing expectation: All faculty, staff, and students with a need to be on campus during the spring semester will need to participate in the campus monitoring surveillance program once a week. Participation in the monitoring program is critical to help avoid further public health restrictions. The existing requirement for on-campus residents and certain staff to participate weekly will also continue.

Free, walk-up monitoring testing for law students, faculty, and staff is offered Monday through Friday at several locations across campus. Those seeking testing must bring their Buff OneCard and first complete their Buff Pass. This is a saliva-based test and those who are tested will receive a notification only if their test is positive. Additionally, from Monday, Nov. 23, 2020, to Friday, Jan. 8, 2021, CU Boulder faculty, staff, and students with a Buff OneCard can bring their immediate family/members of their household to participate in the campus surveillance monitoring program. Learn more.

Students, faculty, and staff should plan to visit a COVID-19 monitoring testing location 48–72 hours before leaving the Boulder/Denver area to protect family and friends. Learn more about what to do if traveling soon.

Diagnostic Testing (PCR)

Students with COVID-like symptoms can contact the Public Health Clinic at Wardenburg to set up an appointment by scheduling a COVID telehealth appointment or calling 303-492-5432. The Public Health Clinic at Wardenburg will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays through Nov. 21. 

Free diagnostic testing (nasal swab/PCR test with results given whether the result is positive or negative) is available through Boulder County at various locations. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged for several of the sites.

Health and Safety Measures

Before arriving on campus, Colorado Law faculty, staff, and students are required to complete a pre-arrival COVID-19 training and commit to follow CU Boulder and public health guidelines to support the health and safety of our campus and the Boulder community. The course includes instruction on physical distancing, wearing of face coverings, hand hygiene and sanitation, and following public health orders on events and public gatherings. Everyone on campus is required to wear a face covering indoors and outdoors, consistent with state and county health orders. All students, faculty, and staff will be provided two cloth face coverings.

The Protect our Herd website provides information on required steps faculty, staff, and students need to take while on campus as well as information on symptoms, testing, the required daily health form, and how to safely navigate campus spaces. All students, faculty, and staff are expected to fully honor the policies, protocols, and guidelines outlined.

To promote the safest possible conditions on campus, we are continuing to provide enhanced cleaning throughout the building with increased attention to commonly touched surfaces. This means that, based on recommendations from the CDC, Boulder County Public Health, and medical staff, custodial staff continue to clean and disinfect all bathrooms daily. These recommendations also include routine cleaning of frequently touched surfaces (e.g., doorknobs, light switches, countertops). Additionally, we are increasing use of disinfectant (in addition to our normal multipurpose cleaner) in common areas to ensure that they are disinfected daily. 

In advance of the return to classes, the law school is also modifying classrooms, common areas, and study spaces—including the law library—to allow for physical distancing. Classrooms will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected between meetings, and seats are designated for use/non-use to ensure distancing. Disinfecting wipes will be provided in every classroom. Students will be responsible for cleaning their table surface in between classes. Tents will also be available in the courtyard for studying on a first-come, first-seated basis. Eating is not permitted in the classrooms or common areas.

To help promote hand hygiene, the campus is providing an increased offering of hand sanitizer in areas of public access in campus buildings, including the law school. Plexiglass barriers will also be installed throughout the building, including at the reception desks in the Office of Admissions, Clinical Education Suite, Dean's Suite, Career Development Office, law library circulation desks, and cash register in the Hearsay Cafe.

Law students may participate in staggered in-person attendance for some courses to keep the overall density low in classrooms and to keep everyone as safe as possible. 

All 1L classes will be held in Wittemyer Courtroom and the Garden Level Conference Room to allow for physical distancing. We will divide the 1L class into six sections, and within those sections into two groups for rotating between in-person and remote participation. Course schedules are available here.

The law school has undergone a major upgrade of classroom technology in the Wittemyer and Carrigan courtrooms, Garden Level Conference Room, and nine classrooms to support a hybrid teaching model.

See law school-specific resources for remote teaching, learning, and working.

Facilities

Access to the Wolf Law Building for law students, faculty, and staff is available with a Buff OneCard, 7 a.m.-10 p.m. on weekdays. The CU Boulder campus continues to operate at a limited physical capacity, with noncritical services and professional staff remaining remote. Faculty, staff, and students who wish to be in the building to work, attend class, or study must follow the procedures below:

  1. Complete the COVID-19 Basic Awareness and Safety Training before arriving on campus.
  2. Each day before coming to campus, complete the daily Buff Pass questionnaire (this replaces the previous daily health questionnaire).

The law library continues to be closed to members of the general public until further notice. If non-university community members need research assistance or materials, please email lawref@colorado.edu, or use the chat feature on the library website

    Effective Sept. 14, the Hearsay Cafe will be closed for the remainder of the fall semester.

    Staffing and Remote Work

    In accordance with campus policy, and to reduce each person’s potential for infectious contacts by at least 55 percent, remote work for most noncritical and professional staff will continue until further notice. For faculty, this means that your time in the building should be limited to teaching and any associated activities that must be done in the building.

    In-person staff support will be very limited, but all student services staff continue to work normal hours during their physical absence from the building and are available to students. The law school’s COVID logistics committee carefully reviewed all potential on-campus needs and made difficult determinations as to what rises to the level of appropriate on-campus work during this time. Very few of our staff will be permitted to work in-person this fall, and most of those whose work requires them to come to the building will do so only for short periods of time.

    To answer student questions and provide live assistance, a virtual reception desk will be available in the foyer on the first floor of the law school building. Beginning Aug. 24, students can talk live with a member of the Colorado Law staff. 

    CU Boulder has offered additional information on returning to work as in-person classes resume in the fall.

    Meetings and Office Hours

    Meetings, career counseling sessions, and office hours with faculty, staff, and students are being conducted remotely in most cases using email, Zoom, phone, or other electronic options. 

    With many of our staff working remotely, email is the best way to contact the law school during this time. Our directory has email addresses for law school staff and faculty.