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Road Map to Fall 2020
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FAQs

FAQs by Audience

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Undergraduate Students

Access to in-person instruction, campus life and support services.

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Graduate Students

Consistency, support and flexibility while progressing toward your degree.

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Faculty & Staff

Most noncritical and professional staff will continue to work remotely.

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Implementation Frequently Asked Questions

  • What will the campus do to make the online learning experience more robust and beneficial?
  • How large will cohorts be and how will they work?
  • Will the cohort model impact students’ flexibility in course selection?
  • I’ve already registered for fall. Can I change my class schedule?
  • How will the university determine which courses will be offered in person? Will there be a prioritization for classes that need the in-person experience (e.g., labs)?
  • If I need or want to pursue my degree from CU Boulder fully remotely next term, will I be able to do so?
  • What type of campus engagement was there in crafting these plans?
  • What will the campus do to make the online learning experience more robust and beneficial in all my classes?
  • How do 8-week course sessions help minimize the spread of the virus?
  • Why not just go remote entirely like the Cal State system or Cambridge?
  • How did you establish tuition?
  • Why isn’t tuition reduced if not all instruction is in person?
  • What happens if the campus has to go fully remote again?
  • Why isn’t tuition reduced since you’re going fully remote after Thanksgiving?
  • Will fees such as the Rec Center fee be adjusted/removed if activities and services are delivered online?
  • Will there be classes held through the Wednesday of Thanksgiving week?
  • Why not come back after Thanksgiving?
  • Will all students be tested for COVID-19 as a condition of enrollment for Fall 2020? How will that testing be conducted -- independently as CU Boulder or as a part of the county-state health partnership?
  • How will you determine who works from home?
  • How will you implement all of these plans?
  • Some universities are pushing back their fall start dates or staying remote. How did you determine that CU Boulder will begin the fall semester on Aug. 24 as planned?
  • How firm are the plans presented today? Will it change before fall?
  • How is CU leadership making decisions in concert with local K-12 school districts, given that so many faculty and staff have children in schools?

As we approach our academic mission during this time, students and faculty will see a number of changes this fall that emphasize the health and safety of everyone on our campus. These modifications are aimed at maintaining a robust instruction and learning environment, while keeping all of our community members safe.

The main accreditation criteria for our courses remain the same whether they are taught in person, online or remotely: Our courses must involve regular and substantive instructor interaction with students. With remote and online teaching, instructors are able to:

  • Provide regular instruction and interact regularly with their students. 

  • Provide full and substantive assessment and regular responses to students’ coursework.

  • Be proactive and available in providing information or responding to students’ questions about the content of the course. (Instructors typically begin the semester with a class discussion about the content of the course to make sure that all students understand expectations.)

We are implementing a first-of-its-kind “First-Year Academic Experience” for all first-year students. Those students will be housed and enrolled in classes with small cohort groups. Courses will be offered in a variety of in-person, distance and hybrid formats.

Instructors across campus are thinking carefully about how to interact with students and design teaching practices that promote learning in face-to-face, remote and online modes. The Center for Teaching & Learning has partnered with Continuing Education, the Office of Information Technology and the Provost’s Office of Academic Innovation to offer workshops and provide resources and individual consultations for faculty on effective, evidence-based practices for remote and online teaching.

  • The Academic Instruction Implementation Team is working with Housing and Dining Services on the best approach to first-year cohorts. Cohort design will be variable depending on the academic experience and living environment. Our goal is to have students with common academic interests and common courses share living spaces, such as the floor of a residence hall.
  • We anticipate that smaller academic cohorts may vary from 25 to 150 students dependent on academic interests and the courses in which students are enrolled. Smaller cohorts will exist within a larger cohort that, in most cases, will represent the residence hall. 
  • Breaking large student networks, in which students take classes across multiple student groups, into smaller student networks taking the same group of courses can reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19. Academic cohorting will also help create for our first-year students the natural cohorts that tend to emerge for upperclassmen as they move into upper-division courses specific to their majors.
  • The courses first-year students will take will focus on courses that promote their academic progress, including general education requirements and major requirements. They will also have an opportunity to schedule elective courses, primarily as online options, outside of their cohort. 
  • The cohort model provides a smaller, residential college experience within a larger university setting and will allow first-year students to start off strong, complete required courses and work toward earning their degrees while staying safe on campus.

Degree-seeking students have the opportunity to add, drop or swap classes during the schedule adjustment period (Aug. 3–9), with access available for all students during open enrollment (starts Aug. 10). 

  • For more information on changing your class schedule, view the full announcement
  • Learn more about online, remote and hybrid instruction
  • When determining which courses will be offered in-person, we will emphasize in-person delivery of labs and studio courses.

  • We will also prioritize other classes for in-person delivery whose academic outcomes are difficult to achieve virtually.

Yes. The campus is committed to equitable remote options for vulnerable/at-risk populations and meeting the needs of students whose health or personal circumstances require them to learn remotely. A foundational principle of our Academic Implementation Team is ensuring the campus will offer enough fully remote and/or online options that students who cannot attend courses in person can make progress toward their degrees. However, not every course will be offering remote instruction, and this may require a fully remote student to choose different classes.

  • The plan was developed in consultation with CU Boulder faculty and community epidemiology and public health experts, and it was informed by more than 1,500 points of input gathered through engagement with students, faculty, staff, parents, community members and others.

  • This included campuswide town halls, faculty forums and input via webforms and other interactions.

As we approach our academic mission during this time, students and faculty will see a number of changes this fall to prioritize the health and safety of our campus. These modifications are aimed at maintaining a robust instruction and learning environment, while keeping all of our community-members safe.

The main accreditation criteria for our courses remain the same whether they are taught in person, online or remotely: Our courses must involve regular and substantive instructor interaction with students. With remote and online modalities, instructors are able to:

  • Provide regular instruction and interact regularly with their students. 

  • Provide full and substantive assessment and regular feedback on students’ coursework.

  • Be proactive and available in providing information or responding to students’ questions about the content of the course. (Instructors typically begin the semester by facilitating a class discussion about the content of the course to make sure that all students understand expectations.)

We are implementing a first-of-its-kind “First-Year Academic Experience” for all first-year students. Those students will be housed and enrolled in classes with small cohort groups. Courses will be offered in a variety of in-person, distance and hybrid formats.

Instructors across campus are thinking carefully about how to interact with students and design teaching practices that promote learning in face-to-face, remote and online modes. The Center for Teaching & Learning has partnered with Continuing Education, the Office of Information Technology, and the Provost’s Office of Academic Innovation to offer workshops, as well as provide resources and individual consultations for faculty on effective, evidence-based practices for remote and online teaching.

  • If students are enrolled in fewer courses at one time, they have fewer contacts with other students within the classroom. 

  • This diminishes the opportunities for virus spread. In addition, shorter sessions create natural “breakoff points” within a semester if it becomes necessary to end in-person instruction.

  • Most students will be taking 16-week long courses.

  • We are committed to delivering on our mission of educating the next generation and that is best done in person.  We especially considered students who would be most disproportionately affected if we were to be fully remote -- first-generation, underrepresented, low-income and rural students.

  • We are planning a flexible operational model that can pivot to fully online/remote if necessary and can also enable increasing hybrid/in-person modes of operation, based on a strong mitigation model in place to isolate and contain COVID-19 spread, in line with recommendations with multiple public health entities.

The CU Board of Regents sets tuition and fees for all CU campuses each spring as part of the regular budget cycle. This year, the board approved a zero percent tuition increase for incoming and returning students. CU Boulder’s four-year undergraduate tuition guarantee provides additional certainty for incoming and continuing students by ensuring tuition doesn’t increase over a student’s first four years.

The blend of in-person, hybrid, remote and online courses that will be offered in fall 2020 will not diminish the quality and value of a degree from CU Boulder.

The main criteria for our courses remain the same whether they are taught in person, online or remotely: our courses must involve regular and substantive instructor interaction with students. With remote and online teaching, faculty and instructors are still able to:

  • Provide regular instruction and interact regularly with their students. 
  • Provide full and substantive assessments and regular feedback on students’ coursework.
  • Be proactive and available in providing information or responding to students’ questions about the content of the course.

Faculty across campus continue to incorporate best practices for teaching and learning in various teaching modalities into the design of their courses.

In addition, the Center for Teaching & Learning has partnered with Continuing Education, the Office of Information Technology and the Office of Academic Innovation to offer workshops and provide resources and individual consultations for faculty on effective, evidence-based practices for remote and online teaching.

We are also prioritizing classes for in-person delivery whose academic outcomes are difficult to achieve virtually (e.g., computer labs, performance classes, studios).

Finally, the Boulder campus is going to great lengths to modify our campus operations in a way that will allow us to safely provide on-campus experiences for our students. The Boulder campus continues to make significant investments in our COVID-19 health and safety infrastructure in order to provide a safe learning and working environment for our students, staff and faculty. 

A contingency team made up of the leads for each implementation team will prepare a contingency plan for the possibility of a fully remote fall semester.

Students and faculty traveling during fall break and then returning to campus could put the health and safety of the campus at risk. For this reason, the decision was made to move all instruction to remote and online after fall break. In-person teaching will happen as much as possible before Thanksgiving, while promoting student, faculty and staff safety.

Students will still receive the full fall semester curriculum, including taking finals, using the latest instructional design modalities and tools to maximize engagement between students, their peers and professors. Please visit Teaching Modalities & Technology Mapping for more information.

Shortening fall break and conducting all classes remotely or online after fall break will help us avoid potential COVID-19 outbreaks toward the end of the semester as much as possible. Students will still receive the full benefit of class instruction through the end of the semester. To see the updated schedule for fall 2020, please visit Shortened Fall Break 2020 & Downstream Calendar Changes.

There are no plans to adjust or remove fees for the 2020-21 academic year. Student fees did not increase for the upcoming academic year, despite the fact that changes for fall required expansion of infrastructure that supports student activities both online and in person.

The Student Activity Fee, managed by CU Student Government (CUSG), is voted on and paid for by all students in support of a variety of resources and services. Those services will still be available to students, although the details about how they may change to promote the health and safety of campus are still being decided. Some services already existed online prior to COVID-19. Other services may move some elements online for this fall while some will still be available in person. Examples of student-fee-supported services that will still be available this fall include:

  • Access to the Student Recreation Center with possible changes to hours along with changes to some services in order to protect the health and safety of students. 
  • The Center for Student Involvement will continue to host events and support student organizations. 
  • The Volunteer Resource Center will still serve as the central point of volunteer opportunities and food assistance during this time.
  • Off-Campus Housing and Neighborhood Relations and Student Legal Services continue to support students in person and online.

To learn more about the Student Activity Fee specifically, please visit Who We Fund and What We Fund on CUSG’s website. 

Other student fees support services like student health management and information technology infrastructure, including remote learning guidance for students, staff and faculty. Fees also assist with costs to maintain facilities and debt obligations, as well as salaries and benefits for student and staff employees who support these services. For these reasons, student fees will not be adjusted for fall 2020.

Yes. Fall break will be shortened to Thursday and Friday only, with classes continuing through the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. After fall break, all classes will be remote (synchronous) or online (asynchronous) through the end of the semester.

This discourages travel during break, and allows students to travel home and remain there until the spring semester, reducing the chances of carrying the virus back and forth between home and campus.

  • Testing will not be a condition for enrollment.

  • However, part of our fall plan includes having in place robust on-campus testing capability for students, faculty and staff with symptoms. 

  • Our COVID-ready campus implementation team will establish protocols for this testing in the coming weeks.

  • We will be encouraging the continuation of remote work for all who can successfully work remotely through the fall so that we can decrease the density on campus and mitigate the exposure of those whose work requires being on campus. 

  • Leadership of each unit with a physical presence on campus will be required to complete a risk mitigation plan and receive approval for that plan before personnel can return to campus.

  • Consistent with Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment guidelines, We will be enabling employees who are particularly vulnerable to COVID infection to work remotely.

  • The Road Map to Fall 2020 establishes implementation teams for each of the three major sections of the plan, and those teams are already meeting to engage campus units in next steps. 

  • The flexibility built into the plan also enables the added benefit of preparing the campus for a variety of COVID-19 scenarios that could arise. 

  • The Road Map emphasizes that the implementation process will be iterative, and that the campus will continue to update and improve the model based on feedback received from the campus community.

  • Early in this process, campus leadership acknowledged and agreed with feedback from students and faculty expressing the importance of beginning the fall semester on Aug. 24.

  • We stated weeks ago that our desire is to provide a hybrid on-campus experience, and we felt that keeping the academic year timeline and the student experience as intact as possible was crucial to providing a robust on-campus model.

  • We realize that we will need several health and safety guardrails in place to achieve this timeline and ensure the well-being of our campus community. We believe our plan places a great deal of focus and importance on establishing such guardrails.

  • The Road Map to Fall 2020 has been a weeks-long effort that included consultation with and feedback from hundreds of campus stakeholders. 

  • We are confident that we can begin moving forward with implementation.

  • That said, the plan emphasizes that the implementation process will be iterative, and that the campus will continue to update and improve the model based on feedback received from the campus community.

Childcare-related needs and alternatives for all campus community members with children—based on the decisions of surrounding K-12 school districts—will be closely monitored and incorporated into planning, in collaboration with Staff Council and other shared governance groups.

Health & Safety Frequently Asked Questions

  • What tactics will you use to mitigate the spread of COVID-19?
  • How will you address reduced density for classes?
  • What if a student, employee or visitor to campus refuses to wear a mask indoors?
  • How will classrooms be cleaned and sanitized?
  • What do these recommendations mean for large events?
  • What will your CU 101 course entail?
  • Studies suggest a second outbreak is likely, what does CU Boulder have planned in case it becomes a hot spot during a second wave?
  • Will rapid testing be available when the fall semester starts?
  • How do you plan on mass testing students, faculty and staff?
  • Will all students be tested for COVID-19 as a condition of enrollment for Fall 2020? How will that testing be conducted -- independently as CU Boulder or as a part of the county-state health partnership?
  • What is your capability for testing?
  • Will you be testing all students, faculty and staff?
  • How will you address quarantining if an outbreak occurs in the dorms?
  • What will trigger a change in operating status?
  • How will you address students who break social distancing by partying off-campus?
  • What type of health monitoring will you be doing and how will that be balanced with HIPAA?
  • How are you addressing indoor air ventilation, social distancing and other safety measures in campus buildings?
  • Have your recommendations been vetted by epidemiologists and public health experts?
  • How will CU provide staff PPE to keep them safe?
  • Are there any restrictions on people entering or leaving the United States?
  • Can people recently entering the United States after international travel come to campus?

The COVID-19 Ready Campus Experience section of the plan outlines several approaches we plan to take, including but not limited to:

  • On-campus capability for COVID-19 testing of students, faculty and staff, both to continuously monitor for potential spread and to test individuals with symptoms.

  • Rapid response teams for tracking, notification and isolation of infected individuals.

  • Mandatory safety training for on-campus faculty and staff, as well as all students, that includes instruction on physical distancing, wearing of face coverings, hand hygiene and sanitation, and following public health orders on events and public gatherings.

  • A robust public health awareness and outreach program in collaboration with the Boulder Police Department, Boulder County Public Health and student leadership.

  • Updated conduct code and related policies to include compliance with COVID-19 public health requirements.

  • Campus-provided cloth masks for all students and employees. 

  • Continued remote work arrangements for many staff members.

  • Required risk mitigation plans for each unit seeking approval for personnel to return to campus.

  • Return-to-work protocols.

  • Residence hall space for quarantining and isolation.

  • Physical distancing diagrams for all campus classroom and learning spaces.

  • Planners in our Planning, Design and Construction department are drawing up diagrams for physical distancing in specific CU Boulder buildings, classrooms, study spaces and hallways.

    • These diagrams depict how much capacity will exist in a classroom or study space given physical distancing and maximum group size guidelines, model seating arrangements, and take into account egress path adjacencies.

  • Offering classes in a variety of modalities

  • Moving classes to larger spaces

  • Splitting classes into multiple sessions

  • Limiting the number of students present in-person on a rotating basis

  • Extending class scheduling to utilize the full day from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., thus reducing the number of students on campus at one time 

  • We expect everyone who comes on campus to observe our campus safety protocols. This only works if we work together. 

  • Our plan also calls for an updated conduct code and related policies to include compliance with COVID-19 public health requirements and sanctions/public health consequences of non-compliance.

  • To promote the safest possible conditions on campus, we are continuing to provide enhanced cleaning throughout campus with increased attention to commonly touched surfaces.

    •  This means that, based on recommendations from the CDC, Boulder County Public Health and medical staff, our 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.

  • To help promote hand hygiene, the campus is providing an increased offering of hand sanitizer in areas of public access in campus buildings.

Our main focus with these recommendations is to establish a framework for: 

  • The health and safety mitigation measures that will need to be in place for an on-campus experience

  • A model for academic instruction, including the first-year experience

  • Resource alignment supporting those first two areas

We expect to have continued discussions around large events as more information/guidelines develop at the state and national levels.

Related to COVID-19, this course will entail modules on the epidemiology of COVID-19, mental health awareness, student behavior expectations.

Planning efforts are underway to create modeling for a fully remote fall semester, so the campus can be prepared in advance should it need to make such a decision to ensure the health and safety of our campus community.

To ensure a COVID-19 ready campus experience this fall, we will have in place: on-campus capability for COVID-19 testing of students, faculty and staff with symptoms, with a goal of maximizing capacity to have a robust testing program. 

  • We have teams working on our on-campus capability for testing of students, faculty and staff, both to continuously monitor for potential spread and to test individuals with symptoms.

  • We are looking at rapid response teams for tracking, notification and isolation of infected individuals.

  • We are piloting with researchers returning to campus daily health checks, and looking at scaling this for our population which will help with monitoring.

  • Testing will not be a condition for enrollment.

  • However, part of our fall plan includes having in place robust on-campus testing capability for students, faculty and staff with symptoms. 

  • Our COVID-ready campus implementation team will establish protocols for this testing in the coming weeks.

Through a combination of testing strategies, we believe we have the capability to bring back students, faculty and staff in the fall. 

The volume of tests needed and the resources needed to test the entire university community are not available even with a combining of state, county and CU resources. We have a 19-point plan to address the campus’s readiness for COVID-19 that includes testing those with symptoms, rapid response teams for tracking, notification and isolation of infected individuals; additional monitoring to detect the emergence of infection; ongoing sample testing and testing during high-risk periods (e.g. move-in).

We plan to reserve a residence hall or hall/wing as appropriate for quarantining and isolation.

The four modes of operation outlined in the plan will enable notification of local COVID-19 conditions to the campus community in order to rapidly address potential outbreaks by shrinking/scaling in-person campus activities as necessary.

  • We expect everyone who comes on campus to observe our campus safety protocols. 

  • Likewise, we expect that our students will adhere to public health orders in the community, and expect that they will be held accountable by local law enforcement in a manner equal to any other citizen.

  • Our plan also calls for an updated conduct code and related policies to include compliance with COVID-19 public health requirements and sanctions/public health consequences of non-compliance.

  • We are piloting with researchers returning to campus daily health questionnaires.

  • Our COVID-19 Ready Campus Experience implementation team will be looking closely at how best to implement health monitoring in the coming weeks.

  • Facilities Management and EH&S personnel are applying a multi-layered approach utilizing multiple control strategies to minimize risk of transmission through the air.

    • Depending on building systems and population density in buildings, control strategies may include:

      • Maximizing the amount of outdoor air ventilation

      • Minimizing recirculated air

      • Increasing filtration efficiency (MERV rating)

      • Bypassing of energy recovery systems with potential for cross contamination

      • Operating building systems 24/7

      • Ongoing maintenance to ensure proper function

      • Upper Room Germicidal UV Disinfection

  • These strategies will be coordinated with space allocation, scheduling, planning, disinfection and cleaning measures.

  • Initial efforts are focused on ensuring building systems are all working as expected, prioritizing additional measures based on use and occupancy. The above mitigation measures will be implemented with more frequency as population density on campus increases through the summer and with the start of fall classes.

  • Yes, our campus health experts have been an essential part of crafting these fall recommendations, and public health experts will continue to inform and validate the approaches and plans we put in place. 

  • It is important to note that the foundation of our planning has been the rapidly evolving science regarding COVID-19.

  • The plan was developed in consultation with CU Boulder faculty and community epidemiology and public health experts.

  • The plans were developed with health and safety considerations as the foundation of the campus’s ability to return to in-person operations this fall.

Guidance from federal, state, local and university sources will help determine the levels of personal protective equipment required for all faculty, staff, students and visitors. 

 

  • As a result of the global impact of COVID-19, several proclamations restricting entry to the country have been issued, affecting foreign nationals from multiple countries and regions. Foreign nationals who have been in these countries in the past 14 days may not enter the United States. 
  • The U.S. State Department is advising U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel. 
  • CU Boulder wants all international students, scholars, faculty and visitors to feel safe, supported and comfortable during their time on campus and in the United States.  Please reach out to International Student and Scholar Services for any assistance or just to chat.
  • The U.S. government recommends that everyone voluntarily stay at home or self-quarantine elsewhere for 14 days after entering the United States from other countries.
  • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes a map showing which countries are considered to have widespread ongoing transmission of COVID-19.
  • Due to the density of people living together in on-campus housing, the university strongly recommends that those living on campus and who have recently traveled to other countries follow CDC guidance and voluntarily self-quarantine for 14 days before arriving on campus. 

Be safe. Be you. Protect our herd. 

#BuffsTogether

 
Questions and Comments

Protect Yourself. Protect Our Herd. Protect Our Community

Protect Our Herd

Use the Protect Our Herd website for health and safety requirements, information on symptoms, testing and contact tracing, and information on navigating campus spaces.

COVID-19 Update

COVID-19 Campus Updates

As a university, we recognize our responsibility to continually monitor our progress and adjust our plans as needed in response to changes in the environment and in the spread of COVID-19. Use the COVID-19 Updates site to stay on top of announcements. 

Road Map to Fall 2020

 

COVID-19 Updates

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