Through the fall semester, campus officials are providing weekly updates, including dashboard stats and items of note on positive cases, isolation, contact tracing, mitigation measures and more.
State public health order and flexibility for remainder of semester
- Campus leaders announced today that the university will shift to remote learning for the remainder of the semester, beginning on Monday, Nov. 16.
- The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) on Wednesday, Nov. 4, shifted Boulder County to the more restrictive Safer at Home Level Orange on the state COVID-19 dial. While the move dictates few operational changes for the university, based on the projected rise in COVID-19 cases in the Denver metro region, the shift to remote learning will provide additional flexibility for students and their families, including students who wish to move home prior to Thanksgiving.
- To support students preparing to return home, we are expanding on-campus COVID-19 testing starting the week of Nov. 9.
- Any students planning to leave Boulder are strongly encouraged to get tested 48 to 72 hours prior to departure at any one of our on-campus testing sites.
- Students living in residence halls may remain on campus through Wednesday, Nov. 25. We will continue to provide on-campus housing and dining, including isolation spaces for students who test positive for COVID-19.
- Campus will host a virtual town hall for students, faculty, staff and Buff families at 11 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 6, to discuss this announcement and provide a forum for asking questions.
- CDPHE’s shift of Boulder County to Safer at Home Level Orange on the state COVID-19 dial did not affect the Boulder County Public Health Order limiting gathering sizes for 18-to-22-year-olds in the city of Boulder.
- People in the 18-to-22-year-old age group are still permitted to be in personal social gatherings of up to 10 people from no more than two households—the same limits for all other age groups in Boulder County.
Buff Pass replaces daily health form
- All CU Boulder students, faculty and staff have been sent invitations to transition from the current Daily Health Questionnaire to Buff Pass.
- Designed to simplify and improve the health questionnaire experience—and tested by members of the CU Boulder campus community—Buff Pass is a confidential, mobile-friendly and easy-to-use daily health check-in system.
- Students, faculty and staff complete their Buff Pass every day they plan to be on campus.
- Sign up or log in at pass.colorado.edu.
First football game
- The Colorado Buffaloes football team will play its first game of the season at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, against UCLA at Folsom Field.
- The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
- The Pac-12 Conference is not allowing general fan attendance at games this season. The only exception by the league is for a limited number of family members/guests of players and football staff to attend, with approval by local public health officials.
- CU Athletics has been approved by Boulder County Public Health to host a small number of family members of current players and football staff from both teams for the first game. Total attendance will be roughly 630 people, broken up into pods of 75 people or fewer. The ability to host player and football staff guests for future home games will remain dependent on evolving public health conditions.
- Fans should cheer on the Buffs from home, and avoid parties and large gatherings in Boulder, in accordance with local public health guidelines.
- Tailgating is not permitted anywhere on the CU Boulder campus, and game attendees will not be allowed to congregate before or after the game.
- Register your virtual tailgate through the Alumni Association for the chance to win prizes and connect with other Buff fans on game day.
Exposure notification service available in Colorado
- CDPHE launched its statewide COVID-19 exposure notification system in partnership with Google and Apple.
- Three days after the launch, more than 585,000 Colorado residents had activated the option on their personal devices. If you haven’t already done so, you can turn on the option to receive alerts via your smartphone.
- When users enable the service, their smartphones share anonymous tokens with other users through the phones’ Bluetooth technology. If another user tests positive for COVID-19 within a 14-day period and chooses to upload their results, users at risk of infection will receive an alert of potential exposure.
- Tokens are not associated with any phone number, name, location or IP address and they change every 15 minutes to add an extra layer of anonymity.
- Learn more about CO Exposure Notifications at the Add Your Phone webpage.
Campus tents update
- Due to a reduction in use and colder weather, staff will begin removing some of the outdoor tents around campus beginning on Friday, Nov. 6.
- Tents on Farrand Field, Sewall Field, in the Integrated Teaching & Learning Laboratory courtyard and at Williams Village will come down this week.
- Multiple tents will stay up through Nov. 30.
- Students can continue to reserve indoor study spaces via the Find Your Study Spot webpage.
COVID-19 testing
- All students, faculty and staff can participate in the campus monitoring program for COVID-19. Read more about locations and times. This is a free program available to students, faculty and staff.
- On-campus residents are required to participate in monitoring, as are certain employees.
- Those who complete their weekly COVID-19 monitoring test will be entered for a chance to win $100. Three prizes will be given each week.
- On-campus residents who do not participate in monitoring could be subject to student conduct sanctions.
- Students should contact the Public Health Clinic at Wardenburg to schedule a diagnostic test if they:
- Have a monitoring test that indicates the possibility of COVID-19.
- Are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
- Have had a known exposure to a person with COVID-19 (recommendation is to wait to test until five to seven days after exposure).
Monitoring testing program begins expanded hours Nov. 9
- To accommodate those preparing to return home, the university’s on-campus monitoring testing program begins expanded hours at some testing sites on Monday, Nov. 9.
- Students, faculty and staff planning to travel are strongly encouraged to get tested 48 to 72 hours prior to departure.
- Testing at all monitoring sites occurs Monday through Friday, except during university holidays.
- Monitoring testing sites and hours, beginning Monday, Nov. 9, include:
- Village Center Dining and Community Commons (east entrance): 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.
- Folsom Field (ticket windows near Gate 4), 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Kittredge Central (Room S163), 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Porter Biosciences (Room B131), 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- University Memorial Center (north side near fountain court): 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Sustainability, Energy & Environment Community (south entrance at breezeway between SEEC and SEEL): Noon to 5 p.m.
Public Health Clinic open Saturdays through Nov. 21
- The Public Health Clinic at Wardenburg will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays through Nov. 21.
- Public Health Clinic services, including COVID-19 testing, are available for students who may be ill or experiencing symptoms of the flu or COVID-19. Schedule an appointment for COVID-19 testing online or by calling 303-492-5432.
- Other Medical Services departments, including the pharmacy and primary care, will remain closed on weekends.
Isolation space
- As of the morning of Thursday, Nov. 5, the university had 13 beds in use of the 555 beds available for on-campus residents in need of isolation space.
Testing sites off campus
- The state of Colorado is currently providing a free community testing site in Boulder, available through Nov. 8. More information is on Boulder County Public Health’s website.
- Residents do not have to have symptoms to be tested.
- Boulder County Public Health, Boulder Community Health, diagnostic testing developer Biodesix, Inc., and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment launched an effort to expand access to free COVID-19 testing for underserved and at-risk population groups across Boulder County.
Weekly COVID-19 update sessions
- Every Tuesday at noon, campus leaders host a live COVID-19 update for faculty, staff, students and Buff families. Each update begins with opening remarks and then time is reserved for viewers to ask questions. These presentations are recorded and available to view online. These sessions are scheduled to continue until Nov. 17.
- CU is also participating in the city’s weekly community update on Thursdays at 10:15 a.m. More information about the city’s weekly updates is on the city’s website.
Spring 2021
- Operational updates announced Oct. 22 for the spring term address academic calendar dates, academic instruction modes, expanded on-campus social programming, residence life and isolation spaces, public health guidelines, the launch of Buff Pass and enhancements to our student engagement and support model.
Enforcement
The COVID-19-ready dashboard displays information regarding students who have been, or are currently, under investigation based on reports of public health order violations. The investigation data is updated once per week.
As of Wednesday, Nov. 4:
504 students have received educational interventions.
40 students are on an active interim exclusion from campus, pending the adjudication of a conduct hearing.
126 students have received the disciplinary status of probation.
41 students are on an active interim suspension, pending the adjudication of a conduct hearing.
Whom to contact:
- For campus technology issues or concerns, call the Office of Information Technology at 303-735-4357 (5-HELP).
- For health questions, contact your health care provider or Medical Services at 303-492-5101 (24/7 nurse line available for students) for advice and recommendations.
- For mental health questions or concerns, call Counseling and Psychiatric Services at 303-492-2277 (24/7 support available for students).
- If you are experiencing trauma related to a crime or relationship, please call the Office of Victim Assistance at 303-492-8855 (24/7 support available for all students, faculty and staff).
- For faculty and staff, call the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program at 303-492-3020.
- For families, New Student & Family Programs will be happy to assist you. Call or text 303-492-4431 or email families@colorado.edu.
- For employment and payroll questions, call Human Resources at 303-492-6475.
- Have additional questions about how COVID-19 affects your studies or work with CU Boulder? Use LiveChat at www.colorado.edu/covid-19, call the central hotline at 303-492-8478, or submit your question via the ask a question form.
- For students who need assistance or who may be in crisis, please contact Students of Concern at 303-492-7348, SSCM@colorado.edu, or visit the Students of Concern Team webpage.
