9:05 p.m.
During a roundtable with University of Miami student leaders and fellow administrators, Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Patricia A. Whitley provided a small glimpse into what the fall semester might look like when classes resume on August 17. Whitley mentioned the cases are going down since this recent peak, but she did warn that this fall there will most likely be cases within the UM community. Here is a list of updates:
Despite the recent pushback from students and faculty members the university expects to officially open August 9.
Face masks will be mandatory on-campus— indoors and outdoors, social distancing implemented
Shalala Student Center will open August 1
Only residential students will be tested upon arrival
There will be a student COVID-19 testing center across from Red Road Commons; a separate site for faculty and staff
Asymptomatic testing: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Symptomatic: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Random testing conducted in the residential colleges
Over 125 quarantine rooms in Mahoney— four floors on the singles’ wing
No indoor events, meetings at least through Nov. 1
Breakdown of classes offered: 1/3 online, 1/3 in-person, 1/3 hybrid
There will be a curfew set for residential students, which will be announced at a later date, and a new guest policy
Limited interaction with students in residential halls
Outdoor tents, more takeout options including where Jamba Juice used to be
The Rat cannot serve alcohol until Miami-Dade County permits, two food trucks daily
Voter registration on-campus will be virtual
No school events that involve traveling outside of Broward Dade and Monroe counties are permitted— events within those counties must be approved and meet university guidelines, safety distancing must be met
The Wellness Center will only be open for students until Nov. 1 at least
Students will have to complete a COVID-19 module with specific policies and procedures
“It is going to be different,” Whitley said, “We will all have to have creative flexibility and resiliency.”
1:15 p.m.
In preparation for the return of students and staff, University of Miami released an email on July 23 addressed to the entire UM community discussing the newest rules and community expectations. The email touches on a number of topics including expected behaviours, dining protocols and instructions for symptomatic individuals.
Leading off the email In bolded letters, UM states facemasks will be mandatory in all public spaces on campus. Faculty, staff and students that fail to abide by this will be subject to “disciplinary actions.” Faculty, staff and students will also be required to complete a safety module that will be available at the end of the month.
Resident students will have a nightly curfew and “restrictions on off campus activities.” Outside visitors will not be permitted in the resident halls, the message said. Dining hall schedules will remain the same, but will have less available seating amongst other changes. The curfew and details on restrictions are forthcoming.
Instructions were also provided for students that outline expected actions before returning to campus. All students are expected to quarantine and limit activities. All residential students and those living in frat houses will be required to take a COVID-19 test before returning to campus. Off campus students are encouraged to take a COVID-19 test, the message said. All students, faculty and staff will be required to take a daily online symptom checker,lthough the checker is not available yet.
Faculty, staff or students that experience COVID symptoms or test positive are being asked not to come to campus. Individuals that live off campus will be expected to self quarantine in accordance with CDC guidelines, resident students will be put in an isolation room.
The email also reiterated previous announcements such as class start dates, the cancellation of international travel and increased sanitation efforts across the campus. The entire update can be viewed here.
11:39 p.m.
On the heels of a video announcement from president Julio Frenk reaffirming the universities plans to hold in person classes, University of Miami Division of Student Affairs sent out an email expanding on guidelines for student organizations.
The email addressed to “student leaders” reiterates that all indoor events and meetings will be cancelled at least through Nov. 1. This means all organizations that had scheduled events that were set to take place prior to Nov. 1 are cancelled. Student leaders attempting to reserve rooms for events will find the portal closed until August 10 when applications for events will be accepted.
The process for scheduling events will involve an extra step of filling out a “SCC Safe Event Plan,” which will be reviewed by a member of a SCC reservations team. The department of Student activities and organizations has made a list of requirements for student organizations to follow.
The requirements include only serving pre-packaged food, tracking of attendees on engage and recommended hand sanitization locations.
“Physical distancing and protection of personal space is a pinnacle of the universities’ response to COVID,” explained Josh Brandfon the senior director for student activities.
For off campus events student organizations will be expected to come up with a plan that adheres to the university’s guidelines and present it. For on campus events student organizations will need to follow the provided safety policies.
Specific directions for club sports will be emailed soon, the message said. Greek organizations are expected to adhere to the newly listed requirements along with the requirements released to them on June 14.
“We need responsible involvement of all members of our University community,” Frenk said in his video announcement on July 21. The provided guidelines are consistent with UM’s reopening plan which puts an onus on students and community members alike to adhere to several safety precautions.
The new guidelines come as faculty members have expressed irritation over the handling of campus reopening. Faculty senate met on Thursday to discuss these concerns. Brandfon explained that current plans could change depending on the CDC and other factors, describing it as a “fluid situation.”
6:20 p.m.
With the number of COVID-19 cases continuing to spike throughout Florida, Miami Dade County announced facemasks will now be required in public spaces inside and outside. Also, Miami-Dade hit 1,000 COVID-19 deaths today.
https://twitter.com/AndySlater/status/1278451420996472832
At the Town Hall for students and their families, the University of Miami answered a number of questions regarding the fall semester. Here are a series of tweets that describe some of the leaders’ announcements and statements.
"I am confident we can reopen our campus safely this fall," President Julio Frenk says during the @univmiami town hall for students and parents.
— Naomi Feinstein (@naomifeinstein) June 30, 2020
"Given the rise of COVID cases, will the fall semester be entirely online,?" an audience member asked.
Provost Jeffrey Duerk said students, especially those with pre-existing health conditions and international students can opt into taking all their classes online.
— Naomi Feinstein (@naomifeinstein) June 30, 2020
After reading guidance from the @CDCgov, Dr. Erin Kobetz said there may not be a benefit to test all asymptomatic students upon arrival to campus. But, no decision has been made. There are two testing sites on campus right now.
— Naomi Feinstein (@naomifeinstein) June 30, 2020
There will be a mixed-hybrid approach to classes this fall. Hybrid means not all students will be in the classroom on the same day. Synchronous and asynchronous learning are classes that students can tune in online, but also will be recorded for to watch the lesson later.
— Naomi Feinstein (@naomifeinstein) June 30, 2020
Each student will receive a safety kit upon arrival to campus including a facemask, alcohol hand wipes, and a thermometer. A Flu vaccine will be required for all students.
— Naomi Feinstein (@naomifeinstein) June 30, 2020
When asked about monitoring social activity. Dr. Whitley said there will be public health ambassadors monitoring safety on campus. She describes it to be more of an honor system, but action will be taken if an organization throws a party off-campus not following guidelines.
— Naomi Feinstein (@naomifeinstein) June 30, 2020
https://twitter.com/naomifeinstein/status/1278096057654824961
University of Miami administrators will be holding town hall meetings today for staff, faculty, students and parents to discuss the university’s plan for reopening for the fall semester on Aug. 17. While the school did unveil its four-pillar plan for reopening, many questions remain unanswered.
Leaders from the university who will be available questions regarding the fall semester include:
- President Julio Frenk
- Provost and Executive Vice President for academic affairs Jeffrey Duerk
- Chief Operating Officer Jacqueline Travisano
- Vice President for student affairs Patricia Whitely
- Vice Provost for research Erin N. Kobetz
- Director of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center Stephen Nimer
- Director of Student Health Services Howard Anapol
Register here: Townhall for faculty and staff at @ 3 p.m. EST.
Register here: Townhall for students and their families @ 5:30 p.m. EST.
Florida reached a new milestone today, as 8,942 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed, the largest the state has added on any given day yet.
Florida’s Department of Health announced Friday morning the state’s new high of 122,960 cases.
With coronavirus numbers rising in Florida, the University of Miami is continuing in its preparations to bring students back to campus this fall and expects to do so safely through a plan centered around four pillars: testing and tracing the virus, enhanced cleaning on campus, social distancing and mandatory flu vaccinations.
Graphic by Jess Morgan
As the number of coronavirus cases continues to surge across south Florida, University of Miami students are beginning to wonder what their fall semester will look like. On Wednesday, June 24, Florida reported its highest number of cases in a single day— 5,500. While there is still a lot of uncertainty, UM’s vice president for student affairs, Patricia Whitley, provided a glimpse into what this fall might look like on campus during an Instagram Live on Wednesday evening.
New classroom guidelines
Students will be returning to in-person classes, Whitely said. However, for some courses the university is planning to implement a mixed hybrid class schedule. Whitley explained a student may have a Monday and Wednesday class where they would have class in person on Monday and Friday and then class online on Wednesday. Tuition will remain the same despite the mixed-hybrid class approach.
In order to hold larger classes while allowing for a 6-feet social distance between students recommended by CDC, the Watsco Center and the Shalala ballrooms will be used as lecture spaces in the fall. The Shalala ballrooms, which typically can hold around 750 students, will now only hold 140 students.
To further decrease classroom density, course waitlists are blocked for now, Whitely said.
Face coverings must be worn on campus and potentially in the classroom. “If a faculty member [requires facemasks] on their syllabus, the faculty member can say they must be online today if they didn’t bring a mask and may need you to leave,” Whitely said. Some classroom spaces may have Plexi shields if possible to provide extra protection.
Outside of the classroom, there will be 30 public health student ambassadors through the Butler Center to enforce school policies like face mask coverings on campus.
“We need our own students to help reinforce our policies,” Whitely said.
Dining
In terms of dining on-campus, the school is hoping to provide more outside dining seating options by Mahoney Pearson as well as on the intramural field outside of Hecht and Stanford Residential colleges.
Administrators are also planning to have an application for students to use to see how busy the dining hall is during the day.
“I don’t want people waiting 45 minutes to get food,” Whitely said. The app would be able to show when the dining halls are busy and allow students to plan their meals around that. Whitley explained there will also be more takeout options and self-serve areas, such as the salad bar, may be serviced by dining staff.
The Rathskeller, a campus-favorite restaurant, will reopen with more take-out options and social distancing, Whitely said.
Testing and tracing
As part of the university’s four pillars for a safe return, there will be a COVID-19 testing site on campus. In the event a student tests positive in the dorms, they will be able to quarantine at one of the university’s 75 to 80 total quarantine spaces. The university has secured 25 hotel rooms and 55 single dorms in the Mahoney-Pearson dorms to isolate positive students..
If a student’s roommate or suitemate gets coronavirus, Whitely said the university will help the student clean their dorm and give them the opportunity to get tested.
Every student will have a symptom tracker where they can self-report and track their symptoms in an application. Students will also be able to use contact tracing and find who they were with that tested positive.
Housing
The University plans to reopen on Aug. 1, welcoming back faculty and residential staff. First-year students will be given appointment times to move in Aug. 9-11, with at most 43 people moving in per hour to any given residential area. Only parents will be permitted to accompany their students for move-in, barring other family members including siblings.
Orientation will begin on Aug. 11 but will be mostly virtual. Resident Assistants will conduct much of their orientation floor activities on Zoom.
The capacity of Hecht and Stanford Residential Colleges has been lowered from 950 to 750 students, as more single rooms will be offered to lessen the density of the dorms. Stanford was originally set to be demolished this summer to make way for Centennial Village, a new housing project that will replace the freshmen towers. However, President Julio Frenk told student media leaders at a roundtable in April that this project has been put on hold due to coronavirus. There will be a new housing policy in the dorms only allowing one guest per student who must be a current UM student.
As part of the second pillar of UM’s fall return plan, there will be intensive cleanings of restrooms in the residential colleges two to three times a day. During Thanksgiving and after, students in University Village and Lakeside Village will be allowed to stay, but will be encouraged to go home due to a possible second wave of coronavirus cases, (Whitely said.) Eaton, Hecht, Stanford and Mahoney Pearson will be closed through winter break until the start of spring semester.
Campus events and shared spaces
Whitely confirmed that UM will abide by current CDC guidelines, meaning events on campus cannot exceed 50 people. The farmer’s market, which typically takes place every Wednesday in front of Richter Library, will most likely be moved to Miller Drive to allow for more social distancing, she said. Tabling at the University Center Breezeway will likely be moved to the Rock, Whitely said.
The UC pool and the Herbert Wellness Center will be open with equipment moved around to account for social distance, but there will be limitations in the fitness rooms and classes.
To accommodate for social distancing, the libraries will not be operating at full capacity, thus, the university is looking to use other public spaces for studying, such as the food court.