Fall at SIUE

SIUE to look different in fall

Fall courses will include on-ground, online and hybrids formats

By Scott Marion

smarion@hearst.com

EDWARDSVILLE — In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fall semester at SIUE promises to be a mix of familiar elements and new experiences.

The semester begins on Monday, Aug. 24. Fall courses will be held in varied formats (onground, online and hybrid) in order to maintain the health and safety of the community while ensuring academic excellence.

Classrooms will require social distancing and face covering.

“This is the biggest challenge I’ve had to face in my 35 years at the university in getting ready for a semester,” SIUE Vice Chancellor for Administration Rich Walker said. “We have reimagined the university three times and we’re ready for a fourth time just in case. Even if we would have to go back to Phase 3 [of the Restore Illinois plan], we have contingency plans in place for that.”

Classrooms will be cleaned and disinfected nightly. Personal cleaning resources will be made available in classrooms for students who want to do additional cleaning. Classes will feature floor markers and altered traffic flows to reduce face-to-face contact.

Reusable, washable face coverings will be provided to all students and staff and will be

required in all classes and related academic a time to keep people healthy and safe.” activities. Waple explained the check-in process will

“We’re providing sanitizing supplies to all be done outside and in a way so students can the offices and classrooms so that if individuremain in their cars and that the SIUE Experials see something that needs to be cleaned, ence will be virtual this year. they don’t need to wait for the custodial staff to show up,” Walker said. Hand sanitizing stations are being installed in all buildings. Traditional water fountains will be turned off where a bottle refill water fountain is available. Plans that consider traffic flow in and out of buildings, and within buildings will be marked. Elevators will be signed with limits based on ability to 6-foot distance. Doors for entering and exiting buildings will be designated. Enhanced cleaning protocols will remain in force for frequently touched surfaces. Even with all those protocols in place, Walker reminds people that they play the bigNew rules are also in place for housing and dining. A maximum of two residents will be assigned to each bedroom. In suite-style bathrooms, signs will be posted to remind students of proper cleaning procedures. Guests will not be permitted in any University Housing living area. Isolation rooms will be created to accommodate residential students who test positive for COVID-19. Common areas and high touch surfaces will be cleaned and sanitized regularly. Dining will provide pre-packaged, graband-go meal options for carryout. Locations will utilize social distancing and line queues. S LAR S o u t h e rn Illin o i s “Go Green...Save Green...Get Green!” S LAR S o u t h e rn Illin o i s S LAR S o u t h e rn Illin o i s “Go Green...Save Green...Get Green!” gest role in ensuring their own safety and the safety of others. Face coverings will be required in all dining locations, except when eating. “Go Green...Save Green...Get Green!” “Any time I get a chance to say it, I encourage everybody to wash their hands, watch their social distancing and wear a mask,” Walker said. “We can argue all day whether the governor has the authority to do what he has done, but it doesn’t matter. Health says it is the right thing to do if you care about other people.” Student move-in, which is normally a oneday event, will be a five-day process from Aug. 18-22. “People need to sign up for times and they are limited to two guests to help them,” SIUE Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Jeffrey Waple said. “We won’t have our ‘Movers and Shakers’ (student volunteers) and we’re only letting a few people into the residence halls at “We’re still going to feed everyone, and all of our dining locations will have queuing lines,” Waple said. “We will keep a six-foot distance in Center Court (of Morris University Center and there will be a main entryway with one way in and one way out. It will take a little longer to get through lines, but we’re Residential Commercial Agricultural 618-410-4166 Scott Workman 618-795-1233 Chris Weiss Solar Panel Sales and Installation www.Southernillinoissolar.com 618-664-0931 Greenville, IL Federal Tax Credits Lower Your Electric Bill Plus Get Paid for Producing Solar Energy Residential Commercial Agricultural Scott Workman Chris Weiss Solar Panel Sales and Installation www.Southernillinoissolar.com 618-664-0931 Greenville, IL Federal Tax Credits Lower Your Electric Bill Plus Get Paid for Producing Solar Energy Residential Commercial Agricultural 618-410-4166 Scott Workman 618-795-1233 Chris Weiss Solar Panel Sales and Installation www.Southernillinoissolar.com 618-664-0931 Greenville, IL Federal Tax Credits Lower Your Electric Bill Plus Get Paid for Producing Solar Energy S LAR S o u t h e rn Illin o i s “Go Green...Save Green...Get Green!” Residential Commercial Agricultural (Photo courtesy University Marketing and Communications | For The Edge) Numerous protocols will be in place to accommodate COVID-19 health and safety regulations when the fall semester starts at SUIE on Aug. 24. See “RETURN” on Page 26 618-795-1233 618-410-4166

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asking students to be patient.

“We will have hand sanitizer stations and we’ll limit the number of people who are in Center Court. Chick-Fil-A, which is being remodeled, will have its own entrance and exit, so we’ll be able to monitor that a little better.”

SIUE faced numerous challenges and concerns in preparing for academics for the fall semester.

“The chancellor (Randy Pembrook) and I approached fall planning collaboratively by engaging the Academic Continuity Task Force,” SIUE Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Denise Cobb said. “Our shared priorities focused on ensuring the health and safety of our campus community and supporting academic quality and excellent learning experiences, regardless of modality.”

One of the most difficult decisions for SIUE administrators was determining which courses would be on-ground, which would be online, and which would be a hybrid of the two.

On-ground opportunities have been prioritized for student capstone experiences that require deep engagement and programs that rely on equipment and campus facilities.

“The decision about the format was made collaboratively at the university and departmental levels, identifying those courses or portions of courses where an in-person experience was critical,” Cobb said. “Students and faculty in the in-person courses will engage in physically distanced learning in classrooms that have been set up for safe interaction with participants wearing masks. There will also be increased cleaning in classrooms.

“The online courses delivered during the fall 2020 semester will have the same level of quality and rigor as the equivalent in-person courses. When all courses moved online during the spring 2020 semester, that was a quick transition and the change from in-person to online delivery caught a lot of faculty and students off-guard. There was a period of adjustment while everyone adapted to the new conditions. Faculty, staff, students and the administration supported each other during this period, with all parties creatively thinking of ways to adapt teaching and learning activities for the new environment.”

With that being said, the rapid switch to online in spring is not the reality for fall.

“There has been an understanding since the start of the university’s planning efforts that many courses, at some point during the fall semester, will have online activities or meetings,” Cobb said, “In order to help faculty plan for their fall 2020 courses, something they were unable to do as thoroughly during the rapid switch in spring, there have been almost daily faculty development webinars, workshops, discussions, and distributed resources about online pedagogy and strategies for effective, engaging online teaching and learning.

“These efforts have been ongoing since the spring 2020 semester. In addition, instructional designers, ACCESS members and other learning support units have been working with faculty in all disciplines to design their online courses, and faculty across campus have been helping their colleagues by offering suggestions and examples of their own successful teaching practices or products. This collective support effort is helping to ensure faculty have the resources they need to develop and deliver high-quality online courses.”

The changes will continue well after the start of the semester.

Many on-ground academic activities will transition to an online format beginning Nov. 30 following the Thanksgiving break holiday (Nov. 23-29).

A select number of approved courses will continue to meet on-ground after Thanksgiving break. Instruction in all classes ends with finals week, occurring Dec. 14-18.

Co-curricular activities, including intramurals, club sports and student organizations, will be on campus this fall, with the size of social gatherings and meetings based upon the guidelines set by the state.

The Morris University Center, Student Success Center and Student Fitness Center will all be operational with some service adjustments and limitations.

“At the Student Fitness Center, we’ve marked off every other (exercise) machine and people will be required to wear masks except when they’re doing cardio workouts or something similar,” Waple said.

All student organization fairs that are normally held in person will be virtual, as will job fairs for the SIUE Career Development Center.

“Our counseling and health services have done a great job of making telehealth work,” Waple said. “There will be in-person and telehealth services and counseling will be able to do both as well. SIUE Access will still be able to help students virtually or on-ground.”

Due to the pandemic, there will be additional costs associated with technology, software licensing, cleaning supplies, masks, etc. SIUE has made investments in technology to support students, faculty and instructional spaces.

“As we move forward, we anticipate that there may be some additional costs for instruction,” Cobb said. “For example, on-ground classes will now be limited to no more than 50 in a room. As such, we may need additional sections for high enrollment courses. This is coupled with all classroom capacities being substantially reduced in order to preserve the health and safety of our community members.

“Likewise, we will need to work through appropriate supports for online courses. The university received money through the CARES Act, and a portion of that money helped support institutional expenses related to the pandemic. The CARES Act also helped support students directly with technology needs and other expenses incurred during the pandemic.”