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ND University System Safe Reopening
North Dakota University System Safe Reopening By Sarah Keiser, NDU Communications
The North Dakota University System (NDUS) is a unified system of higher education governed by the State Board of Higher Education (SBHE). NDUS is comprised of 11 institutions across the state, as well as countless higher education members of North Dakota United.
As the NDUS campuses closed down in mid-March, your North Dakota United staff dived deep into the discussion of how and when to best reopen campuses this fall, ensuring the highest level of safety for students, staff, and the communities in which they live.
North Dakota United members respectfully asked the State Board of Higher Education to adopt the following principles for a safe reopening of campuses:
1. Faculty and staff must have a say in decisions regarding opening campuses and pandemic planning at every level: building, campus and system-wide.
2. Decisions must be based on prioritizing worker and student safety, and guided by sound science.
3. Strong, clear, and enforceable workplace health and safety standards must be in place. 4. Workers must have stronger protections against retaliation to encourage the sharing of concerns and experiences.
5. There must be a massive increase in adequate levels and types of personal protective equipment, sanitizing materials, and spacing requirements in the classroom and public gathering places.
6. There must be a massive increase of rapid and reliable coronavirus testing.
7. There must be a system of recording, reporting, and tracking worker and student infections.
8. Campuses, in coordination with local and state public health departments, must trace the contacts of infected faculty, staff, and students and remove exposed workers from work with pay and without retaliation.
NDU President Nick Archuleta along with NDU organizers Liz Bjerke and Courtney Schaff worked diligently to ensure that our members’ voices were heard throughout the reopening discussion. On the next page you will find a timeline of all their efforts.
