Updated May 28, 2020, 5:00 p.m.
On Friday, May 1, President Fitts announced the formation of Reopening Committees comprised of top leaders, students, faculty and staff in academics, research, facilities, housing, dining, workforce and other vital areas. Their charge was to gather information and make recommendations to map our return to campus. The recommendations submitted by these committees provide an emerging roadmap for our path forward. A summary of recommendations follows for your review and input. The School of Medicine, in keeping with its missions, has separate timelines and guidelines.
It is critical that the full Tulane community is involved in our plan-to-return process. It will take the commitment of all to create a healthy environment on campus. Please participate in one of the virtual Town Hall meetings being hosted by President Fitts (June 3-9). You can register here to attend. You can also submit suggestions via this online portal.
The COVID-19 pandemic is an ever-evolving challenge with shifting degrees of uncertainty regarding health recommendations and the best practices necessary to protect our community. These recommendations and university plans could change based on developments and policies enacted on the local, state and national level.
The following timetable for the fall semester was the recommendation of the Education Reopening Committee and has been approved by the University Senate Committee on Educational Policy:
Start and end dates of class days for the Fall 2020 term: Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020 – Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020 (ending just prior to Thanksgiving) (graduate and professional schools may vary). Exam days will be online the week after Thanksgiving. This accelerated fall semester is intended to reduce travel to promote the health and safety of the community.
Changes required within the semester:
The School of Medicine maintains a separate academic calendar.
To the extent possible, courses will have an online component to help social distancing, to allow students who cannot be physically present for part or all of the semester to participate, and to provide flexibility to transition courses online either completely or partially.
A number of high-demand, high-enrollment courses should be offered exclusively online in order to reduce high-density classroom settings. Fully online offerings will include a subset of the online summer classes offered (those that were well-received and for which there is interest); and a new set of around 10 courses of very high-demand courses that will be developed in partnership with instructional design consultants. These should be determined by the schools based on instructor enthusiasm, student interest and course distinctiveness.
Classroom policies need to be reviewed to support our adapted educational environment this fall (i.e., attendance policies, testing policies, accessibility, pass times, etc.).
Class times will be adjusted to both accommodate longer travel times between classes and to stagger class start times to de-densify the campus as students switch classes.
Distancing & Capacity:
Courses should be scheduled to classrooms with the goal of keeping total class size below 50% of classroom capacity. Policies and adaptations should be made to support public health, including reducing in-person attendance, social distancing, plexiglass shields, etc.
All classroom, conference and large spaces should become available for general use classrooms
Outdoor space should be utilized to increase social distancing (this will require outdoor Wi-Fi expansion beyond current capacity, which is limited to spaces immediately around the buildings)
Add technology support to all large spaces and medium/large general pool classrooms, to include three levels of classroom technology identified:
Physical computer labs which are not essential to the educational program should be closed for the fall. The provost must approve any plan to keep a computer lab open, and any such request must be accompanied by both a justification based on the needs of the academic program and a plan to maintain a very high level of hygiene and public safety.
The benefits of these recommendations are:
Plans for graduate and professional students are school specific, please consult school leadership.
Laboratories and research-based spaces are unique to their associated purpose, project, number of participants and location. We will be providing, and continually updating, university guidelines for safe research practices, but specific decisions on how our laboratory-based research returns to full operation should be overseen by the appropriate dean, on a case-by-case basis, considering all safe work practices, including social distancing, face covering or respirator use and laboratory disinfection methods.
Travel is an important part of our mission. Tulane-related non-essential travel is prohibited through June. Requests for exceptions can be submitted to the Senior VP for Operations or the Senior VP for Academic Affairs.
Tulane has retained a certified industrial hygiene consultant to develop sanitization and daily cleaning protocols for all campus spaces. These protocols will include increased cleaning and wipe down frequencies in high-touch, heavily used areas; common spaces; door handles; handrails; elevator buttons; shared and communal bathrooms
Additional hand sanitizer units and wipe dispensers are being added to building entrances, elevator lobbies on each floor, high-use buildings, i.e. LBC, Commons, libraries, dining and common areas, classrooms, and athletic and recreational spaces.
Facilities maintenance and building enhancements:
Contractors and Vendors:
Uptown Campus:
Downtown Campus: School of Medicine (SOM) reopened on May 18, 2020
Medical School Food Court:
The following recommendations are the collective work of the safety and security committee based on the noted assumptions. Emergency response by its nature is reactive and as such all plans are subject to change based on the decisions of other committees in an effort to support the University mission.
Prior to Re-opening:
Operational period:
Adopt a central tool that will meet the requirements of simple form routing with the ability to extend to more complex routing if needed (In final contract negotiation, will require concerted university effort to go digital)
Face Coverings & Personal Hygiene:
Physical (Social) Distancing
Establish social distancing protocols and reduce capacity utilizing CDC, OSHA and State Fire Marshall policies for all areas (classrooms, labs, clinics, dining venues, res halls, offices, elevators, etc.)
It will be essential to monitor and manage COVID-19 on campus. Tulane is developing a robust testing and contact tracing program to deliver frequent testing of students, faculty and staff and proactive contact tracing. When a COVID-19 is detected identification of contacts will commence. For students appropriate quarantine of the positive student and their contacts will be necessary.
Testing
Our goal is to test individuals as they return to campus and to provide frequent testing during the school year. Prompt identification and isolation of positive individuals and their contacts is necessary to increase the health and safety of the Tulane community. Constant monitoring of symptoms must be done in conjunction with regular testing.
Contact Tracing
Campus Health is developing and implementing a Tulane community contact tracing program. This program will utilize in-person staff in addition to technology to notify people who were potentially exposed. This is based on CDC best practices and will be coordinated with City and State efforts.
Once a positive case is detected in the Tulane community, it will be imperative to effectively address the social, medical and practical needs of individuals so they can remain in quarantine without hardship. Campus Health and Human Resources & Institutional Equity will coordinate this effort.
Campus Infirmary
Campus Health, in coordination with Housing & Residence Life, will operate an infirmary in Paterson House for any student testing COVID-19 positive or a known contact who is awaiting results. Testing will be provided to identify risk and illness quickly.
Key to re-opening will be a comprehensive communication strategy that will allow for clear and consistent messages about new expectations and norms for campus life. This includes addressing issues such as workplace safety, wearing face coverings, physical distancing and personal responsibility.
The safety of our students in the residential environment is paramount. An on-campus infirmary provides a safe, effective space for us to manage ill students – who are living on or off campus – while still operating the traditional residential model. Paterson hall holds 110 beds in our current model but will be reduced to 50+ beds for isolation only, in a single configuration through the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 academic terms. Upper-class students assigned to Paterson are being relocated to on-campus rooms based on their preferences with their preferred roommates.
The creation of an infirmary allows for the normal occupancy of our buildings because it provides a safe, effective space to quarantine ill students while still operating the traditional residential model. The only exception to this is the triple bed occupancy, which will be eliminated during fall 2020 and spring 2021 academic terms. The university is also planning to provide an option for students to select a single room, which may be accommodated off campus. The university would develop a term rate for this option and detailed service level agreements (cleaning, sanitization) for operation. A limited number of single rooms for students with accommodation requests will be available as normal on the uptown campus.
Move-in planning for fall and spring semesters will rely heavily (if not exclusively) on the ship-to-room program. This program has been in place for three years for first-year students. Students and parents will receive detailed instructions on how to ship their belongings to campus by a pre-determined date. Items will be dropped in their room prior to students’ arrival. In addition, many students used a storage vendor when moving out, those students’ items will be placed into their fall housing assignment prior to arrival. The runway for move-in will be staggered to accommodate social distancing guidelines. Communication to students and parents will detail limits of personal belongings students can bring to campus when arriving, to reduce the handling of packages and to decrease crowds.
Housing & Residential Life will follow and implement all public health guidelines to help reduce the spread of the virus, including social distancing and other individual behavior and community responsibility protocols. Guidelines will be shared with students prior to, and repeatedly after arrival on campus. Students will be expected to follow these guidelines strictly. While we will hope to appeal to students’ sense of responsibility in encouraging this behavior, student conduct protocols and formal changes to our housing agreement will be articulated and strictly enforced.
Multiple considerations will be vetted and implemented for decreasing risk in the residential student environment. Recommendations are evolving but will likely include:
Sports Activities follow this summer timeline:
From now until August 15, the following medical precautions should be taken:
Remaining student-athletes are phased a week before the start of fall classes
Tulane’s goal is to implement a phased return to normal operations in a thoughtful and careful manner to provide guidelines and protocols to protect our students, faculty, researchers and staff. Tulane departments should continue their current instruction and remote work protocols with a phased reduction of off-site work requirements.
The following is a recommended framework to provide instructions for supervisors to follow to prioritize the order of return and management of administrative staff. Supervisors need to coordinate with and receive Senior Vice President approval before employees are allowed to return to the workplace. Information regarding faculty and research staff is covered separately below.
Some Schools and units (such as the School of Medicine and the Primate Center) are following a similar phased approach but with a different timeline and parameters. Certain employees will continue to work on campus throughout the pandemic.
Faculty
Decisions on faculty staffing will be determined by the appropriate dean, with the recommendation that faculty continue working remotely as much as possible until the start of the Fall semester.
Research & Clinical Staffing
Laboratories and research-based spaces are unique to their associated purpose, project, number of participants and location. We will be providing, and continually updating, university guidelines for safe research practices, but specific decisions on how our laboratory-based research returns to full operation should be overseen by the appropriate dean, on a case-by-case basis, considering all safe work practices, including social distancing, face covering or respirator use and laboratory disinfection methods.
In this phase, a small number of employees identified by the supervisor or the unit’s administrative team can return to on-site work. It is recommended that supervisors return first to support a safe return to the workplace. The broad goal is to return a small percentage of the workforce throughout June, inclusive of those already working on-site. Many employees may continue working remotely. Department leaders should manage this process consistent with work needs and to protect the safety of students, faculty and staff.
Workforce Assessment
Supervisors should analyze their workforce and prioritize the order of return based on operational needs and in consideration of which employees are necessary to accomplish essential departmental functions.
Supervisors should consider the points below when planning for employee return:
Notifying Employees & Addressing Concerns
As they plan for a return to work on-site, we recommend that employees be notified to return to campus in phases and based on business-related reasons. Employees who are notified to return to work on-site but have concerns about returning, should contact their supervisor who should coordinate with their HR Business Partner to determine available options to address the employee’s concern. Flexibility by supervisors and employees is important in these circumstances. An option for temporary remote work arrangements may be provided by the supervisor to address an employee’s concerns such as self-quarantine, currently positive with COVID-19/other illness or childcare/eldercare. Additionally, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles eligible employees to take job-protected leave for qualified medical reasons. The Americans with Disabilities Act may be considered as well.
Tentatively July 8
We should seek to return another phase of employees to on-site work to a level not exceeding 50% of full-time employees in a given area.
Tentatively September 8
Remaining workers can return to on-site work, presuming public health conditions do not change. Some employees may be authorized to continue remote work at management’s discretion.