DENVER — For many students preparing to go to college in the fall, plans are difficult to make when college leaders have yet to decide whether to reopen campus in the fall.
That includes Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver).
"Right now, every option is on the table," said MSU Denver Chief Operating Officer Larry Sampler.
Sampler said he and his staff have put together plans for three main options of how to operate the fall semester because of the uncertainty of how the COVID-19 pandemic will play out.
"So, we're working with what we do know and what we think we can anticipate to come up with different scenarios for how the fall semester might go," Sampler said.
9NEWS sat down with Sampler to learn more about the path forward for MSU Denver.
(Editor's note: Responses have been edited for context and clarity.)
9NEWS: What are the options being considered for the fall semester at MSU Denver?
Sampler: One scenario is we basically do what we're doing now, which is 95% of all our classes are taught online. No faculty or staff have access to regular buildings. They can come back episodically, if necessary.
At the other end of the spectrum, is we get this under control and by fall semester, we're pretty much returning to normal. There may be some physical distancing. People may be asked to wear masks and hand washing and things like that. Good practices in any event.
And, what we call the mushy middle is where we'll probably end up. The mushy middle is some degree face-to-face classes for things that are deemed essential. There are some classes that have to be taught face-to-face— -some of the nursing classes, some of the engineering laboratory classes. Some of the science laboratories have to be done in the lab.
We want to prioritize those and let them be taught face-to-face. The remainder of our classes will then still be taught (online).
If some students and staff are allowed back on campus, what would that look like?
Sampler: In each of the classrooms, we've identified with appropriate physical distancing how many students can we accommodate, and we're working from, I believe the number is 49 square feet. So, a 7-by-7 (foot) square around each of the individuals and how many of those squares can you put into a classroom, and as you can imagine, it reduces the amount of available seats significantly based on a normal classroom spacing.
How likely is the 'mushy middle' option?
Sampler: It's a high likelihood.
I cannot imagine recommending to (MSU Denver) President (Janine) Davidson anything less than some measure of social distancing.
Now, if the scenario changes between now and then, if they come up with a vaccine or if somehow miraculously the warm sun and the beautiful air in Colorado causes the virus to not be a problem, then that changes things.
When is the deadline for making a decision for the fall?
Sampler: Yeah, there is. Our online learning team says by the beginning of June they need to know roughly how many classes and which instructors will be teaching online this fall.
We've done online training before this...but doing it at this scale and this volume is new to us. Some of the faculty members who are being required to move their courses online, this is a first time for them. So, beginning June 1, we need to start training those faculty, validating the curriculum that they'll use online. That's one of the deadlines that we have.
Let’s go ahead and make the decisions now. Let our students have some certainty about what they’re facing in the fall and then trust them to be somewhat understanding if we wind up having to change those decisions.
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The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) is telling families that a definite decision will be made by June 1.
Regis University announced Wednesday that it will start a week earlier than planned, but will resume with on-campus classes on Aug. 17.
Colorado State University (CSU) plans to have in-person instruction in the fall, but will not make an official decision until later this spring or summer.
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