USCB prepares to open on Thursday. Here’s how the university is dealing with COVID-19
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the start date for classes. Classes begin Thursday, Aug. 20. The article has been updated online.
For the first time since March, students will be attending in-person classes at the University of South Carolina Beaufort on Thursday, with many moving into dorms over the weekend.
Approximately 1,200 of the school’s 2,000 students will receive some form of in-person instruction, provost Eric Skipper said; around 800 have opted for fully online learning.
As residential students arrive on campus, with many freshmen coming Saturday and Sunday, they will be required wear masks in public spaces and to take a COVID-19 test, administered by Beaufort Memorial Hospital at no cost.
The school expects students to get test results within three to four days, and is asking them to be diligent about social distancing guidelines until results come in.
What will classes look like?
Of the 1,200 students who chose in-person instruction, some will be “completely face to face,” while others will take hybrid classes.
Some classes will meet in person once a week with the rest of the material presented online. Others will have two sections that each meet two days in person and two days online.
“We’re offering more sections across campuses and more sections into the evening, so we brought down the density of students that are on campus at a given time,” Skipper said.
The school will keep classrooms at 33% capacity, and masks will be required on campus.
Students will have assigned seats to ease contract tracing for virus spread, according to Kimberly Dudas, the dean of the university’s School of Professions.
Some online students will watch and participate in classes as they happen, while others will watch pre-recorded lectures.
Faculty with pre-existing or COVID-related conditions were automatically approved to only teach remotely, Skipper said.
Other faculty could request assignments to online-only instruction or “a temporary telecommuting agreement,” which was approved or denied by their supervisor.
“We’ve tried to be as accomodating as possible while still meeting student needs,” Skipper said.
What if someone tests positive?
If an on-campus student tests positive for COVID-19, the school will begin contact tracing, Dudas said.
People who have come in contact with the student will be asked to quarantine, while those who test positive will be asked to isolate.
“We have apartments set aside for isolation for our students,” Dudas said.
School officials will also call students for a daily wellness check, and help deliver food and medications to them, along with health and hygiene kits.
The school’s accessibility services office will help provide lesson material to students in quarantine or isolation.
“It’s not a matter of ‘I didn’t get to attend class,’” Dudas said. “There’s a recording of that class that the student can be able to view so they’ll be as close to a real-time experience as possible.”
Dudas said the school will follow CDC guidelines and work with South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control to determine when students can end quarantine or isolation.
If the virus spreads further, the school has alternate plans “to scale back face-to-face offerings or in worst case scenario move everything to some sort of remote learning.”
The school will track Beaufort County’s rate of new cases and hospital bed use, along with on-campus metrics like the number of isolation beds being used, Dudas said.
What about other safety measures?
All students, faculty and staff will be required to wear a face mask in public spaces on campus, vice chancellor for student development Angela Simmons said.
Students will receive a kit that includes two washable face coverings, two fluid ounces of hand sanitizer and a germ key for opening doors and pushing buttons.
“We have a mechanism where people can report if someone’s not adhering to the social distancing or face mask policies,” Simmons said. “That will be handled through our disciplinary system for our students and through HR for our employees.”
The school has also modified its dining halls. Students will be able to get grab-and-go meals and eat inside or outside the dining hall.
Student groups, such as student government, are encouraged to meet virtually, Simmons said.
This story was originally published August 16, 2020 at 4:45 AM.