The afternoon of Friday, May 29, the University of Denver released their tentative plans for living and learning on campus Fall Quarter 2020. These plans are subject to change, as they are dependent on federal, state and city guidelines. The full outline of these plans can be found here.
Classes will operate on a modified academic calendar, with undergraduate classes starting Sept. 12 and ending on Nov. 20. During Fall Quarter, DU will use a hybrid of in-person and online classes. High-impact learning courses will be prioritized for in-person settings, although the University did not define what qualified as “high-impact.” Online instruction will be held for larger classes. The University did not denote what class size counts as a “large class.”
Both orientation and finals week will be primarily administered online. Orientation week will have limited in-person experiences for first-year students. In the case that COVID-19 worsens in the midst of Fall Quarter, all in-person classes would shift online.
As for housing, the University will honor 77 percent of students’ on-campus housing. Approximately 700 people will not be accommodated, and they will be provided with “comparable proximate housing” instead. The University is currently looking into housing options in nearby hotels and apartment buildings. They did not specify how Housing would determine which students could not live in their original housing assignments.
All first-year students are guaranteed housing. They will oblige as many second-years as possible, but the on-campus living requirement has been removed for these students. Students can qualify as commuters if they live within 45 miles of campus, as the previous requirement of 25 miles has been waived. Under the “Housing” section of DU’s COVID-19 FAQ page, it was stated that third and fourth-years who signed contracts for on-campus housing will be contacted “very soon” about their room assignments. Students who had originally planned to study abroad should contact their study abroad advisor about fall housing.
DU will modify its Student Code of Conduct to adhere to guidelines around social distancing and face mask use. Housing will update their cleaning schedules to be more frequent, and the University will use a symptom monitoring system for COVID-19 testing. The Health and Counseling Center will continue to offer telehealth support for students affected by the move to single-room housing. Their 24/7 Crisis Services hotline is 303-871-2205.
DU’s administrators will hold a virtual town hall on Tuesday, June 2 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. MDT to answer questions from students and families. Attendees can join over Zoom using this link.
