In a new email, DU detailed requirements for returning students that will encourage safety and prevent infection. This email was released to students on July 27, a little more than a month away from most students’ Sept. 7 move-in date.
Before they arrive, students will need to quarantine for a 14-day period as well as mark their arrival time on PioneerWeb. Those who are unable to quarantine will need to adhere to strict social distancing and avoidance practices. During this period, all community members will participate in symptom monitoring through an app that checks up on individuals once a day. DU has not announced what tech provider this app is coming from, nor how they seek to mitigate security or privacy concerns. They did say, however, that the monitoring will increase to twice a day when students arrive on campus, and it will continue indefinitely.
Along with app check-ups, students will need to take a nasal swab RT-PCR test before arriving. Students must provide a validated negative molecular test result from a location of their choosing during the 14-day isolation. If they so choose, students can receive a “assigned testing date and time via DU to take the test in Denver at no charge, administered by a trained medical professional.” Students will be asked which they prefer in the earlier mentioned PioneerWeb link. Details about how to submit this test to DU is still pending.
For those concerned about the monetary implications of getting a test, DU announced that “testing on campus is free to students, faculty and staff. For those outside Denver, [they] will make emergency funds available to students for whom testing costs would pose an undue hardship.” Individuals in high-risk environments will be re-tested during the seven-day arrival period, in order to provide extra security. Random testing will also occur each week on faculty, staff and students at the cost of DU. Participating in this testing is encouraged but not required.
If a student has not met all pre-arrival requirements, they will need to take a nasal RT-PCR on their first day on campus. Students who take this test will then need to quarantine until their results come back. If the student cannot isolate properly (due to roommates or other reasons), they will need to stay in a hotel until results are received. Students can receive funds for this, if it is a financial burden.
In the case of a positive test, DU illustrates an action plan for students. The student must delay their arrival to campus pending a series of conditions. First, they must wait 10 days after their symptoms began showing. Second, they must be fever-free for 24-hours. If a person is asymptomatic, they will only need to wait 10 days after the positive test.
Students should expect an email from HRE in the next few hours detailing their room assignment and move-in window during the week of Sept. 7. Those living in FSL housing should coordinate with their own leadership apparatus and FSL staff to find details for their living accommodations. Student arrival will be staggered using these move-in times to prevent infections and uphold social distancing guidelines.
A new canvas course titled “Trail Back to Campus” is required for all students. Law students should receive the course this week and will need to complete it by Aug. 14. On this same date, Aug. 14, it will be released for the rest of campus. First-year and transfer students will need to complete it by Aug. 24, while all other students have til Sept. 10.
DU hopes the course will “inform the community about our response plans to mitigate the spread of the virus and cultivate a culture of personal responsibility, which will determine our ability to continue working, learning and living on campus.” Those who do not follow the guidelines, protocols and procedures in the course will be in breach of the honor code and referred to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities.
“We take the health and safety of our community most seriously, and these violations could result in temporary or permanent removal from the University. Looking out for ourselves, and for one another, is the DU way,” Chancellor Haefner said in the email.
Due to the large amount of information being given to the community, Haefner announced three Zoom town halls. Sturm law students will have one from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. on July 28. Graduate students can ask questions on July 28 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Undergraduate students and their families are welcome to virtually attend on July 30 from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. A Zoom link will be sent out before each event.
