On July 27, DU’s Chancellor, Jeremy Haefner, sent out an email to the DU community informing them of the long-awaited rules and policies for the return back to campus this fall, with COVID-19 Coordinator Sarah Watamura sending a more detailed email on July 30. Haefner expressed his excitement about the “gradual return to a kind of ‘normal.’”
Vaccinations
The key takeaways from the emails are that students who want on-campus access, which nearly every student must have to attend their in-person classes, have to submit a vaccination record or an approved exemption request. This process can be done through the DU My Health portal by Sept. 1—or earlier for those who start in August, such as law students—which is accessible through your PioneerWeb homepage.
DU will accept any vaccines that are listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) even if they are not FDA approved. However, those who received non-FDA-approved vaccines will follow a more stringent testing schedule. If the vaccine is not listed by the WHO, you are considered unvaccinated.
After your vaccination record is approved, every student will be assigned an access level that explains a student’s threshold for campus clearance. These three categories consist of, cleared for campus, cleared for high contact, and/or cleared for field placement or clinical work.
If you are unvaccinated, DU requires you to wear a face-covering indoors and outside when in groups of five or more or at any events that require it. These students will follow a more frequent COVID-19 testing schedule and face travel restrictions and more isolation requirements if exposed. However, all students—regardless of vaccination status—must wear masks at the spit test collection sites. Additionally, non-vaccinated students will not be allowed to room with those who are vaccinated.
Regardless of vaccination status, anyone who exhibits symptoms of COVID-19 must remain off campus or isolate if living on campus. If a student who lives on-campus tests positive for the virus they will be sent to quarantine at the Hilltop Residence Hall for the isolation period.
COVID-19 Testing
DU’s quarter system begins Sept. 13 and the university is requiring that every student has to be tested for COVID-19 twice during the first two weeks on campus. Students can access their testing schedule on the campus access page on PioneerWeb. Only tests done through the university will be accepted, with the first test being done within 48 hours of when you want to access campus—tests will begin being offered on Sept. 6—or as soon as you arrive on campus. Both spit and nasal RT-PCR tests will be accepted until Sept. 24 when DU will move to use the spit testing only.
The frequency of testing depends on every student’s circumstances. For example, if a student lives in communal living, off-campus, is an athlete, etc. DU’s goal is to move to less testing after the third week of school if the virus prevalence is low at the time.
Classroom Protocols
On Aug. 13 another email was sent that stated the classroom/event protocols for the quarter. The university will move to code level green, which stipulates that all students must wear a mask during classes, with those vaccinated allowed to not wear a mask at an indoor meeting/event with less than five people. Those unvaccinated or those considered not ‘fully’ vaccinated will have to wear a mask indoors regardless of the number of people. Those vaccinated who are presenting/speaking are allowed to not wear a mask if the room allows six feet of space between the speaker and the audience.
While no social distancing is required in classrooms, instructors will be required to keep a seating chart to allow for contact tracing. Students are also not allowed to eat or drink in classrooms unless they have received accommodation from the university’s Disabilities Service Program.
If a student enters isolation or quarantine, they will receive information to send to their professor about how long they will be out of class. Any work missed will be done asynchronously and may not be the exact same assignment as was done in person. Professors must put all necessary course materials on Canvas in case they or any students must enter isolation/quarantine.
In his July email, Chancellor Haefner recognized that the “COVID-19 pandemic is not over, as the virus and its variants still pose significant risks to unvaccinated individuals and communities.”
Although this is a positive step for DU returning back to being a vibrant and active campus, the university still remains partnered with National Jewish Health who will be closely monitoring the COVID-19 cases on campus, in the surrounding community, nationally and worldwide. This means the loosening of the COVID-19 policies for the fall quarter is subject to change as new variants of the virus have been discovered throughout the year.
Haefner’s main recommendation right now is to get vaccinated if it is available to you as soon as possible. This widespread vaccination, as nearly 70% of the DU community is vaccinated, is the main reason for less strict COVID-19 rules. If you have any questions, you can contact Sarah Watamura at covidcoordinator@du.edu.
