COVID-19 Information

Dear Colleagues,  

Given the changing conditions brought by the Omicron variant, our leadership team has been monitoring conditions closely and determining how best to serve our goals of supporting the health and safety of our campus community and delivering engaging and excellent learning experiences for our students. We are grateful for your patience as we worked through these issues. 

In particular, we have been reviewing early data from the University’s re-entry testing protocol, and our initial results indicate a campuswide positivity rate of 14.03% with 355 positives from 2,886 test results in, as of 8 p.m. Wednesday, January 5. We have reviewed initial re-entry testing results, self-disclosure reports, and area COVID trends, and consulted with experts in the SIU School of Medicine to confirm additional mitigations are needed.  

We have decided it is prudent to shift courses online, to the extent possible, beginning Monday, Jan. 10 and through Jan. 17. We will review data and conditions for the remainder of this week and early next week to determine instructional guidance for Week 2 and beyond. We understand that transitions are trying for faculty and students. As such we will do our best to keep you informed of our plans as we move forward. While the alterations are difficult, we trust that all are committed to ensuring our collective well-being and supporting our educational mission.   

For January 10-17, we will implement the following changes: 

• Courses originally scheduled for on-ground in Week 1 should plan to convene the first meeting in a synchronous online format. We recognize that some faculty have previously developed high quality recorded lectures and other materials that may also help support student learning during this temporary shift.    
• Hybrid courses with online components scheduled for January 10-17 may continue with the course’s online components during this week, but faculty members should work to shift on-ground sessions to synchronous online, when appropriate. 
• Courses originally scheduled as asynchronous online will continue to function as originally planned until the end of the semester. 
• Experiential courses such as internships, co-ops, clinicals, practica, and teaching practice can continue. Faculty members supervising these courses should ensure proven safety measures such as masking and distancing to the extent practicable are in place to conduct these on-ground experiences safely. In some cases, alterations to the schedule, shifts to virtual participation, or moves to simulation may be warranted. Should any changes be required, please communicate clearly and soon with students. Please work closely with licensure boards to ensure that students fulfill the requirements. 
  

Guidance for programs with Specialized Accreditations, Licensure or Internship/Field Requirements 

Students in Dental Medicine and the School of Pharmacy have already begun their semesters, and the deans of those respective schools will continue to provide guidance regarding adjustments to the curriculum or changes in modality.  In our communication with students, we will encourage students in programs such as Dental Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Social Work, and Education to look for additional correspondence from their dean, department chair, or program director. Other programs may need to communicate program-specific information to their majors, and we encourage you to do so. 

Other Exceptions 

We ask that department chairs work directly with their respective deans if there are additional courses that must meet on-ground in order to achieve the necessary learning outcomes for Week 1. Such exceptions must be compelling and approved by the dean. It will be critical to communicate any exceptions to students as soon as possible, so that they are aware and can be fully prepared. Deans should share any exceptions with the Registrar and develop, in coordination with the faculty, a clear and timely communication plan to ensure students are aware of all expectations.   

Communication with Students 

The University will send an email message to students today and communicate our plans for the first week of instruction. We strongly encourage all faculty to reach out directly to students before Monday, Jan. 10, via Blackboard or email, to ensure that students understand what to anticipate during their scheduled class period. Students will have many questions and may be confused by the shift. Please make sure to communicate early and clearly with students to help support their success. 

While many students will have online schedules this first week, we will encourage students living in on-campus housing to move in as scheduled and begin to safely engage with the University’s resources and be part of an environment supportive of their learning. We will continue to de-densify offices and support effective remote work while providing critical on-ground experiences and support for students.  

Please look for another message later today that will provide further updates regarding mask-wearing, event planning, and other issues.  We will also be sending a message with additional information about technological support and guidance for faculty and students. 

We recognize that the shifts and anxieties brought on by the pandemic make our work more difficult, but we sincerely appreciate your ongoing commitment to ensuring a safe environment for student learning and the critical work of our faculty and staff. Please take care of yourselves and one another. 

Grace,