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Ursuline’s back-to-campus plan is informed by close consultation with experts from Cleveland Clinic and the Cuyahoga County Board of Health and follows the guidelines of the State of Ohio and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
This page tracks testing and confirmed cases among our community members and is updated every Wednesday.
Below are frequently asked questions. To read more in-depth updates, go to our Coronavirus news section. Additional updates are available to Ursuline students, faculty, and staff on the College's intranet, MyUrsuline, where a log-in is required.
We’ve adjusted the academic calendar for fall 2020 semester to promote health and safety. Fall semester on-campus classes run from August 24 to November 24, with a long weekend for Labor Day but no mid-semester break. After Thanksgiving, the last two weeks of classes will be taught online. This way, anyone who travels for the holiday won't unintentionally bring illness back to campus with them.
Our classrooms are being equipped so that we can provide a flexible, blended learning model that combines face-to-face and virtual learning for most courses. As noted above, for most students, all classes will be virtual for the last two weeks of the semester (after Thanksgiving).
The following will be prioritized for face-to-face instruction:
• undergraduate courses, especially for first- and second-year students
• labs
• studio courses
• clinicals and fieldwork.
All in-person course meetings will follow strict guidelines for facial coverings, social distancing, hygiene/cleaning, and other protocols to maintain health and safety.
The balance of face-to-face and virtual instruction may change (up or down) depending on risk levels in Cuyahoga County or the State of Ohio as well as on our own campus.
Many spaces on campus (computer labs, library workstations, etc.) are being equipped with microphones, monitors, and cameras so that students can join a class via Zoom.
Yes! Masks are mandatory for all of us on campus. From the staff member working all day in an office to the mail carrier making a quick delivery, everyone is to wear a face covering while on campus. If you forget your mask, you may pick up a disposable mask (and/or gloves) at posted campus locations including reception desks. This is in line with Responsible RestartOhio from the Ohio Department of Health. We’ve posted a Mask Policy FAQ here.
Campus community members who have a written, approved exception will be exempt from the mask-wearing requirement. Approved exceptions are listed in Director’s Stay Safe Ohio Order (DSSOO 7.) Exceptions are typically due to health problems. The rules are different for being in a classroom because of the extended time together. In the classroom, all students and instructors must use a mask or an approved alternative to a mask (see the Disabilities Office for more information) #MaskUpArrows
We have installed hand sanitizer stations at locations around campus, and we’ve placed more hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies at each copy machine. Each classroom and computer lab is stocked with wipes, disinfectant, paper towels and hand sanitizer. Students and faculty are asked to wipe down all surfaces they will touch (primarily desks and keyboards) at the beginning and again at the end of each class.
We increased the hours of the cleaning staff. They are committed to three cleanings per day of each restroom plus disinfecting high-touch surfaces throughout campus several times a day. Responsible behavior by all of us will help keep our campus clean.
Research shows that keeping six feet apart helps prevent the spread of disease. Therefore classrooms, lecture halls, science labs, the library, chapel and dining hall are all being reconfigured for fall with less seating or fewer workstations per room. Each class meets in the largest space available.
Student Activities and Admission events will be a mix of virtual and face-to-face encounters, depending on the activity, venue, and ability to ensure student safety. Signs posted all over campus remind us to stay six feet apart. Again, a culture of shared responsibility will help us avoid infection.
Each one of us has the potential to be a carrier of the coronavirus, therefore, each one of us must take responsibility for acting in ways that protect our entire community. Fortunately, the most important steps we can take are also pretty simple steps: wash hands frequently and for at least 20 seconds each time; avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth; wear a mask; maintain social distancing of at least six feet; self-isolate for 14 days if you experience symptoms of COVID-19.
Students, faculty and staff are all required to sign a form acknowledging that they understand that before entering campus every day, they are to assess their own symptoms, watching for:
• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea
This list does not include all possible symptoms.
Those who exhibit symptoms of COVID-19 should not enter campus buildings until symptoms have been absent for at least 14 days. The Cuyahoga County Board of Health recommends that someone who tests positive may return to work or class when symptoms have improved for 24 hours without medications and at least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared.
We will urge any resident student diagnosed with COVID-19 to recover in their permanent home. Faculty will provide online instruction. If that is not possible, students who live in a single room in the residence halls can isolate there and have meals delivered while they recover. Any resident who develops COVID-19 but does not have a single room will be offered one.
You can be with others again after all three of the following are true:
• At least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared and
• At least 24 hours have passed with no fever without fever-reducing medication and
• Symptoms have improved
As of late July, 2020, the Cuyahoga County Board of Health recommends:
• Persons who reside with and have not been isolated from a COVID-positive patient (for example, a parent who has to care for an infected child) should quarantine for 16 days after symptoms first appeared.
• If a person is a probable positive (symptomatic with a direct link to a COVID positive patient) they should isolate for 10 days after symptoms first appeared and return to work/school when symptoms have improved for 24 hours without medication.
• If a person is a suspected positive (symptomatic without a direct link to a COVID positive patient) they should isolate for 10 days after symptoms first appeared and return to work/school when symptoms have improved for 24 hours without medication.
Our goal for the coming fall 2020 semester is to maintain on-campus presence that enables us to offer valuable faculty-student interactions, at the same time that we protect the health and safety of the Ursuline College community. Coronavirus circumstances continue to evolve, however. For this reason, the Ursuline College administration pledges to continue to monitor guidelines from the State of Ohio, the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, and the CDC. Students, faculty and staff are urged to stay on top of campus developments by reading Ursuline emails religiously.
