UMW 'Return To Campus' Plan Calls For Accelerated Class Schedule

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — The University of Mary Washington plans to begin classes on Monday, Aug. 24 and have students go to class on Labor Day and forgo fall break as part of an accelerated fall semester designed to protect students, faculty and staff from the coronavirus, according to a preliminary plan released Monday by the university.

UMW campus facilities are undergoing modifications, with Plexiglas protective barriers being installed in high-traffic areas. Classrooms, meeting spaces and common areas also are being reconfigured to support social distancing requirements.

Face coverings will be required inside buildings by students, faculty, staff and visitors when in the company of others. UMW has purchased washable three-ply cloth masks for all students, faculty and staff who need them. In addition, UMW has purchased an "appropriate" number of clear masks and face shields.

Students will have more time — 20 minutes — between classes to allow for cleaning desks, washing hands and avoiding bottlenecks in hallways.

At Thanksgiving, students will head home for a weeklong break and will remain at home to finish the semester, including taking final exams virtually during the week of Dec. 7-11.

"We anticipate that such a step may minimize the risk of spreading the virus by reducing travel and is consistent with planning for the anticipated rise in cases of COVID-19 predicted for the fall," UMW said in the draft plan titled "#ForwardUMW: Our Return to Campus Plan."

For the spring semester, students will return to campus in late January 2021. Spring break will be canceled, and exams will take place May 3-7, with the 2021 commencement scheduled for May 8.

In August, move-in for residential students will be staggered to permit social distancing and participation by family and friends will be strictly regulated. Students will be encouraged to bring fewer personal belongings to campus this fall.

No residential students will be allowed to arrive prior to Aug. 19 except for student workers in Residence Life and Orientation and students who are entering campus from abroad and are participating in a two-week mandatory self-quarantine.

UMW Dean of Student Life Cedric Rucker has developed a training program for students and staff that will cover key information about the coronavirus and public health, as well as university policies and procedures in response to the crisis.

At the conclusion of the training, students and staff will be required to take the Mary Washington Pledge, agreeing to several things including: regular self-monitoring of health conditions, not coming to campus if sick, wearing face coverings, and maintaining good hygiene practices and social distancing expectations.

Signs will be placed across campus with reminders on cleaning and sanitizing responsibilities, social distancing requirements and occupancy limits, visitor protocols, and other behavioral expectations.

In student housing, triples and quads will be reduced to double occupancy. The densities in some residence halls will be reduced. Other changes include reducing the use of kitchens and common areas, providing access to only one’s own residence hall and placing physical barriers at service desks.

UMW said it will focus its coronavirus testing resources only on symptomatic individuals. Visits to the Student Health Center will be by appointment only and conducted virtually. Students who are determined through a telemedicine appointment to be symptomatic will be told to go to Marshall Hall where a satellite Student Health Center and quarantine space have been established.

Student Health Center staff will administer a point-of-care antigen test. If the antigen test is positive, the student will be instructed to self-isolate in either designated on-campus isolation spaces or at their off-campus housing.

UMW said it has identified on-campus residential spaces should a residential student need to be quarantined or isolated. These 52 spaces have been set aside in Custis, Marshall and South Halls. Additional capacity on campus may be possible as final residence hall occupancy numbers emerge later this summer.

The university said it is working closely with the Rappahannock Area Health District on testing protocols and preparing for a scenario in which Virginia would implement tighter restrictions to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Such conditions could include:

• Sustained negative trends in public health data, including a return to phase two under the Forward Virginia Blueprint for the Rappahannock health district.
• Concern from local health systems that hospital bed capacity was limited and/or testing capacity was insufficient.
• Broad-scale breakdown in adherence to sound public health principles, or supply chain or capacity constraints that undermine UMW’s monitoring and containment plans such as insufficient cleaning supplies, lack of personal protective equipment, or exceeding quarantine/isolation capacity.

UMW said it is "much more prepared than in the spring" to shift fully to telework and remote learning if conditions deteriorate during the school year.