@momo2x2018 Wow! Where did you hear that?
^ I just can’t see that, especially when you consider that they are planning significant changes to the campus in order to accommodate social distancing and will need time to make that happen. Many OTHER schools on the semester system are, indeed, considering an August start in order to finish up by T-Giving but, IMO, UChicago’s quarter system makes things a tad easier on this issue. They can either move Fall Quarter forward a week and hold finals via remote, or they can start essentially as originally planned and have 10th week via remote as well as finals. In either case they can shut down the dorms beginning Sat. prior to T-Giving and give everyone the week off, moving “reading period” into those first couple days of T-Giving week. It’s definitely doable. Moving up a week is a simpler solution, in my view; however, faculty may not wish to give up that week of research on campus in September (given the compromised status of research-via-remote for the past several months), and Facilities may need that week given the enormous task they have to alter the campus. So not sure which way it would go, but neither scenario suggests starting in Aug.
I would strongly suggest everyone to periodically check this website:
https://goforward.uchicago.edu
University Administration just releases some new schematics on classroom and dining hall arrangement:
And status of buildings:
@85bears46 Thank you! Very interesting. I’m wondering about the differences between the terms “OPEN”, "COMPLETE, and “IN USE” on the building status map. The medical buildings are labeled OPEN, so maybe that means open to the public, whereas IN USE means only open to staff. And COMPLETE means alterations have been made like moving furniture, installing signage and barriers?
@browniesundae I think your guess is correct. I walked by Reg yesterday and it was closed to students but there were clearly people inside. So it is “IN USE” .
@85bears46 Thank you for those links. Reading through the spatial configurations and social distancing requirements, it seems 6’ of space is a standard requirement, which I understand; what I don’t understand is the 8’ requirement in dining facilities.
What does that mean? Tables are spaced 8’ apart? No dining in groups?
I think it would be almost impossible to keep 8’ distance between one person and the next, especially in food lines.
@mom02x2018 - According to Dr. Emily Landon at UCMC, the 8-foot rule is necessary due to the fact that eating apparently contributes to the spread of the virus. They found this out on their own from their health-workers eating in the break room. I think the food line itself can probably use the normal 6-foot rule. The 8-foot dining rule probably translates to a 25% of capacity seating arrangement. Not sure how they are going to arrange for house tables under this new configuration. My guess is that they will remove the benches and implement single-seating, but hopefully they will also section each part of the dining hall by house.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced in a statement on Tuesday “guidelines that will allow K-12 schools, community colleges, and higher education institutions to safely resume in person instruction for the upcoming academic year.”
Masks are required and there cannot be bigger gatherings of 50 people.
We shall see how this all shakes out, but good for the colleges.
One relatively affluent suburban HS district with two separate HSs already announced that they will be fully remote, not even going to try to navigate opening. Another similar HS has told parents they can’t figure out how to get half the students on campus at a time, so it looks like kids will be in class one week, home/remote learning for two.
If these plans remain, it will likely trickle down to K-8 schools, and obviously impacts the ability of parents to go to work. That starts the domino effect as it relates to other schools…teachers can’t teach if they have to take care of their own kids.
@Mwfan1921 I am really surprised your HS district has already made the decision for the fall term. I look at the our local HS district website as well as a few more school districts around us. Most of them have not even acknowledged Governor Pritzker’s directive. One of them says they are reviewing the details and won’t have an answer until late July.
My guess is that they will all go on a combination of in person classes with a limited quantity of students and online classes for the week off. The hybrid model seems to be the most popular one for HS and colleges right now.
Thanks for the link @JBStillFlying It is completely understandable, although not ideal, that professors might opt for another quarter online.
Does anyone have any idea when classes will be open for Fall enrollment?
They promised by end of June and dadburnit, end of June is here. What in samhell have they decided?
Fresh off the press
https://president.uchicago.edu/page/autumn-quarter-2020-plans
Ha, ha @JBStillFlying you beat me to that.
So U of C is doing the “start on the normal date but end in person class at Thanksgiving” model. I think that is a reasonable choice given the circumstances. I read somewhere that graduate students/TA are grumbling about their potentially heavier workload and bigger health risk if they have to do most of the in person teaching. But no matter what the Administration decides to do, someone are bound to be unhappy.
It is the great American education experiment for the fall. No one has the right answer now because of so much certainties in public health. Let’s wait and see how this fall term develops before we pass judgement.
I think TA’s are considered instructors and as such have the option to hold online tutorials or, if possible, labs.
There are a few issues unaddressed in the announcement: 1) what specific ongoing testing & mitigation plans does UChicago have? E.g., will there be periodic testing beyond the initial week? Would the University rely on self-reporting only to identify covid-like symptoms, or would it require daily monitoring reporting like what some schools are envisioning? 2) what alternative housing is UChicago offering to second year students? The letter refers to some recommended options, but I could not find the list anywhere 3) what happens in the Winter/Spring quarters? Would the dorms remain singles only for the rest of the year? Having that information would be helpful for planning purposes.
- Public Health Considerations
A key objective is to protect the health of students, faculty, staff, and visitors to the University. We will rely extensively on guidance from the University of Chicago Medicine (UCM), which has some of the world’s leading experts in infectious disease and maintaining public health. Some of the relevant issues under discussion include the availability of widespread testing and its interpretation, use of face coverings and personal protective equipment (PPE), the level of population density on campus in various campus environments and the relationship to the potential spread of COVID-19, social distancing, quarantine when necessary, protecting vulnerable populations, and building a campus culture in which each individual recognizes our individual and collective responsibility for maintaining a healthy environment.
Also: https://goforward.uchicago.edu/health-requirements/
- The University is providing contact information and other details for rental agencies to the remaining returning students who had planned to live on-campus and now need to secure alternative off-campus housing. .https://uchicago.app.box.com/s/v2xnrcjpxcbcu9mju0t5zyv91xjjbxix
All students on financial aid, regardless of whether they live in a residence hall, will receive an aid package this year that includes increased funding to cover incremental off-campus rental costs and dining expenses
- Didn’t notice a reference to other quarters but the 2nd year on-campus requirement is waived, period. Best guess is that your dorm room is your dorm room for the year, just like any other year. Hopefully, there will be no need for an early move-out like what happened in spring of 2020.
My rising 3rd year daughter is looking for off campus roommates now. Please, PM me if you know of any upperclass women who might be interested.