WVU students will be required to wear masks on campus during the Fall 2020 semester. (WVU Photo/Scott Lituchy)
West Virginia University released more information today (Aug. 4) concerning its phased Return to Campus plan.
August 4, 2020
West Virginia University Campus Community:
As we approach the beginning of classes this fall, please note the information below that has been updated since our announcement on July 27. If you have additional questions, visit the Return to Campus website or send your questions to returntocampus@mail.wvu.edu. In addition, a Return to Campus Conversation will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 6 where senior administrators will continue to answer questions and address concerns. Thank you for your patience as we continue to work together toward a successful return.
ACADEMICS
Academic Calendar
There are two different academic calendars for WVU this fall.
Following the phased return approach to Morgantown campus, most Morgantown-based undergraduate programs and graduate on-campus degree programs will follow the Wednesday, Aug. 26 start-date academic calendar. However, the Beckley and Keyser campuses, online graduate degree programs and some professional programs will follow the Wednesday, Aug. 19 start-date academic calendar. Students in professional programs should check with their program for confirmation of their start date. Health Sciences graduate and professional students will receive guidance from their specific deans and/or program directors. This includes the HSC Charleston and Eastern campuses.
Even with the later Wednesday, Aug. 26 start date for some students, all programs will still provide 15 instructional weeks as required for regional accreditation. For programs with a Wednesday, Aug. 26 start date, the week after Thanksgiving will now be considered a week of instruction rather than a review week. Final exams will remain consistent, regardless of start date, and be delivered online Monday, Dec. 7 through Friday, Dec. 11.
Students may notice schedule changes throughout this week as the University works to move selected classes to an online format, but we ask students to wait to review their finalized schedule until an official announcement is made from the Office of the Provost later this week. After this announcement, students should work directly with their advisers to make changes to this schedule.
Calendars and complete details are available on the Provost’s website.
Safety in the Classroom
We are implementing a number of health and safety procedures and protocols for any on-campus activity this year. Faculty, staff and students will be required to wear a face mask/face covering when on campus and follow physical distancing guidelines. Classrooms will have Plexiglass shields available for faculty and instructors as well as extra PPE if students forget their masks.
Facilities Management is implementing more enhanced cleaning and disinfecting measures based on guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources and the Centers for Disease Control. Specifically, classrooms will be cleaned at the end of each day, and disinfecting wipes will be available in each classroom.
All face-to-face, on-campus classes will be required to have assigned seating and recorded attendance for each class meeting. Instructors teaching on campus will be required to complete the assigned seating chart for each class at the beginning of the semester and provide that to a centralized unit to use for contact tracing purposes should the need arise. Instructors will need to maintain attendance records for each class meeting and may be asked to provide that information to the contact tracing team.
The University will be setting up tents with Wi-Fi connectivity on the Mountainlair Plaza, outside the Student Rec Center and outside Towers. Additional tents may be added as needed. These tents should aid students who need to participate in online-only classes while on campus. They will also be used to hold physically distant, in-person activities this fall.
Managing Quarantine or Illness Due to COVID-19
Students, faculty and instructors are reminded of the revised University attendance policy, which has been updated to reflect the impact of COVID-19, and the new emergency leave policy that provides guidance if a student should be unable to participate in class for more than a week. A reminder: those who have any symptoms of COVID-19 should not come to campus and should seek medical advice via Student Health or a primary care physician.
If students are ill and unable to attend class, work or complete assignments in isolation, the revisions to both the attendance policy and the emergency leave policy give students the ability to work with instructors on how to best complete the course requirements and demonstrate the necessary learning that was missed. If students are under quarantine because of potential contact but are not ill, they are expected to contact their instructor(s) for direction on how to keep up with the content and required work in the course. They should not go to class.
HP/Pass/Fail
The HP/P/F (Pass/Fail) grading mode is currently not an option for the fall semester. Since early summer, the Office of the Provost has tasked faculty with developing courses that could more seamlessly pivot to online instruction in response to the evolving public health situation. In addition, our faculty’s experience in the spring has helped them adapt their classes for this fall, and many instructors have engaged in professional development and training opportunities through the WVU Teaching and Learning Commons. We expect to see more live and interactive virtual classes.
COVID-19 DASHBOARD
Every week the University will share the latest information regarding COVID-19 on campus through a variety of news channels. In addition, a dashboard will be available daily at https://www.wvu.edu/return-to-campus/daily-test-results/morgantown where you can find the most current statistics on positive COVID-19 test results.
COVID-19 EDUCATION MODULE
Later today, faculty, staff and students will receive an email with a link to access and complete the COVID-19 education module. All faculty, staff and students – regardless if they plan to be on campus this fall – must complete the module by Saturday, Aug. 22. For students, failure to complete the module by the Saturday, Aug. 22 deadline will result in a $250 fee being added to their accounts; they will also be reported to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities. Students who will be wholly online are still required to complete the module. Faculty and staff who do not complete the course by the Saturday, Aug. 22 deadline may face disciplinary actions.
REC CENTER
The Rec Center will be closed for indoor events as the fall semester begins. The plan is to re-open in phases throughout the fall, as it becomes safe to do so. The Rec Center will offer some outdoor and online activities while the facility is closed. More information will be available in the coming weeks.
DINING
On-campus dining facilities will open in phases starting Friday, Aug. 7 with Café Evansdale. All dining locations will be open by Wednesday, Aug. 19. Dining facilities on the Beckley and Keyser campuses will be open starting Thursday, Aug. 6. Detailed instructions on how to access dining while waiting for test results will be shared in the coming days.
HOUSING AND UNIVERSITY APARTMENTS
With the revised start date, residence hall move-in has been pushed back one week. Move-in will be Saturday, Aug. 15 through Saturday, Aug. 22, with the exception of Sunday, Aug. 16. Beginning today, Tuesday, Aug. 4, students can log in at myhousing.wvu.edu to schedule a time slot for move-in between Saturday, Aug. 15 and Saturday, Aug. 22, with the exception of Sunday, Aug. 16. The portal will remain open for students to schedule a move-in time slot until 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 14.
For those living in University Apartments (College Park, University Park, University Place and Vandalia), move-in began Saturday, Aug. 1 and will continue through Friday, Aug. 14. Residents are strongly encouraged to register for a move-in time slot. Anyone arriving for move-in who is not scheduled will experience a delay in accessing their apartment.
More move-in details are available on What You Need To Know: Housing.
Students who will live in off-campus housing should contact their landlord or property management for information about move-in. Expectations and requirements are established by each property.
Those living in University Apartments (Vandalia, University Park, University Place and College Park) will not be able to automatically terminate their lease early. To discuss available options, please contact your property manager. If you’re living in an off-campus apartment, contact your landlord for specific questions or concerns regarding your lease agreement.
TESTING
Anyone who plans to be on campus this fall in any capacity is required to be tested for COVID-19 and receive a negative result prior to physically being on campus.
If a student’s courses are completely online and there is no plan to ever be on campus, the student will not need to take the COVID-19 test. Students will not be charged a $250 fee if they are not required to take a test and do not take one. However, we are recommending that all WVU students who will be in Morgantown take advantage of the free COVID-19 testing to help minimize community spread within Monongalia County. If you believe you’ve been incorrectly charged a $250 fee, please email returntocampus@mail.wvu.edu.
Students living in a residence hall should plan to be tested for COVID-19 the day they move into the residence hall. Depending on the move-in time, students should schedule your COVID-19 test before or after moving in. Testing hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. If students are unable to schedule a test for the same day they move into their residence hall, they should schedule an appointment no later than the next day.
If students need to reschedule or cancel: Log back into myhousing.wvu.edu. Select COVID-19 Testing and then select Continue. Select Schedule an Appointment at the top of the confirmation page. Follow the prompts to reschedule or cancel.
Moving into the fall, there will be an ongoing testing site on campus for those who need a COVID-19 test. More information will be available on this site in the coming weeks.
TUITION, FEES AND FINANCIAL AID
Students who will be moved from in-person courses to receiving delivery of all courses in an online format will only be charged $220 in student fees, which is $440 less than the standard fee amount. The University is doing so in recognition that these students are studying remotely while other students will be studying on campus.
Late last week, the University issued a 6.42% pro-rata reduction in room costs for a student living in a residence hall and a 6.36% pro-rata reduction in Go 10, Go 13 and Go Anytime dining plan costs to compensate students for the reduced days they will be living in the residence halls and dining on campus. There are no changes to Prime plans or Dining Dollars.
The payment deadline for fall charges on July eBills has been extended to Sept. 1 instead of Aug. 1 to allow more time for students to plan for the fall semester.
Late fees for fall charges will now be assessed on Wednesday, Sept. 2. Late fees assessed Monday, Aug. 3 will only apply to outstanding balances from previous semesters, not fall charges.
Financial aid disbursement will proceed as scheduled on Sunday, Aug. 9 for students who will begin the semester on or before Wednesday, August 19; however, per normal business process, the earliest a refund will be in bank accounts for those with direct deposit would be Wednesday, Aug. 19. Financial aid disbursement for students with a start date of Wednesday, Aug. 26 will occur on Sunday, Aug. 16; per normal business process, the earliest a refund will be in bank accounts for those with direct deposit would be Wednesday, Aug. 26. Please make sure you have no unsatisfied requirements that may cause a delay. More information is available at https://studentaccounts.wvu.edu/refunds.
Students can find current account and financial aid information via the WVU Portal. Parents/guests who have been given proxy access may view account information through the WVU Parent and Guest Portal.
-WVU-
08/04/20
CONTACT: University Relations/Communications
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