The University of Oregon held a virtual town hall Thursday for new and returning students and their families to answer questions and provide guidance on COVID-19 adjustments for this year’s fall term.
The town hall covered topics related to remote education, COVID-19 prevention, academic support, health and wellness, general student support, and housing.
While the majority of classes will be remote (synchronous) or online (asynchronous), some smaller and specialized courses will be in-person. Many campus buildings like the libraries, Erb Memorial Union, and Student Recreation Center will be open to students, but closed to the general public.
Any students, faculty and staff that do come to campus are asked to do symptom self-checks and wear face coverings. All students and staff will be receiving two reusable, fabric masks. They’ve also set up extra hand washing stations across campus.
University President Michael Schill said all students living on campus in reduced density residence halls will be tested for COVID-19. Students not living on campus can get tested at the health center, but Schill noted they likely won’t have the capacity to test the entire student body until November.
U of O has also partnered with PeaceHealth to offer guidance to local fraternities and sororities to help them implement visiting and social gathering guidelines.
The University has a dedicated webpage for detailed coronavirus guidelines and resources.
In August, the University of Oregon Board of Trustees approved the COVID-19 Health and Safety Operational Plan, a detailed blueprint of the measures the UO has implemented as it maps out its phased reopening in compliance with Gov. Kate Brown’s executive order for public universities.
The next virtual town hall is for UO faculty and staff to go over preparations for fall term and receive employee feedback. That town hall is set for Sept. 9, at 4 p.m.
The fall term begins September 29th.
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