COVID-19 weekly update from App State’s Project Management Implementation Team (PMIT)

Posted 06/28/20 at 12:50 p.m.

App State’s Project Management and Implementation Team provides a weekly progress report to campus from the teams across campus preparing for resuming daily operations, the start of the Fall 2020 semester and beyond.

Course Delivery and Class Schedules

The Fall 2020 Schedule of Classes is being updated by the Registrar's Office to reflect adjustments to room assignments, class times and class delivery methods. The new schedule will offer a variety of course types to allow greater physical distancing in classrooms and flexibility for faculty and student needs. Options will include:

• Face-to-face courses held in classrooms arranged to provide 6 feet of physical distancing.
• Hybrid, which has both online and face-to-face components, including rotating student groups, synchronous broadcast and HyFlex, in which students have multiple options to achieve course goals.
• Online courses (synchronous or asynchronous), in which students will participate from their residences or other designated learning areas across campus set up for physical distancing.

Learn more about these options here.

Students are encouraged to work with academic advisors over the summer, should they wish to make changes to their schedules. Teams from Academic Affairs and Facilities Operations are working on customized classroom configurations to allow for appropriate physical distancing. This work will continue throughout the summer.

On-campus student housing move-in process:

University Housing is working on assigning rooms and move-in times for on-campus, residential students. Student move-in will be by appointment and access to residence halls will be limited. Move-in will not utilize campus volunteers as in past years. University Housing will continue communicating with students who will be living in residence halls throughout the summer. Read the latest information on University Housing’s website here.

Communications:

• Chancellor Everts sends regular updates to all incoming students, faculty and staff, as well as to parents and families who have signed up to receive updates and information from the university. These updates contain important information and along with other updates related to returning to campus, COVID-19 operations and response, are available here.
• Updates and additional information may be accessed here.
• Prominent links to information regarding changes to campus due to COVID-19 will be added to many university web pages in the coming days.
• App State is partnering with AppHealthCare, our local public health agency, on the "Share Your Love" public health campaign. Read more about this campaign here.

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 reporting process:

AppHealthCare, our local public health agency, continues to collaborate with the university on testing, tracing and reporting positive App State COVID-19 cases. The university’s coronavirus website includes a positive case dashboard with COVID-19 test results, the number of positive COVID-19 cases and information related to testing sites. The dashboard shows a breakdown of active cases as well as cumulative cases.

• You can find the positive and active case count dashboard here.
• You can read detailed information on the COVID-19 reporting process here.

Additional updates:

• Governor Roy Cooper and North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen announced June 24 that North Carolina will remain in Safer at Home Phase 2 through at least Friday, July 17, unless changed or canceled. Cooper also announced that face coverings must be worn when people are in public places where physical distancing is not possible.
  • Read the news release here.
  • Read about Phase 2 of lifting statewide restrictions here.
• As a reminder, each faculty, staff and student will receive three washable, reusable, cloth face coverings. Read the June 19 message to campus about face coverings here.
• Hiring is underway for 50 additional employees to assist with enhanced cleaning procedures. Last week, we shared information on plans for enhanced cleaning and disinfecting and classroom safety. You can read last week’s message here.

Information coming soon:

• Additional information regarding high risk identification process for employees.
• Campus health and safety signage inventory and ordering information, including print and digital signage.
• Information about broad-based educational programming regarding public health, COVID-19 safety, and community expectations.