Safer Return at Cal Poly Pomona

Fall Return Update: Sharing the Plan

Date: 8/6/21
To: Faculty and Instructors
From: Provost - Vice President for Academic Affairs
Subject: Fall Return Update: Sharing the Plan

Dear faculty colleagues,

It is a pleasure to welcome you to fall semester. While COVID and the new Delta variant continue to present us with many challenges, especially the need for safety, it is also a time to celebrate our students and another year of research, teaching, and learning. Those of us who have already returned to campus are excited for you to join us.

For the past few weeks, we have been listening to faculty and student concerns and working with divisions across campus to address these concerns to the best of our ability. Most importantly, we want you to know that we continue to stay informed about shifts in public health needs and work to maintain safety for all. Over the summer, a great deal of work has gone into preparing campus for the safer return of students, faculty, and staff. In this message, we explain how we have prepared and the policies to help you make critical decisions about your classes and to communicate clearly with your students. Communication is key to our success. I encourage you to be a part of this success by asking questions when you have them and fully communicating with your students who depend on clear information from you to make their own important decisions. 

First, to help facilitate both your success and the success of your students, we need you to please let your students know your exact plan for the dates and times of class meetings on campus and remotely. We have heard that students may drop classes or disenroll for lack of clear communication from faculty. Please plan to send a clear communication by the beginning of Fall Conference, August 17. If you can communicate this information even sooner, students will be better able to make informed choices as the add/drop period begins August 9. Some are waiting for details that will help them decide whether to move close to campus, others are concerned about adjusting their class schedule so that they may spend more or less time on campus. We want to help students make informed choices about their fall schedule so that they may be successful.

We hope the following information will be helpful in finalizing the plans for your classes.

  • Hybrid classes: If a class has been listed as hybrid in Bronco Direct, there is an expectation that classes will meet on campus for at least some portion of the semester, but the number of on-campus meetings for hybrid classes is up to the faculty member, in consultation with their department. Faculty should communicate to students regarding the maximum number of face-to-face meetings. If necessary, faculty can reduce the number of face-to-face sessions given conditions and pedagogical objectives.
  • Classroom capacity: Physical distancing requirements have been removed by the county, which means that classes do not have to meet the 50% room capacity cap put in place last spring. However, health and safety best practices state that physical distancing can help reduce the risk of COVID, although much less so than vaccinations and masks. If you need to change your classroom for any reason, please work with your department chair and scheduler. 
  • Class Modality in BroncoDirect: Please teach your class in accordance with the stated instructional modality in BroncoDirect. For example, if the class is listed as fully synchronous online, there should be no in person class meetings. Students register for classes with an expectation and promise that the modality will not be changed. This is important for students, as well as many divisions on campus, including the Disability Resource Center.
  • Multiple mitigation strategies: While no one strategy for mitigating virus transmission is 100% effective, multiple strategies used in combination will greatly reduce the risk. As such, we are implementing multiple strategies to reduce possible transmission, including:
  • Mask requirement: To adhere to state and county public health guidelines and continue to slow the spread of COVID-19, individuals are required to wear face coverings over their nose and mouth when they are inside buildings and facilities on campus. Masks are readily and freely available for those who need them, and department coordinators will have access to PPE. Faculty may request face shields with a drape via their Dean’s office.  More information is available on the face coverings page.
  • Vaccination mandate: All students and employees must either have verified vaccination status by September 30, or be subject to weekly testing. On campus testing begins August 16 and will be provided without cost.
  • Ventilation: the university is upgrading filters and making modifications to improve the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in buildings across the campus.
  • Health Screener: please complete the Health Screener each time prior to coming to campus. You must complete it on the day of your visit, prior to entering the campus.
  • Communication and response strategies: the Faculty Affairs team, in partnership with Student Affairs, is providing recommended practices and suggested syllabus language for communicating expectations with students and responding effectively when those expectations are not followed.

We hope this information is helpful to you, and we understand that you likely have more questions. Please be sure to let us know if there is something specific we can address, keep an eye out for regular updates, and check out the information, including an FAQ page, on the Safer Return pages.

Kind regards,
Iris S. Levine, Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Jill Hargis, Interim Associate Vice President for Faculty Affairs
Laura Massa, Associate Vice President for Academic Programs