After a month of online finals and Zoom graduation ceremonies, discussion continues about how Vermont’s largest college plans to bring students back to campus this summer and fall.
During his latest briefing on the city’s pandemic response, Democratic Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said work is proceeding collectively on a virus “Box It In” strategy as the area prepares for hundreds of out-of-state students to arrive. “The Box-It-In plan is how we collectively work to box-in the virus as out of state students come back to Burlington from areas in which the virus is circulating more widely and how we make that safe for the students and for the community.”
In late March the University of Vermont announced that all classes would be conducted virtually and only students with demonstrated need would remain on campus for the rest of the semester. On May 17th the college conferred degrees to nearly 3,000 graduates virtually. The college remains closed except to essential personnel and is working on a phased re-opening over the summer. President Suresh Garimella expects students will be on campus for in-person classes this fall. “Things will not be the same. The fall semester will not be like any other fall that our students have seen. But we’ll ensure that everyone involved is provided the safest on campus environment possible. There will be significant costs but we’re going to expend what it takes to make sure safety is insured. It is imperative that we return to safe operations though for the sake of the continued economic and academic vitality of Burlington and Vermont.”
UVM Vice President for Operations and Public Safety Gary Derr is leading the university’s COVID-19 response effort. He says they have outlined three strategies to assure student, faculty and staff safety. “Those are ongoing testing protocols. We’re looking at contact tracing. We’re looking if there might be some alternative and additional strategies that we can use to partner with the Vermont Department of Health to aid in the contact tracing particularly for members of our university community. Next I think we have a good strategy that’s emerging on how we will quarantine and isolate students but also employees. Not surprising there are a lot of small details that we need to be working on.”
Derr says social distancing and class density are among the primary concerns and challenges. “We’re doing a campus-wide assessment initially of our classroom spaces, examining what it means if we have to put in physical distancing requirements. We’re looking at face coverings. We require our employees right now to wear face coverings and we will likely be moving in that same strategy for our students in the fall. We’re looking at residence hall options and how we’re going to work to reduce the density on campus. We’re looking at exploring revised class schedules to accommodate smaller classes. One thing that we’re giving serious consideration is how we might modify our campus calendar.”
Students are expected to start returning to Burlington on June 1st when many local leases start. State guidelines require all individuals from out-of-state who will stay in Vermont quarantine for two weeks. The city of Burlington and UVM are working on a “supportive quarantine” plan to make sure students follow those state rules.
