Dear Faculty and Staff,
As the university continues to plan for the fall 2020 campus reopening, I would like to remind faculty and staff of our upcoming virtual town hall meeting on Monday, June 22, from noon–2 p.m.
Town Hall Questions and Fall 2020 Reopening Site
I encourage you to share any questions you might have regarding campus reopening and financial planning here.
Also as a reminder, the university’s Fall 2020 Reopening site includes detailed answers to many common questions concerning fall reopening.
Reopening Planning Committee Guidance
As you know, the higher education community is currently awaiting reopening guidance from city and state authorities, and we will provide updates and additional information as that guidance becomes available. Working with the most currently available information, the university Reopening Planning Committee has drafted an initial reopening plan, which is available here via the my.IIT.edu portal. It must be emphasized that this is, and will remain, a working and evolving document. To be clear, this plan is expected to be regularly revised and updated over the next six to 12 months as public health officials issue new guidance, as new information is learned about the virus, and/or as circumstances change on the campus or in the city or elsewhere.
In summary, the Reopening Planning Committee’s plan includes, but is not limited to, these operational subject areas:
Symptoms and Self-Monitoring
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention information on COVID-19 symptoms can be found at this link: https://www.cdc.gov/
Personal Hygiene Practices
Three key aspects of personal hygiene to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other contagious respiratory diseases will continue to include: (1) proper handwashing, (2) proper respiratory hygiene, and (3) avoiding touching of the eyes, nose, and mouth.
Social Distancing
Individuals will be expected to maintain a 6-foot (or such other distance established by public health protocols) separation as much as possible.
Face Coverings Requirements
Even with 6-foot separation, face coverings will be required, for all who can medically wear them, in classrooms, labs, meetings, event spaces, lobbies, corridors, elevators, stairwells, and other common areas occupied by multiple individuals. Illinois Tech will supply masks to any student, faculty, or staff member who needs one, but all are allowed, and strongly encouraged, to use their own face coverings.
Classroom Capacity Limits
The university is planning for courses that will be capped at smaller than typical sizes and that will also operate at lower densities than usual, to follow expected social-distancing guidelines.
The foregoing is merely a high-level summary of some of the subject areas addressed by the plan. To review the full plan in its current iteration, please click here.
Again, we fully expect current public health guidance will change as the pandemic evolves and our scientists and public health officials learn more about it. Therefore, always remember that the plan is a living document and will be modified from time to time as conditions, government guidance, and other factors require.
Thank you very much for your continued cooperation and support, and we look forward to hearing from you at Monday’s virtual town hall meeting.
Sincerely,
Peter Kilpatrick
Provost, Illinois Institute of Technology