University of Pittsburgh at Bradford students and faculty will begin spring semester classes online Jan. 19, following the observance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.
“We all missed our students and look forward to welcoming them back to campus,” said Dr. Catherine Koverola, Pitt-Bradford’s president.
“Our priority continues to be supporting the health and safety of our faculty, staff and students as well as our neighbors in the surrounding communities,” Koverola added. “We are following a very conservative approach to help keep everyone COVID-19 free.
“All of us on campus will continue to wear a face covering inside and outside, maintain physical distancing, and practice good hand hygiene.”
To mitigate the spread of the virus, campus facilities also will continue to be open only to Pitt-Bradford faculty, staff and students. The Marilyn Horne Museum and Exhibit Center will remain closed, but the café in Marilyn Horne Hall is currently open to the public.
Students will physically return to campus beginning Friday, Jan. 29. To maximize a safe return to campus, students are asked to shelter in place for a period of time both before and after they arrive on campus. While they’re sheltering in place at home, the University of Pittsburgh is providing one free COVID-19 test for all students. Additionally, surveillance testing of asymptomatic students will continue on campus this semester.
While the spring semester is starting later than normal, it will end May 1 as originally scheduled since spring recess was eliminated to discourage students from traveling. Even though Spring Break has been eliminated, students will have two mid-week self-care days.
Since the fall, many physical accommodations have been made to reduce the number of students in a classroom at any one time. Some classes assign students days to attend in person or online. Other classes have been moved to physically larger spaces to accommodate more students while maintaining safe distances.
In each academic building, students scan their student identification and have their temperature taken upon entering. A concierge in each building is able to provide face coverings or hand sanitizer to students, if needed. In addition, traffic patterns have been reconfigured for one-way flow through buildings.
In addition, buildings’ ventilation systems have been adjusted to optimize the flow of fresh air.
During the spring semester, the university’s staff will continue to work remotely, whenever possible. Despite many staff members not being on campus physically, they will continue to be accessible through email, phone and by other electronic means. Those faculty, staff and students who are on campus will continue to follow current safety protocols, such as wearing a face covering indoors and outdoors, maintaining physical distancing, and increasing cleaning measures.
All planning regarding COVID-19 safety precautions at all Pitt campuses is done in consultation with the Pitt Health Care Advisory Group and COVID-19 Medical Response Office, which include leading experts in epidemiology, infectious disease management and environmental and occupational health.
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