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Sept. 15, 2020

Dear colleagues:

On Tuesday, Chancellor DiStefano announced that ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ Boulder is fully cooperating with a and is moving to a 14-day quarantine period for our students who live in the city of Boulder. All students living in the city of Boulder, including graduate, undergraduate and law students, are directed to immediately self-quarantine in their home or residence hall. The quarantine period does not apply to ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ Boulder faculty or staff.

I am writing to notify you about how this student self-quarantine will affect on-campus teaching and research.

There are exceptions to self-quarantine for attending in-person instruction, labs and intercollegiate athletic training; for work; to take children to school/child care; for solo exercise; or to obtain food, medicine, medical care or emergency supplies that cannot be delivered. The exception for work includes students who must go on campus as part of their research or teaching positions. In addition, students who must conduct research or creative work on campus as part of their work for a class or their degree program (for example, dissertation research or a studio project) may also go on campus. However, students should return home to self-quarantine immediately upon completion of their campus work for the day.

Those who are teaching in-person or hybrid in-person classes should continue to teach in these instruction modes as planned. Our classrooms have proved to be safe for in-person instruction. Based on information from contact tracing, no transmissions have resulted from an infectious individual attending an in-person class. I assure you that if we find the classroom to be dangerous for faculty and students in terms of viral transmission, we will no longer conduct in-person classes.

Boulder County Public Health does not currently have concerns about our in-person classes because of the precautions we’re following, including required face coverings, decreased density, physical distancing of at least 6 feet and improved classroom ventilation. I am grateful to all of you who have maintained these precautions in your classrooms, and I credit you and your students for our success in preventing classroom transmission of infection.

If you learn that a student in your in-person classroom has tested positive for or has symptoms of COVID-19, please work with the student and with your chair, director or dean, as previously outlined in the Instructor Guide: What to Do about Student Illness and Quarantine in the Covid-19 Era. 

Some instructors of hybrid in-person/remote classes have reported that in-person student attendance has dwindled, and have asked if they should move the entire class remote. Please consult with your chair, director or dean, and please do not move your class to remote mode unilaterally, without consultation. We need to offer our classes in the instructional mode promised, as long as public health conditions warrant.

If you have concerns about your own health, please consult the Protect Our Herd for Faculty and Staff web page for guidance. Instructional, staff and research personnel who test positive for or have symptoms of COVID-19 should follow the relevant Employee Guidance for Returning to Campus. Your chair, director or dean can help you with any questions about your own situation.

These are extremely difficult and challenging times. Thank you for your continued hard work and commitment as we navigate this semester together. Please continue to stay safe and healthy, and reach out to me with your questions and concerns.

Sincerely,

Russ Moore
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs