Dear D’Youville Community:
This message provides a recap and update regarding ongoing response and planning progress for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recapping Previous Announcement:
- University leadership has been collaborating with the COVID-19 Working Group to manage
the
crisis and ensure campus safety and well-being since February 28th. - D’Youville implemented remote learning through the end of the Spring semester and
created a
new virtual environment for educational and co-curricular opportunities that provide the
highest quality experience available to students. - D’Youville continues to provide on-campus support to the ~80 students remaining on
campus,
while all other employees are working remotely to continue our operations. - D’Youville is planning to host a virtual celebration of our Spring 2020 graduates
on May 17th and
intends to replace the traditional May Commencement with an in-person Commencement on
Friday, September 25th, pending regulatory approvals. - D’Youville will provide relief to students for parking, printing, and laboratory charges.
The
amount that will be credited to students’ accounts is still being calculated and will be confirmed
by the end of the Spring 2020 semester. In addition, emergency financial aid grants funded by
the federal government’s CARES Act will soon be distributed to students to help cover costs
related to COVID-19. - D’Youville is planning to offer summer courses exclusively online. A 20% discount
will be
offered on many summer course offerings to help ease the burdens of COVID-19. Please review
the complete list of course offerings on the D’Youville website.
Planning Forward
While much uncertainty exists regarding how long the current stay-at-home directives
will remain,
D’Youville is continuing to monitor the situation to plan for a variety of different
potential regulatory
guidelines and scenarios that may evolve as we move to un-PAUSE New York State and
re-open
educational institutions across the country. The following is a high-level briefing
of what we are
currently anticipating over the coming months.
For Summer 2020:
- All summer courses will be delivered 100% online, with the exception of G-term if
governmental regulations permit a return to campus. - Broad reaching faculty development programs will be offered to support online and
hybrid
instructional approaches, including pedagogical training and best-practices for assessment in
online and hybrid environments. - D’Youville is anticipating the possibility of extending the temporary work-from-home
policy for
staff and administration until early-August, in order to promote the health and safety of our
campus community and prepare for a gradual re-opening of campus for the fall 2020 semester. - ALL meetings will be required to continue via ZOOM or other digital means during the
summer
2020.
For Fall 2020
Our plan is to be open on campus in Fall 2020. However, we will of course be guided
by the national,
state and local directives around re-opening and therefore cannot confirm that all
services and
activities will immediately resume by the start of the fall semester. The following
describe some key
aspects of D’Youville’s comprehensive strategy to ensure continued excellence in student
learning,
organizational continuity, and financial resiliency.
- Instructional Delivery
Anticipating a hybrid instructional approach that includes a mix of both face-to-face and remote
instructional delivery methods. The occupancy of classroom spaces will initially be required to
reduce density, with an anticipated gradual increase of density overtime. More information
relating specifically to academic affairs will be provided to deans, chairs, and faculty on May
4th, as these leaders begin making scheduling decisions in preparation for several possible
return to campus scenarios. - Staff and Administrative Support Services
Re-occupying campus will be a gradual process transitioning from a 100% work-from-home
model to a hybrid model of work-from-home and on campus participation. Then, to a full return
to normal. - Organizational Communication
All campus meetings and faculty office hours will continue to be required via Zoom or other
digital means to promote social distancing. - Facilities Management
Special COVID-19 cleaning protocols that have been utilized since February will continue. Some
unnecessary spaces (such as conference rooms) will remain closed so that our custodial teams
can re-focus priority toward other high traffic areas. - Access Control
In an effort to reduce unnecessary traffic on campus, external swipe card readers will be
enabled to protect our facilities. D’Youville ID cards will be required at all times to gain access
to campus facilities. - Behavior Change
Special programming will be provided to support faculty, staff, and students in changing
personal behaviors and adopting new etiquette around personal sanitation, cleanliness, and
public health. Individuals will be strongly encouraged to sanitize any shared work areas before
and after using. It is also likely that face masks will be required of all individuals on campus, so
start thinking about your face mask fashion now. - Residence Life
Students residing in the 222 Apartment Complex will continue to live in 4 person suites with
single occupancy rooms. Returning students in Marguerite Hall will be encouraged to spread
out and live in single occupancy rooms. All new students introduced to Marguerite hall will be
assigned to live individually to begin the term. - Recreation and Fitness
Video-based workout programs are being produced to provide at-home guidance for exercise.
Additionally, external walking and jogging routes are going to be suggested to alleviate indoor
treadmill usage. Fitness Center operations will shift to pre-scheduled 1-hours sessions with new
cleaning protocols and a maximum capacity of 10 people at any one given time. - Kavinoky Theater
The theater is currently undergoing a grant-funded face lift and is anticipated to be back online
with social distancing as soon as it is safe to do so.
While we continue our efforts to detail Summer and Fall on-campus operations, I ask for your patience
and understanding in this dynamic environment. I thank all of you for the support and care our
campus community has shown during this crisis. I’ve appreciated the many voices, expert opinions and
diverse perspectives that have shaped our research and scenario forecasting for the pandemic. The
wide array of internal and external support has been invaluable for charting D’Youville’s course and
beginning to formulate our science-based exit strategy to COVID-19. Please stay tuned for more
updates and clarifications as we continue to plan for a brighter future.
With warmest regards,
Lorrie Clemo