The University is excited to announce that our campus will be reopening on Monday, July 6, 2020, and we will be beginning our 2020–21 academic year on campus on Monday, August 31.
Below is a selection of information included in the Cairn University 2020–21 Health & Safety Plan for Resuming In-Person Instruction. The full document addresses plans for the academic year and the return to campus for in-person instruction; instructional design and strategies; residential living; food services; athletics, fine arts and social events; mitigation and containment of the virus; communication to students, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni; sanitization of campus; and hygiene and personal protective equipment (PPE).
You can view the entire document here.
Academic Year and the Return to Campus for In-Person Instruction
Cairn University will begin undergraduate and graduate classes for the Fall 2020 semester on Monday, August 31, 2020. This is the date previously established for the academic term. While some institutions of higher education have altered their start date, Cairn’s position is that the best course of action is to maximize the summer break before returning to campus. In addition, we will follow our normal fall semester schedule with fall and Thanksgiving breaks and the semester ending after exams on Friday December 18, 2020. At any point during the semester, the state could change the status of the COVID-19 response color phase, dictating the need for Cairn to alter the semester schedule and related activities. Cairn is prepared to pivot course and adapt as needed.
To safeguard the health and safety of all students, the University will adjust course modalities to adapt to changing transmission levels and community spread. The University may need to transition all or part of a class to remote instruction. Each syllabus will include a statement regarding the potential need to adjust course modalities to protect the health and safety of students. Students will be informed of changing situations immediately upon the University’s notification of virus spread.
Residential Living
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cairn will not be utilizing the supplemental triple housing rooms. Total occupancy for the 2020–21 fall semester will be 476 beds or 88% of our potential capacity.
Each resident building will be thoroughly sanitized on a daily basis. This process covers the common entry and gathering areas along with all of the high touch points. It is important to recognize that cleaning of the student resident room is the responsibility of the room occupants.
Access to each of the resident sites will be limited to resident students, Student Life personnel, Campus Services staff, and security officers. Visitors need to stay outside of the building. Students will not be permitted to have overnight guests.
A small number of rooms will be set aside to function as quarantine/isolation rooms. Based on the configuration of our resident rooms it is possible for students to self-monitor in their assigned rooms. There are scenarios where the healthiest option for a student displaying symptoms is to travel home for a period of days to get well and be apart from the student body.
Resident hall housing selection took place at the end of the Spring 2020 semester, and most of those selections will continue to be honored. Due to the elimination of supplemental triples and the establishment of quarantine rooms, residence life personnel will be contacting some residents to discuss the need for a new placement.
Athletics
The NCAA has made several decisions for the start of the year including a more relaxed formula for the start of fall practices and first date of competition. They have also reduced the minimum competition number of contests by 30% across all sports. Our conference the Colonial States Athletic Conference has met throughout the summer to discuss how to conduct competitions in a safe environment. Each university is responsible to create their own Athletics Health & Safety Plan.
The Athletic Department will provide continual updates to the restart of collegiate athletics via the Highlander website, emails, and social media.
