South Releases Reopening Plan

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Posted on June 26, 2020

Lance Crawford

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The University of South Alabama released a comprehensive plan today for returning to full on-campus operations for the 2020-21 academic year.

Students, parents, employees and visitors may access the University’s reopening website to remain fully informed about new schedules, processes and procedures. The guiding principle of the plan is to provide a safe learning and working environment for students, faculty and staff.

“A great deal of thought and discussion went into drafting our reopening plan, with University leadership and health experts working together to provide a blueprint for the  fall semester,” said Dr. Tony Waldrop, University president. “We have worked diligently to prepare for the many logistical challenges of this pandemic, and our plan allows us to respond quickly should health conditions on campus, or in the region, warrant.”

The plan was developed by the University Committee for Reopening Campus based on guidance from USA Health and best-practice recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The University’s measures to reduce the risk of infection include:

• Social distancing and density reduction in classrooms and common areas.
• A requirement that face masks be worn by  faculty, staff, students, vendors, contractors and other members of the University community in all indoor settings and in outdoor settings when social distancing is not possible. The University will provide two face masks, free of charge, to each student and employee.
• Screening the University population for the risk of COVID-19 infections prior to re-opening and referrals for testing as appropriate.
• Separate residence hall rooms in the event that students living in University-managed housing test positive for COVID-19 or are pending testing.
• Additional hand sanitizing stations in public areas of campus and continuous cleaning of common areas and offices.
• Temperature monitoring, COVID-19 testing and contact tracing as needed to maintain the health and safety of campus.
• Blended classes that include an online component and some face-to-face instruction with social distancing.

After reopening, the University will continually monitor the health of the campus population and the public health of our region. The campus will be poised to move to remote work and remote instruction if necessary to protect the health of students and employees.

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