COVID-19 Safety
Info
All policies below are designed to match guidance from the University of Washington. It is possible for guidance to change as the pandemic evolves over the coming months, so we will update this page as rules/regulations change.
Return to Campus
According to the email President Cauce sent on March 8, we will be resuming in-person instruction on March 28th and onwards. In her email, she outlines the following recommendations:
- Students, staff, and faculty are encouraged to get tested before coming back to campus.
- Students, staff, and faculty are encouraged to get a booster shot as soon as they are able.
- Mask recommendations (more below) have been updated to encourage surgical masks that fit well, including KN95 or KF94 masks as being excellent options.
Remote Access
If you are sick or have potentially been exposed to COVID-19, stay home. We will not be assessing you on attendance, so you will not be penalized for missing class to keep our community safe. See more here.
Below, we briefly describe the accommodations for students having to miss class due to potential illness, with full information in the linked pages.
- Lectures: Course content will be posted as a set of readings/videos that can be watch asynchronously. Recordings of the live class posted on course website, and all materials posted online.
- Section/Labs: All material (including solutions) posted on the course website, some videos posted walking through material covered in class. Due to a lack of recording capabilities in the section classrooms, we can not guarantee sections will be recorded.
- Office Hours: We will host both in person and remote office hours. Please contact the course staff on the discussion board if none of the times/locations work for you.
- Asynchronous help is available via the Discussion Board, post online to get asynchronous help from a member of the course staff.
Masking
Masking is now optional, but it is encouraged that you continue to wear a mask. President Cauce strongly recommends the continued usage of masks during the first two weeks of the quarter as our peers and colleagues return from potential travel. Please see more here. Everyone is also encouraged to make sure they have a higher quality mask based on the increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant.
From UW‘s masking policy
While not required in most indoor settings, face coverings remain an important intervention against respiratory illnesses of all kinds and offer an additional layer of protection. Individuals may choose to wear a face covering if they are in close contact with someone who is at high risk for severe illness (such as a household member) or have close contact young children who are not yet eligible for vaccination.
Some people may choose to wear a mask out of consideration for people who may be at high risk in public settings, or if they want to further reduce their own risk for any reason. Please remember that individuals may need to or choose to wear — or not wear — masks for a wide range of reasons. Thank you for respecting those needs and choices.
Do you need to maintain social distancing?
Vaccinations and masking provide strong protection against the spread of COVID. Currently, UW does not require social distancing in the classroom or office hours for students who are vaccinated and wearing a mask.
Of course, some students might feel more comfortable keeping a little distance. If you would like to keep space between you and another student, please kindly ask them to leave a space between you and them if there is room available. Similarly, if someone asks you to maintain a space between them, please respect that request if possible.
What if you get sick?
See this FAQ by UW on what you should do if you get sick. You should also check out the Remote Access options listed above!
What if you are potentially exposed to COVID-19?
Follow the recommendations outlined in this flowchart by EH&S.
What if Lauren or your TA gets sick?
The course staff is committed to keeping you safe, so we will not make you risk a potential exposure to COVID to attend class. If one of the course staff feels ill, we will move any in-person activities we are hosting (e.g., a class session, quiz section, or support hours) to be purely online or have someone else on the course staff fill in for us while we are potentially contagious.
Please make sure you check your email frequently for announcements from the discussion board and before you attend an in-person event to make sure it is still happening in-person. We will always try our best to give as advanced notice as possible for any changes from in-person to remote for a day.
Acknowledgment
This site was copied and modified with permission from CSE 163 see there version of the site here.