Weeks 1—4
For the first four weeks of the quarter, all CSE 351 meetings will be held online. This includes class sessions, quiz sections, and office hours. These sessions will be hosted on Zoom, and you can access them via the course Zoom page on Canvas.
The University of Washington is currently planning that we will be returning to in-person instruction from Week 2 onwards. The section below outlines our plans for COVID Safety in CSE 351 assuming we will be spending Week 2 and on in person. Obviously the situation could change and we will do our part to update any of these safety precautions as we get further updates from the University.
If you are sick or have potentially been exposed to COVID-19, stay home. You can receive full EPA credit for participating remotely in office hours via Zoom and on the Ed discussion board, 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.
While in public, in-door spaces occupied by other people, you must be wearing a mask. This includes, but is not limited to: class sessions, quiz sections, and office hours. See more information about UW's masking requirements here.
Sam and your TAs will always wear a mask in class and when working with you. You and your fellow students have to wear a mask when working with each other or with the course staff, or when attending class.
For the purposes of this policy, a face covering must fit snugly against the sides of the face, and completely cover the nose and mouth. Bandanas and gaiters are not considered face coverings for this policy. Students who do not wear a face mask will be asked to leave the classroom. If you forget your face mask or refuse to wear one, I will ask you to leave the classroom. Repeated failure to wear a face covering may result in you being referred to the Student Conduct Office for possible disciplinary action. I hope that we can all agree to keep each other safe by wearing our face masks.
UW has approved a hydration exemption which allows students and instructors to briefly move aside their mask if they are drinking water even in class. This exemption is meant be used only for a brief moment to hydrate, and you should not be talking with your mask off or have your mask removed for a prolonged period of time. Note that this exemption does not allow for eating food in classes.
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. The masking and vaccination requirements proved to be very strong in Autumn 2021, leading to no known documented COVID cases that came from transmission in a classroom.
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.
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 Sam or your TA feels ill, we will move any in-person activities we are hosting (e.g., a class session, quiz section, or office 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 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.