COVID-19 Safety

First Week of the Quarter

For the first week of the quarter, all CSE 390B meetings will be held online. This includes class sessions, 1:1 sections, and office hours. 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 390B assuming we will be spending Week 2 and on in person. As situations may change, we will do our part to update any of these safety precautions as we get further updates from the University.

Week 2 and Onward

Remote Access

If you are sick or have potentially been exposed to COVID-19, please stay home. While attendance in lecture and 1:1s are required in CSE 390B, you will not be penalized for missing class or a 1:1 session to keep our community safe, but please keep the course staff informed on your situation. 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.

Masking

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, 1:1 sections, and office hours. See more information about UW's masking requirements here.

Your CSE 390B course staff will always wear a mask in class and when working with you. We ask that you and your fellow students also 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; 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.

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. This exemption, does not allow for eating food in classes.

Do we 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. 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.

What if I get sick?

See this FAQ by UW on what you should do if you get sick. Also check out the Remote Access options listed above!

What if the course staff 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 any of the CSE 390B course staff feels ill, we will move any in-person activities we are hosting (e.g., a class session or office hours) to be purely online. 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.