Seattle University Campus Reopening

Our goal is to maximize in-person instruction and experiences to the extent safely possible through a combination of in-person, blended/hybrid (mix of in-person and virtual) and virtual courses.

As announced in May, the fall quarter will begin earlier than usual on Wednesday, September 9, and end on Tuesday, November 24. The School of Law, which is on a semester system, will start as scheduled on August 24 and in-person instruction will end November 25, with online exams beginning in December.

Two essential components of our planning are the need to integrate flexibility across all aspects and the need to maintain readiness for a quick return to an all-virtual environment should it be necessary. Faculty demonstrated that we can do the latter quite effectively based on the high levels of satisfaction students expressed in their end-of-year survey.

Regardless of the mode, care for the individual student and excellence in teaching are hallmarks of our Jesuit education—and thanks to our faculty, we do both exceptionally well. The flexibility we are building into our plans is for both university operations and supporting the needs of individual community members in making decisions based on their unique health and safety needs.

Classroom capacities are being reduced to comply with physical distancing requirements. In some instances, plexiglass shields may need to be installed on podiums. We are installing plexiglass screens at open/front desk areas in academic support services.

These measures are part of the university’s comprehensive plan to protect the health and safety of all members of the campus community, including the expectation that students, faculty and staff take responsibility for the wellbeing of our university family.

The Reopening Taskforce working group focusing on instructional continuity is addressing a number of complicated issues as they finalize plans. We expect those plans will be ready soon to share with campus. Faculty will also receive a report specific to their needs in the near future. Some key considerations for determining specific course delivery modes include:

• Maximizing choice and autonomy for faculty and students to honor and align with our aspirations around equity and inclusion at this difficult moment of public health and social crisis.
• Accommodating faculty members who fall into high-risk categories, or have household members who do, to teach their course virtually.
• Accommodating students who have a need to access their education virtually (e.g., health risk, international student temporarily unable to travel to campus).
• Strategically identifying courses for in-person instruction across colleges and schools, while factoring in limits on space in a physical distancing environment.
• Prioritizing labs and clinical and experiential courses that require in-person instruction.
• Clarifying expectations and requirements for off-campus internship and service-learning sites.