Snow campus opens June 15,

face to face in August

 

By Robert Green

Staff writer

6-4-2020

 

 

EPHRAIM—The Snow College campus will be back to business on June 15, although buildings may feel a bit empty as summer classes will be remain online and teachers will not return until August for fall semester.

Many of the buildings and facilities, including the Greenwood Center and Fitness Center, will open June 15, but some of the administrators will still be encouraged to work at home as the college adjusts to “new normal” operating procedures, said Marci Larsen, senior assistant to the president.

The Karen Huntsman Library is already open, she said.

The staff has all been working online, so it will be great to have some face-to-face interaction again, Larsen said.

The best-rated junior college in the nation will be following “low risk or yellow” state guidelines as its opens up. This means that social distancing will be encouraged, Larsen said, and some of the workers may rotate working from home.

“It is important for us to follow all the precautions,” she said. “We are going to be smart about it and suggest tele-working as much as possible.”

Opening up the campus will allow future students to come and visit Ephraim and check out the facilities before enrolling for fall semester, she said.

“A few things will look different, but we’ll be having classes face-to-face; that’s our plan,” she said. “Class sizes will be different, but we’ll be ready with modifications to welcome our students back.”

Turning the lights back on will enable Snow to begin its final preparations to implement a set of “new normal” procedures that will be phased in to mitigate the new coronavirus.

President Bradley Cook’s office stated, “As we complete this most unusual semester, we are already planning for fall 2020. While uncertainty abounds, one thing is certain: We care about you and want you to be successful. We want you to know that our plan, at this time, is to be operational and open with face-to-face classes in the fall.”

The college will be phasing in a hybrid system that follows the Utah System of Higher Education taskforce and the governor’s recommendations to open schools. See https://www.snow.edu/offices/safety/coronavirus/pandemic-safety-plan.html. Some of the highlights are:

Classes and labs held on campus.

Classrooms surfaces are cleaned in between classes by instructor and students.

For classroom instruction, instructors are allowed to remove the face coverings to teach if proper social distancing is in place.

Social interactions in groups 50 or fewer; this may be increased incrementally based on data and milestone trends.

Face coverings recommended where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.

Most buildings will be open to the general public

Offices are open with limited staff on a rotating schedule.

Classrooms surfaces are cleaned in between classes by instructor and students.

For activity and fitness centers, face masks are provided to workers. Equipment will be spaced to accommodate social distancing requirements. Sharing of equipment is not allowed. Cleaning products are made available in all areas, along with signage to reminding participants to clean equipment after each use.

Food Service facilities are open; some dine-in service with distance spacing between tables and limited hours. No self-service buffets.

Student housing limited (TBD) to decrease density and promote distancing.