Cal Poly still hopes for some in-person classes and students living on campus this fall
Cal Poly is still planning for a limited number of students to live and study on campus in the fall — even after the CSU encouraged schools to prioritize virtual learning amid the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic.
University President Jeffrey Armstrong on Wednesday announced plans to hold at least 15% of its classes in-person in San Luis Obispo. Cal Poly also hopes to be able to house 5,200 to 7,000 students on campus in the fall by “de-densifying” its residence halls.
CSU Chancellor Tim White said on Tuesday that the 23 schools he oversees should plan for a primarily virtual term with “limited exceptions.” Armstrong’s letter to the campus community clarifies the university’s fall quarter plans, although some details still remain up in the air.
“Yesterday, Chancellor White announced that due to the uncertainty of the virus, CSU campuses must be prepared to deliver courses this fall primarily through virtual modality,” Armstrong wrote. “This does not mean Cal Poly cannot plan to offer in-person courses for fall, but we must be prepared to resume virtual learning should shelter-at-home orders be required in the future by the governor or public health officials.”
By September, university leaders are optimistic San Luis Obispo County will be in Stage 3 of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to reopen California following the COVID-19 outbreak, which would allow for some in-person classes, Armstrong wrote.
The university’s fall quarter is scheduled to start on Sept. 17, and Cal Poly leaders will provide definitive information on plans for the quarter by Aug. 26, Armstrong wrote.
“While we all would like to have certainty, I believe the best option for student success is to provide scenarios using a science-and data-based approach to making decisions at the right time,” Armstrong wrote.
To that end, the university has created three different planning scenarios, depending on Public Health guidance when the fall quarter begins.
Limited in-person classes and some on-campus living
In the first scenario, Cal Poly leaders have divided classes into three different instructional categories, ranging from entirely in-person to completely online.
Fifteen percent of the university’s 7,000 fall quarter classes will be held in-person “if public health conditions allow.”
“This is critical and indispensable for multiple majors from engineering to music, agriculture to theater, and architecture to chemistry, to name a few,” Armstrong wrote. “For example, labs are fundamental in training engineers and other disciplines to work with specific instruments critical to their careers. Engineering projects include a significant design, build, test component that can’t be completed entirely online. Chancellor White described many additional examples for exceptions, citing situations that occur across all colleges at Cal Poly.”
The second group of classes will be held online initially, but they will be eligible for in-person instruction if conditions allow for the change.
A third group of classes will remain virtual for the duration of the fall quarter.
“No student will be penalized if they need an in-person course for degree progress but do not feel comfortable taking it during fall quarter,” Armstrong wrote. “All programs and departments have been asked to be maximally flexible during this period.”
Under this plan, the university would also house some students on campus in “de-densified” residence halls. Up to 7,000 students could live on campus if no more than two students live in each room.
If Public Health officials require less dense living situations, the university could house one person per room for a housed population of 5,200 students.
Preparing for all-virtual classes
In the second scenario, all university classes would be held online or shifted from in-person to virtual instruction later in the quarter, depending on recommendations from public health leaders.
“We may face public health situations that do not allow us to re-populate our on-campus housing in mid-September, but we will not know this until August,” Armstrong wrote. “Students who are living on campus in the fall quarter will be allowed, and indeed encouraged, to remain on campus even if we must change to virtual instruction.”
Delaying fall quarter classes
In the third scenario, the university may postpone the start of fall quarter by two to four weeks if the county is still in Stage 2 of the state’s reopening plan in August.
Delaying the start of the term would result in classes during Thanksgiving break and either shortening or extending the quarter by a few days, but it may allow for more in-person instruction, Armstrong wrote.
“I sincerely wish that I could give you a more definitive plan for the fall,” he wrote. “But the truth is no one can predict the conditions we will face four months from today. The best we can do is hope and plan for the best, while also preparing for contingencies should circumstances change.”
