What will Cal Poly look like in the fall? ‘Close to normal,’ university president says
Cal Poly looks to a possible return to near-normal operations in the fall as COVID-19 cases decline in San Luis Obispo County and California as a whole, according to a message sent to the campus community Tuesday by university President Jeffrey Armstrong.
“Our expectation for the fall is to return to a situation that is as close to normal as is safe, complies with public health guidelines and is in alignment with CSU policies,” Armstrong wrote in the message.
The university anticipates that the “vast majority” of classes will resume to in-person instruction and campus housing will be “at close to normal capacity,” the message said.
Cal Poly’s fall term is scheduled to begin on Sept. 15.
Currently, the university is housing about 4,500 students in on-campus housing, and roughly 6,000 are taking in-person classes at the university.
Cal Poly can house roughly 8,000 students on campus and allow for about 22,000 to take in-person classes.
A return to normal operations rides on the expectation that COVID-19 vaccines will be available to all who want them, Armstrong said.
Cal Poly’s announcement came the same day U.S. President Joe Biden announced that the nation will have enough doses of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of May.
“It is a working assumption of our plans that vaccines will be available to everyone in the community before fall quarter begins and that the vast majority of the community, including students, will be vaccinated,” Armstrong wrote in the message. “We urge every member of the community to get vaccinated when it is your turn.”
Although students aren’t required to get vaccinated for the coronavirus, the university will require students who do not receive the vaccine to get tested regularly for COVID-19 during the fall term, Armstrong said.
Students will need to show proof of vaccination or a negative test result twice a week to be on campus, according to Armstrong’s message.
No university employees will be required to receive COVID-19 vaccines, although Armstrong said they are encouraged to do so.
Cal Poly will continue operations as-is for the rest of the winter quarter. But come spring quarter, which begins on March 29, the university hopes to slowly bring more staff on campus.
“We are in the process of planning for staff to return to work on campus once vaccines are available to them and it is safe to do so,” Armstrong wrote in his message. “We do not anticipate major shifts in employees being required to return to campus until later in the spring quarter at the earliest and then only if prevalence of infection rates drop and responsibilities require additional personnel on campus.”
Armstrong added that classes that are currently scheduled to be in a virtual format during the spring term will not be changed. Roughly 10%, or about 428, of the university’s classes will be held in-person, according to the university.
Though COVID-19 metrics in San Luis Obispo County continue to improve, Armstrong stressed that the “pandemic is not over yet” and it is “not the time to let our guard down or relax our commitment to keeping everyone safe.”
Cal Poly’s COVID-19 case numbers saw a spike early in the winter term, but have since leveled out to an average of about 5.5 new cases per day over the last week. On Tuesday, the university reported an additional eight cases involving students to bring its total to 1,558 cases since March 2020.
“During the end of winter quarter and the spring quarter to come, social distancing, wearing masks 100% of the time if possible, handwashing and frequent testing are still all that stands between us and an increase in cases,” Armstrong wrote in his message. “Continued vigilance during winter and spring will allow us to continue our return to a new normal.”
This story was originally published March 3, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
