Category: Alerts

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Dear colleagues:

We are now approximately a month away from the planned start of the fall semester, and Clemson continues to prepare for opening with students on campus, blended learning modalities and many layers of public health risk mitigations.

At the same time, we remain acutely aware of the continued progression of COVID-19 in South Carolina and the Upstate. We want to assure you that our final decisions about fall opening will be tied both to the infection rates of the disease and our ability to mitigate and contain its spread. As we have said from the start, the safety of our University community is paramount.

As the scheduled start of the fall semester nears, we also intend to step up our communication with employees. In addition to these updates, which will continue, please stay tuned for an announcement soon on upcoming town hall meetings to which all Clemson staff and faculty will be invited to participate virtually.

We have been steadily integrating improved evidence-based knowledge into our plans to mitigate public health risks.  In previous communications we have provided updates on these, particularly testing strategies, social distancing and face coverings.

Much progress also has been made on quarantine strategies, student housing (move-in dates and densities) and contact tracing.  Automated workflows that lead to rapid responses when an infection is discovered are being constructed.  We plan to make the workflows easy for all employees to find and use.  For example, when someone tests positive for COVID, messages will be automatically sent to instructors or supervisors, appropriate cleaning and quarantine protocols will be implemented, and any other necessary downstream tasks or notification will be initiated.

Some new developments include a recent purchase of face shields to be used by instructors during lecture or lab courses (protocols on their use will be coming out shortly), and a new tool for supervisors to track return to campus dates for those employees who need to be on campus for some or all of their work hours.

Many of you have questions about academic decisions and plans for fall.  Below is an abbreviated project management table that provides information on some of the most important items, including an Instructional Playbook for blended learning that will include some of the items below as appendices.

In each of the processes above, staff, faculty, administrators, and sometimes undergraduate and graduate students are engaged in the planning.  While preparations for returning to campus during the COVID-19 pandemic have been very challenging and time-consuming, we remain strongly committed to the safety of students and employees, building a better campus climate and helping our students and employees deal with many new obstacles and challenges related to COVID-19, international affairs, inclusivity, and the economy.

Sincerely,

Bob Jones
Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost

Tony Wagner
Executive Vice President for Finance and Operations

Sue Whorton
President, Staff Senate

John Whitcomb
President, Faculty Senate

Dear colleagues:

As we approach what hopefully will be a relaxing holiday weekend for everyone, we wanted to provide an update on our ongoing effort to return to in-person instruction and operations starting in the fall.

First, we acknowledge that our announcements in last week’s message – especially those related to the baseline testing requirement for employees and students – raised a number of good questions.

Many of the questions have focused on the University’s capacity to conduct pre-arrival testing for the virus at a large scale, and how the test results will be used to inform our future decisions around mitigation and containment strategies such as cleaning, isolation capacity and practice, surveillance testing throughout the semester and more.

We are aware of the guidance this week from the CDC on testing at universities, which does not overtly endorse, nor recommend against, 100 percent testing of students and employees just before arriving back to our locations.  To be sure, testing – whether it is a sample or complete assessment of the total population – by no means guarantees we will be free of COVID-19 when the fall semester begins.

Our in-depth exploration of this issue with external health experts has convinced us, however, that 100 percent baseline testing will both reduce the number of COVID-19 positive individuals arriving on campus and provide valuable data about the prevalence of the disease in our community. This first increases our ability to start the semester successfully while the latter helps in our ongoing mitigation and containment efforts.

With regard to testing capacity and availability, we are evaluating proposals from a number of third-party vendors this week and next, and are confident we will be able to secure the  scale of testing we need.  In terms of downstream tasks after someone tests positive, several kinds of detailed workflows, managed electronically with automatic notifications, are in development now. We are on target for completion with test runs conducted well before fall semester starts. We recognize there are many other questions related to testing, and will continue to provide answers as we have them.

The complex and ever-changing nature of this pandemic also has affected some of our earlier decisions related our return process, specifically as it relates to the previously announced “phased” approach. It had been our hope that the data related to COVID-19 cases in our state and region would allow us to make straightforward “go – no go” decisions to bring our employees back to their workplaces in phased intervals.

That has not turned out to be the case, which is why we are moving away from formal phases in favor of a more holistic approach designed to safely get us to the same goal: A successful return to mostly normal operations in the fall.

What hasn’t changed are our guiding principles for a successful return, especially our steadfast commitment to the health and safety of employees.

We will continue to be conservative in bringing employees back over the summer, especially those who have health risks and those who have proven they can effectively work remotely. We will provide ample notice when asking individuals to return.

Those who do return this summer, or who are already at one of our locations, will be expected to follow the rules for face coverings announced last week, testing and clearance, and are encouraged to practice physical distancing and other precautions in alignment with public health guidance.

For those whose roles require them to be on campus or at one of our locations in the fall, we remain committed to creating a safe workplace, as our recent decisions around face coverings, alterations to classrooms and testing support.

Finally, a few words on our shared responsibility to each other as we navigate these uncharted waters. There is no magic elixir to stop the spread of COVID-19. Until a vaccine has been created and made widely available we can expect to deal with this issue, and we all need to work together to slow the spread of the virus.

We do, however, have several tools at hand to slow the spread and protect ourselves – and those around us.

Wear a face covering. Keep a safe distance from one another when possible. Wash your hands often. Wipe down frequently used surfaces. Don’t come to work with symptoms of an illness. Get tested if you are ill, and if positive promptly notify the Sullivan Health Center and your close contacts.

We all have a stake in our successful return in the fall. As President Clements said in his message last week, we need to be “United as Tigers” in our actions to support a safe return.

We have no doubt that each of you will model the type of behavior and care we would expect from members of the Clemson Family. Our continued gratitude and admiration go out to all our employees who are doing great work in service of our students.

Best wishes for a happy Independence Day holiday – and stay tuned for more communication in the near future.

Sincerely,

Bob Jones
Provost

Tony Wagner
Executive Vice President – Finance and Operations

John Whitcomb
Faculty Senate President

Sue Whorton
Staff Senate President

Dear Clemson Family:

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed much about our way of life over the last several months, and Clemson is no exception. What hasn’t changed is the University’s commitment to getting back on campus. A return to on-campus instruction and in-person activities at all our locations, in a manner safeguarding the health and well-being of our entire University community, remains our singular focus.

Clemson’s faculty, staff and administrative leadership have worked daily for months to reimagine how we can continue to provide the world-class education, research and service that our students and state expect from us, even in the face of this unprecedented public health challenge.

The University’s approach is built on four foundational pillars that have guided our efforts to get back on campus. They are designed to inform the greater Clemson community and shape the behavior of our community’s members. They are:

• A steadfast commitment to the health and safety of all members of the Clemson University community.
• A return strategy built on the concept of stacking preventative measures to create the greatest possible protection against COVID-19 exposure and to limit its spread across the community.
• The creation of a return plan both comprehensive and flexible, allowing the University to anticipate potential future challenges and providing the ability to adjust course quickly as circumstances dictate.
• Awareness that the entire Clemson Family has a critical role to play in our successful return to on-campus and in-person activities. In order to take care of the Clemson community, our actions must be guided by concern for others. We must be “United as Tigers.”

I want to take the opportunity to update the Clemson community on some of the most important pieces of our return plan. Specifically, we have made critical decisions around face-coverings, testing and our academic plan that will provide our students, employees and communities with important safeguards against the spread of COVID-19.

In addition, I can’t stress enough how important it is for every member of our community to do their part to mitigate the spread of this disease, especially among those most vulnerable. Much of our work over the next several months will be focused on enforcing this social compact, or agreement, among members of the Clemson Family.

Face coverings to be mandatory in many instances

Cloth face coverings have been shown to be effective in preventing the spread of the virus, both from person to person and through contamination of contact surfaces, and as such the University is going to require all students and employees to wear face coverings in a number of circumstances while on University property.

Cloth face coverings are required:
• While in University buildings, including housing and dining facilities.
• During all University programs held in non-University buildings.
• In outdoor spaces on campus where appropriate physical distancing cannot be guaranteed.
• In all University vehicles and while using University transportation/mass transit.

Face coverings are not required:
• When alone in private offices.
• When alone in on-campus housing rooms.
• When not in close contact with another person, such as walking alone outside.

The University has purchased 70,000 reusable cloth face coverings, and each student, faculty and staff member will receive two coverings upon return to campus or other University locations.

Testing to be instituted to monitor spread of COVID-19

In an effort to provide initial data on positive cases in our population, and to minimize exposure on campus by identifying and isolating individuals prior to their arrival on campus, the University will require all students and employees to be tested for COVID-19 virus and, where possible, receive serologic testing for disease antibodies, prior to their arrival on campus in the fall.

Anyone who works for, lives at or is enrolled in a Clemson University program or facility must secure a negative COVID-19 test result within five days of returning to campus or other University location for the Fall semester. Those who test positive will be required to self-isolate for 10 days before returning to a Clemson location. Details on testing locations and how to report tests will be provided in the near future.

Once the academic year begins, the University will conduct voluntary random-sample testing of students and employees on a regular basis to track prevalence and spread of the disease in the University community.

No changes to academic calendar; classroom modifications underway

As of now, no changes have been made to the published Fall academic calendar, but all instructors have been asked to prepare to pivot to entirely online learning should the circumstances dictate.

In particular, we will closely monitor the progression of COVID-19 to determine whether a move to online instruction and final exams is necessary following the Thanksgiving holiday.

We are preparing to offer mainly in-class learning this year with accommodations being made for proper physical distancing. Online delivery options will be available for most every class. Details include:

• The University’s goal is for at least 75 percent of all courses to have some class periods dedicated to in-person interactions among instructors and students.
• All classes with in-person components will also be blended with online components.
• Cameras and microphones will be installed in more than 400 classrooms to allow for live video streaming and recorded delivery of instruction.
• Classroom layouts are being adjusted to allow a minimum of 6 feet of physical distancing between individuals.

Our success starts with each of us

Collective action will determine the success of the University’s plan for in-person instruction and a genuine Clemson experience for the Fall semester. Success requires each of us as members of the Clemson Family to act as responsible individuals and invested partners.

We have launched the Healthy Clemson: United as Tigers awareness campaign, to guide and inform key personal responsibility initiatives as they apply to a wide range of personal activities for students, faculty and staff, including:

• Frequent handwashing.
• Physical distancing.
• Responsible management of living spaces.
• Limiting group sizes.
• Participating in self-assessments.
• Early self-referral to Redfern and Sullivan Center.
• Recommended participation in contact tracing.

Family takes care of family, and we need all of our students, faculty and staff to embrace the principle of being “All In” this together. That means recognizing that actions and behaviors taken by individuals will have an impact on the larger community.

Commencement update for May and August 2020 graduates

I pledged to the Class of 2020 that we would hold in-person commencement ceremonies on campus once it was safe to do so in order to celebrate the achievements of our students in a manner they deserve.

While we still don’t have every detail finalized, I am pleased to provide an update today on our plans to celebrate both our May and August 2020 graduating classes.

First, I want to share that we have made the decision to postpone our traditional August graduation ceremony so that we can focus our energies on a safe on-time start to the fall semester.

Moving our August commencement to later in the year also gives us additional time to create a special experience for this very special group of graduates.

Given that change, we are now planning to hold on-campus commencement ceremonies for our May and August 2020 graduates the weekend of October 9-11.

We have received many suggestions on how to make commencement memorable for the Class of 2020, and we’re hard at work to do just that. More details about the October commencement exercises will be provided in the coming weeks. For now, please consider this to be your “save the date” invitation and know that we are very excited to welcome our newest graduates back to campus in October.

As you can see, the situation around future University operations remains extremely fluid. Be assured, however, that our staff and faculty remain committed to providing a great, and safe, experience for our students in the upcoming academic year.

Being United as Tigers when it comes to battling the pandemic gives us the best possible chance of enjoying a successful and safe academic year. I am confident that the Clemson Family will rise to the occasion and look forward to sharing more details of our return plan with you very soon.

In the meantime, stay safe – and Go Tigers!

Jim Clements
President

Dear Clemson Faculty and Staff,

Today is the third installment of weekly fall 2020 semester updates.  Please continue to check the University COVID-19 page for updates – including health, wellness and stress management resources.

Also, see the latest communication from President Clements here, which provided an overview of our preparations for the fall.

Purpose of this communication:

• One of the goals of these weekly emails is to answer the call from Faculty asking for more communication on topics related to Fall Planning.  Please note these communications presented in these weekly updates are the result of meetings that are occurring throughout the week with focused discussions on testing and tracking, course planning, teaching support, academic calendar, residence halls, and non-pharmaceutical intervention plans.
• Members of the faculty senate including John Whitcomb, Betty Baldwin, Brian Powell, Thompson Mefford, and Mary Beth Kurz are attending these meetings to represent the faculty. This form of communication is a way to bring it all together and ensure the information is correct and faculty concerns are heard and or addressed. While there are still many unanswered questions additional details will be provided as soon as they are available.
• Since staff are critical to successfully opening campus in fall, another goal of these updates is to ramp up the frequency of communicating with Clemson staff so that they too are aware of ongoing fall planning.  This broadening of the message recognizes the importance of working together and reflects the wishes of the Staff Senate and the central administration.
• Finally, these communications reflect and align with those from President Clements that he sends to the larger Clemson community within and beyond the walls of our campuses.

Planning Progress 

This past Wednesday, senior leadership received a third briefing from our medical advisory team led by Dr. Chris Colenda.  We have continued to refine evidence-based risk mitigation strategies and we are now preparing to share plans with the Board of Trustees this week.  Below we update last week’s message.  In future weeks, we will reduce the length of this communication to focus on just new developments.

Testing and Tracking

• The self-assessment screening tool programmed by CCIT to catch potential cases is now live and will become a critical part of our overall testing and tracking strategies.
• This week we studied whether to test all or just a sample of employees and students just before fall semester starts.  There are pros and cons for either approach.  We will ultimately choose the one that best manages risks of infection.  Once people have arrived on campus, periodic statistically valid testing of random samples (not the whole population) will be used.  These will be critically important data.
• We have made some progress on choosing the kinds of tests to use  (e.g., nasal swaps, saliva samples, blood samples, genetic, antibody, antigen, etc.) but our strategy may change through time as new testing technologies come on line.
• Another set of wastewater samples to estimate the prevalence of viral particles on the main Clemson campus has been taken and we now have the first sample from the City of Clemson.  Campus levels were still essentially clear of COVID-19 particles; while the test of the City of Clemson’s wastewater revealed a prevalence of the virus.

Non-pharmaceutical Prevention

• New data came out this past week reinforcing the importance of face coverings and social distancing to mitigate risks.  This has strengthened our view that both will be important for our success, particularly inside buildings.  Face coverings are going to be important wherever people are unable to practice social distancing, even outdoors.
• The plan for 6-foot distancing between students in classrooms is now our guiding assumption in classroom planning, and will be factored into the number of students allowed in a given classroom.  We are now developing strategies to remove or mark seats in classrooms to facilitate spacing during class.
• Cleaning strategies – another critical prevention strategy – are still under development.
• A substantial communication plan is being developed for launch once we have briefed the Board of Trustees and the President has rendered key final decisions.  Advocating for a strong sense of shared responsibility among our entire community related to health-protecting practices (on campus and beyond) will be a key to success.
• Strategies to trace contacts in a way that helps uncover infections, and yet protects privacy, have developed further and will be ready to launch once final decisions on several aspects of the plan are approved.  Work flows are being developed to handle actions following the discovery of a positive case or potential exposure to an infected person.

Residence Halls and Quarantine 

• At this point, we remain focused on normal or close to normal densities in residence halls so long as appropriate cleaning strategies (especially for bathrooms) can be worked out.
• Quarantine spaces on campus for students who are infected are being identified.

Academic Calendar

• We will ask all instructors to be able to pivot to entirely online learning at any moment of the semester – especially from Nov. 24 through the end of the semester – just in case infections spike upward later in the fall.
• We are looking carefully at campus events that involve large numbers of people and finding ways to delay or de-densify as appropriate. We are contemplating a delay in August commencement to allow us to focus on student move-in. A decision will be announced shortly.

Teaching Support 

• As of yesterday, new cameras and microphones have been installed in, or already existed in 215 university classrooms.  We are on track to have all classrooms completed and tested before fall semester starts.
• IMPORTANT: For those of you who have not yet engaged with OTEI or Clemson Online to prepare for blended course delivery, we strongly urge you to contact Taimi Olsen (taimio@clemson.edu) and/or Anne Marie Rogers (anner@clemson.edu) to explore training options for instructional design and course delivery.  Opportunities to engage with CO and OTEI are posted at https://www.clemson.edu/online/events.html.

Planning Courses

• This week we providing chairs and directors with surveys to start planning teaching modalities for the courses taught within their department or school.  Simultaneously, we  started some theoretical allocations of classes to rooms.  These exercises aim to fulfill our goal of in-person experiences for as many classes as possible while observing social distancing requirements.  All classes with in-person components will also be blended with online components.
• Once again, we emphasize that this planning is fluid with opportunities to discuss and change teaching modalities and classroom assignments over the summer.

Finally, we continue to monitor fall enrollments and the number of students that are participating in new-student orientation. Both remain on track at this time, giving us hope that we will meet our enrollment target for the upcoming year.

Thanks, as always, for all the work each of you continues to do in support of our students. These are challenging times, but we are making good progress on plans for the fall semester.

Respectfully,

John Whitcomb
President, Faculty Senate

Sue Whorton
President, Staff Senate

Tony Wagner
Executive Vice President for Finance and Operations

Bob Jones
Executive Vice President and Provost