University of Texas at Austin outlines fall semester reopening plan

AUSTIN, Texas - The University of Texas at Austin says it is taking "rigorous steps to create a safe environment while advancing teaching and research" as it released its plan for reopening during the fall semester.

The plan is titled "Protect Texas Together" and officials say it was built with flexibility in mind for students, faculty, staff, and visitors.

"Our goal with this plan — as it has been from the beginning — is to create an environment that is as safe as possible for all community members, while reigniting the learning, teaching and research that make our university the outstanding place that it is,” interim President Jay Hartzell wrote in a letter to campus. “Today’s plan provides a framework for the fall that is designed to accommodate the dynamic environment we’re facing and enable us to adapt to changes in the prevalence of COVID-19 in Austin and throughout Texas. And I know that things are changing every day.”

RELATED: UT Austin to require face masks on campus in the fall

Six working groups consisting of faculty, staff, and students worked since April to develop the plan. Officials say the plan was guided by ensuring the health of the UT community and a recognition that remote learning will be critical to the continuity of education.

Officials say the plan emphasizes the importance of social distancing, wearing cloth masks, sensitivity to high-risk groups, ensuring people can stay home when sick, and accommodating people with family care responsibilities.

Highlights of notable provisions from the plan include:

Learning

• Students may choose to experience the full fall semester online and should assess how this decision affects their path towards graduation.
• To aid social distancing, no more than 40% of seats in a classroom will be occupied.
• There will be three modes of classes: online, in-person and hybrid, which will have both in-person and remote learning elements.
• All courses will have the same tuition rates.

Health and Wellness 

• Wearing cloth masks will be mandatory inside university buildings except when alone in a private office, while eating in a campus dining facility or for students in their own residence hall rooms. Wearing of cloth masks outdoors will be encouraged.
• Daily symptom screenings for students, faculty members and staff members will help keep the campus community safer.
• This summer UT will release a new app that will offer testing and public health information and help UT community members self-monitor.
• UT testing labs are expected to be able to process up to 1,500 tests per day during the fall.

Residence Halls 

• All university-owned residence halls will open Aug. 20 with a new process to safely move in.
• Residence halls will operate with social distancing measures and cloth mask requirements in place.
• Most rooms in residence halls will be slated as double occupancy, with a limited number of single occupancy rooms.
• Graduate student apartments will operate as usual, with social distancing measures and cloth mask requirements in place.

Faculty members 

• Faculty members may choose to hold office hours on campus while adhering to campus safety and social distancing guidelines, or remotely (via Zoom or another technology solution).
• Faculty members with medical conditions or other risk factors placing them at high risk for COVID-19 can request an accommodation using the Americans with Disabilities Act process to teach remotely or use alternative options.
• Instructors with a household member at high risk for COVID-19 can request flexible teaching arrangements.

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Staff members and student employees 

• Staff members who are able to perform their job duties from home will continue to do so into the fall with approval of their managers.
• Student employees will work with their supervisors to determine their working modality and expectations, whether working in person, remote or hybrid.

Graduate and International Students 

• Given likely delays for international students trying to get into the United States, graduate programs should be flexible about allowing them to defer admission.
• The university will follow CDC recommendations and U.S. State Department guidelines regarding international travelers self-quarantining before returning to campus.

RELATED: Limited operations, online classes to continue at UT-Austin, officials plan to reopen campus this fall

Research

• This summer, UT implemented a plan to reopen research activity across campus. Detailed information can be found in the Research Restart

Athletics 

• Policies and procedures for hosting athletics events are still being developed working with state, local and Big 12 Conference health and safety guidelines.
• UT expects to narrow event scenarios under consideration by the first week of August.
• For more information, see the Texas Athletics COVID-19 procedures and updates.

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