These are interesting times indeed! COVID is real and the college has asked us to respond to this disease responsibly and rationally. The college’s ability to offer in-person classes depends on responsible behavior by everyone on campus. The College has established some rules of behavior that we will be observing in my classes.
Class Etiquette
As a means of mitigating the risk of COVID-19 on campus, students are required to wear masks/face coverings in all classrooms, labs, hallways and stairwells. If you are not able to comply with this directive you will not be allowed to attend class until you have met with Cathy Day, Vice President for Academic Affairs, to discuss your specific needs and required documentation to determine if a reasonable modification for you to safely participate in your classes is possible, which may mean remote participation. You may schedule a meeting with Ms. Day by contacting Maria Larson at 406-447-5510 or mjlarson@carroll.edu. Her office is located in St. Charles, room 113.
In order to comply with the mask requirement, no eating in class. Students may have a drink in class.
I will conduct office hours either by zoom or in person, as you wish. Any student attending office hours must wear a face covering.
Our classroom will be kept at 50% capacity and everyone must maintain 6 feet of distance from one another.
Seating assignments will be established during the first week of class. Please sit in the same place each day for class. (I appreciate your cooperation here! This will help with contact tracing in the event we have to do that.)
Established college sanitation procedures are that students will wipe down their desks, seats, and other used surfaces when they first come to class, and will spray their desks (don’t wipe them) when they leave. Please do this on your own each day. Sanitizers and wipes are available in each classroom.
AND, please wash your hands and/or use hand sanitizer regularly.
Illness and Attendance
If you are ill – stay home. If I become ill, I will stay home. I will contact the entire class in the morning; I will teach remotely in some fashion (zoom if I am able, or through assignments on Moodle.) Note: Moodle will be the anchor for the class—see course calendar.
Remember the procedure if you think you have COVID-19 symptoms: call your primary healthcare provider or the Wellness Center at 406-447-5441 immediately for instructions on how to proceed with ordering a test. (See Marching Back document)
You must notify me, and provide documentation, that you have either tested positive and must isolate, or must quarantine due to coming into contact with the virus. All absences during the time of illness will be waived and students, at the discretion of their health and wellbeing, may continue their course work online from a distance.
You will likely need some accommodations for course work, and I am more than willing to make them. Right now I plan to work on a case-by-case basis, and treat absences as in other semesters. I will help you catch up and work with you to stay caught up. I am happy to do this—please reach out. I have set up virtual classrooms for each of my classes; in the case of a small number of students unable to attend, I can set up my laptop or a camera in the classroom for virtual attendance. HOWEVER, you will need to inform me of this beforehand! If a large number of absences occur, I may have to switch the entire class to online delivery to (temporarily) facilitate these students. Any changes will be announced clearly to the class.
I realize that you are legally allowed not to disclose. However, I cannot help you if you do not let me know, and provide the appropriate documentation.
In General
Please take care of yourself so you can attend class on a regular basis.
Please be patient with me, your fellow students, and even yourself. This is a new and potentially stress-inducing situation for us all. A lot of planning has gone into opening school for Fall, 2020, but we will still have to figure out some things as we go along. I am more than willing to make adjustments, and please reach out to me if you have some suggestions for improvement.
Conducting Classes
I plan on conducting classes face-to-face during Fall Semester, 2020. If, due to a health crisis, we are required to move on-line, we will need to comply with that order. However, absences and illnesses among students in this class may require temporarily going on-line, and students will be notified when that happens as early as possible. There is a link on the Moodle page for access the zoom class, should the need arise.