Ohio State announced its fall reactivation plans at an Academic Affairs and Student Life committee meeting Wednesday. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Ohio State is making headway in reactivating campus, ensuring classroom learning, student activities and community events make life at the university more engaging this fall.
In an Academic Affairs and Student Life committee meeting Wednesday, Ohio State’s Executive Vice President and Provost Bruce McPheron and Vice President for Student Life Melissa Shivers described the ways in which Ohio State’s campus will follow public health guidelines while closely resembling life before COVID-19. Changes include removing the outdoor mask mandate, decreasing the move-in window and decreasing testing requirements for vaccinated students starting May 31.
“To stay on top of this, we’re making adjustments that fit the specific circumstances of our community,” McPheron said. “I would just remind us all that as a university, we have thousands of students living in congregate living situations, which adds a degree of complexity. Vaccination is at the core of our plans. We’re strongly encouraging everyone who can be vaccinated to do so for their own health and that of the community around them.”
McPheron said masks will be required in classrooms and indoor public spaces, but as of this week, the university removed its mask mandate outside.
Shivers said the university’s current plan for the fall only requires vaccinated students to be tested once a month, but there is much that can change depending on circumstances with COVID-19.
The university will offer at least 75 percent of its core sections in person this fall, McPheron said. Larger classrooms will allow for social distancing within classes.
McPheron said classes will follow a tiered system in which those with less than 50 students can be at full capacity, between 50 and 99 students can be at 75 percent capacity and100 or more students can be at 50 percent capacity. The university is also working to ensure that the technology to record lectures and execute a hybrid approach for large classes will be available.
“We’re already adjusting some of the requirements for summer as health guidance changes, and we will continue to evaluate this both throughout the summer,” McPheron said.
The university will also return to the traditional academic calendar with a fall break, thanksgiving break and spring break, McPheron said.
Prior to move-in, students living in on-campus housing will be required to complete a COVID-19 test, Shivers said. Fall move-in will take place over a six to seven day window to accommodate physical distancing.
“We’ve heard from our families that they really enjoyed the 12 days of move-in, but as you can imagine, it was really difficult to keep students engaged for two weeks after their parents leave them, so we are going to cut that down to six to seven days and still really honor the requirements necessary to keep everyone safe,” Shivers said.
Shivers said quarantine and isolation housing availability will decrease, with Lawrence Tower serving as the designated location for students who live on campus or in university-managed housing. She said the spaces will first be allocated to students who are unable to get vaccinated and vaccinated students who may test positive.
Vaccinated students who are exposed to COVID-19 will not need to be quarantined, Shivers said. However, if the need for quarantine housing exceeds capacity, the university will ask the newly infected students to return home or find alternative places to stay at their own expense.
As for the residence hall experience, Shivers said visitors will be permitted and common space availability will expand. Residence hall capacity will increase, with over 15,000 students living across all campuses, compared to last year’s 12,600 students.
Shivers said dining on campus will continue to focus on mobile ordering, but there will be an increase in the variety of food and self-serving options, such as hot food and salad bars. Dine-in capacity will also increase in the fall.
Availability of weight and cardio equipment in on-campus recreation centers will increase, Shivers said. In-person group fitness classes, intramural sports and club sport engagements will also resume.
Shivers said the university will expand event offerings and student organizations will resume gatherings, with an increase in capacity in informal gathering spaces where students meet across campus.
McPheron said the university will adjust these updates in accordance with COVID-19 positivity rates and health guidelines. Students are asked to voluntarily share their vaccination information with Ohio State through My BuckMD, which may prompt the university to lessen testing requirements for the fall if vaccination rates are adequate.
