Andrea Diaz
Reporter
COVID-19 has brought on many changes to this semester at Idaho State University and next semester looks to be no different. The semester is going to start on January 11, 2021, and end May 7, which follows regularly scheduled dates of previous semesters. However, the spring break will be moved to the end of April and after that, there will be one week of distance/based and online exams, much like this semester. The reason for this is to eliminate the influx of students coming back to campus after the spring break.
Students will also have the opportunity to select whether they want to do online, distance-based learning or in-person classes. Face coverings will still be required and there will be classrooms provided to accommodate social distancing, much like this semester.
“The university will continue to monitor the pandemic and its impact on our campus locations, including the number of cases within our community,” said Stuart Summers, Associate Vice President for Marketing and Communications. “If the situation requires, Idaho State is ready to make adjustments to operations to ensure health and safety are a top priority.”
ISU plans to continue following the guidelines outlined in the Roaring Back procedure. The guidelines will continue with the green, yellow, orange and red phases. Each phase will dictate whether classes will be online or in-person.
“Each week, the University Health Committee and Idaho State leadership monitor data and evaluate our operational level,” said Summers. “The University Health Committee will continue to do contact tracing, review health exceptions, and provide regular health guidance to campus.”
Another concern facing the university and the students is that COVID-19 cases will rise after the Christmas break due to students leaving and going to their respective homes all around the country and even out of the country, in some cases. These students have the possibility of exposing others to the virus and getting exposed by family members, friends, etc. Then they will come back to the university and possibly expose other students.
“We ask that all students who have received a positive COVID-19 test, are experiencing any symptoms or had close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 fill out our COVID-19 Self-Reporting form,” said Summers. “This allows the University to appropriately contact trace, provide assistance for those who need it, and monitor the virus situation in our ISU community. Filling out this form helps us control the spread of COVID-19 on campus.”
The form can be found at https://isu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3VImh50bX4hjwWN.
If students take the proper precautions to keep everyone safe, then they can help to minimize COVID-19 spreading. Students have to work together to help each other get through this trying time safely and with as little cases as possible. There are many sources that students, staff and the community can refer to for more COVID-19 information. The ISU website www.isu.edu/roaringback/ is a source for ISU’s cases and their guidelines for helping stop the spread of COVID-19.
“First and foremost, the University will continue to provide a high-quality education for our students,” said Summers. “That is at the core of our mission, and all decisions are made with our students in mind.”
