As Philadelphia County transitions to the green phase of reopening, St. Joe’s will continue to allow returning students, faculty and staff on campus.
On June 26, 12 additional counties in Pennsylvania transitioned to the green phase, including Montgomery county. Philadelphia will move to a modified form of the green phase on July 3, but indoor dining and gyms will remain closed until at least Aug. 1. Each week, the Philadelphia Health Department will reevaluate what businesses can open. While Philadelphia continues to restrict social gatherings and non-essential industries, Philadelphia County permits colleges and universities to open in accordance with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
“Initially [the green phase] will not change much about the university’s summer operations but will enable us to lift certain restrictions in a phased approach,” wrote University President Mark C. Reed, E.d.D., said in a June 23 university announcement.
Amid this transition, the university has begun releasing plans and protocols online for students, faculty and staff as part of the Hawk Hill Ready Health and Safety Plan. Beginning on June 29, additional employees from specific divisions, including personnel from Housekeeping Services, Dining Services and the Provost’s Office, returned to campus. Earlier in June, essential employees from Facilities Management and the Office of Information Technology returned to campus, according to the health and safety plan.
For faculty and staff, heads of divisions and departments will be required to “develop a plan to appropriately distance employees in workspaces, set guidelines for the cleaning of shared equipment, and develop a business continuity plan that accounts for the possibility of staggered staffing and possible illnesses,” according to an email from Human Resources to senior employees on June 25.
In addition to staff members, some students have returned to campus in a limited capacity. Although the university is administering the majority of summer courses virtually, limited in-person instruction began on June 29.
Kerin Clapp, J.D., assistant visiting professor of management, is teaching Legal Environment of Business Management on-ground in Mandeville Hall. Currently, 18 students are enrolled in the course, which will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“It is an on-ground class for eight weeks, but during the course we will also try out several of the models of a hybrid course,” Clapp said.
One model is the hybrid-flex model, where a portion of students attend class in-person, while others participate virtually, Clapp said. Another hybrid model will have Clapp delivering work asynchronously with half of the class in-person on Tuesday and the other half attending in-person on Thursday.
“I’ll set up a way for students to give feedback every week to get an unbiased view of the protocols in the classroom,” Clapp said.
In the classroom, students are required to wear face masks, while professors are to wear face shields. Other sanitation measures require students to disinfect their seating areas before class and apply hand sanitizer before entering the classroom. To maintain social distancing guidelines, professors will have to limit their own movement in the classroom and avoid small group work between students during class, according to Clapp.
“This also will require, not just me, but everyone in the fall to modify teaching,” Clapp said. “Professors won’t be wandering around the room.”
Gabriella Huber ’21, a head resident assistant in Sourin Hall, is scheduled to return to campus on August 10 to begin the two-week process of RA training, but plans are unclear as to how RAs will adjust to the social distancing standards.
“I’ve just heard what the emails have said, that social distancing is encouraged and meal plans are different,” Huber said. “Last I heard, they want to have the RA programs [for residents] to be virtual, but that’s all.”
Ultimately, Huber continues to have questions as to what the “new normal” on campus will look like.
“I’m just thinking about how all the students are going to respond to wearing masks and practice social distancing,” Huber said. “I wonder how the student body is going to respond.”
