Courses this fall will be “principally” in person and the majority of campus buildings will be open by the beginning of the fall semester, officials said in a letter to faculty Thursday.
In the letter, Senior Associate Provost for Special Projects Koren Bedeau and Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs Christopher Bracey said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recent guidance for vaccinated individuals will allow the University to reopen campus buildings to pre-pandemic capacity. The letter states that classes will be able to be held in person because the majority of the campus population will be vaccinated come fall.
“Classrooms, laboratories, libraries and other spaces will be open again for teaching, learning and research,” the letter states. “Courses will be in-person principally, with some remote options to meet the varying needs of our community.”
Officials are assigning courses to classrooms on the Foggy Bottom, Mount Vernon and Virginia Science and Technology campuses and the assignments will be available on the schedule of classes “soon,” according to the letter. Some courses that were previously held on campus have been “identified” for hybrid or online instruction, according to the letter.
GW’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in all campus buildings were assessed in the past year, and all buildings have been approved for occupancy.
The letter states classrooms will be equipped with recording and web conferencing technology, like Zoom and Echo360 lecture capture, to support students who are unable to access instruction because of illness or if courses are unable to continue if COVID-19 rates rise.
Faculty will be granted the opportunity to access campus, including office spaces, before the first day of the fall semester, according to the letter. The letter also states Marvin and Admissions Welcome centers, Campus Bookstore, GWorld Office and parking garage are open for GW community members and guests to visit.
The University’s policies on mask wearing and coronavirus tests will be updated later in the summer and fall, according to the letter.
