WVU plans to return to campus for fall semester, considers off-site locations for classrooms

Students returning to West Virginia University’s Morgantown campus for the fall semester could find themselves in strange classrooms this August.

During a webinar for the WVU community Thursday morning, Vice Provost Paul Kreider said many of the classrooms at both the Downtown and Evansdale campuses are not big enough for students to safely social distance.

“This is a fluid thing for us,” Kreider said. “It’s not our intention of moving students online unless we have to.”

Among the outside sites being considered as classrooms this fall are the gym at the Wesley United Methodist Church on North High Street, the Towers student housing complex in Evansdale, and the Metropolitan Theatre. Also, technology in the classrooms is being upgraded to accommodate more online instruction.

Students and faculty should receive some clarification about classrooms June 30, when schedules will be made available. The fall semester starts Aug. 19. Students will be tested for the COVID-19 virus before being allowed to return to the classroom.

The fall classroom experience will be a hybrid of in-person and online learning, Provost Maryanne Reed said. As a result, classroom attendance policies will be adjusted as the situation warrants.

“But, we want students to have a balanced portfolio of academic experiences,” she said.

“We also want to keep sick students out of the classroom.”

One item that won’t be compromised on is wearing a mask in a classroom. WVU has ordered 42,000 face masks for students and faculty. Each student will receive a welcome kit with both a cloth and disposable mask.

Faculty, who have the option of teaching behind a Plexiglas shield, have been empowered to remove any student not wearing a mask from the classroom. The student could then face sanctions from the WVU Office of Student Conduct. Employees who fail to follow mask-wearing protocol could be subject to disciplinary action.

If a student can’t wear a mask because of a health issue, then a still-to-be-determined accommodation will be made for the student, possibly through the Office of Accessibility Services, Associate Provost Melissa Latimer said.

Faculty are encouraged to continue to work from home, when possible. The only exceptions will be when they teach, or have to be in the lab. Office hours and meetings, as well as academic advising, tutoring and career coaching can be held online, Reed said.

Because they have had time to plan for the fall semester, high pass, pass and fail marks will no longer be given as they were last semester when the university switched entirely to online instruction because of the pandemic, Kreider said.

“Students will know what kind of course they’re going into,” he said.

Lastly, all study abroad trips have been canceled for fall. The decision about the study abroad program for the spring semester will be made in October.