CU Boulder Switching To Remote Learning For At Least 2 Weeks
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) -- The University of Colorado Boulder is switching to remote learning for all students for two weeks, officials announced Monday. Just last week, the university announced that students living in one dormitory must move out, to create isolation spaces for students who test positive for COVID-19 and need to quarantine. Over the weekend, more than a dozen students were cited for "serious public health violations" like hosting or attending large gatherings or breaking isolation guidelines, the chancellor stated. Those students may be suspended for 10 days.
University officials said they are working with Boulder police to step up patrols around town and crack down on social gatherings that violate public health orders.
Officials also said the university would not give any tuition or fee refunds because of the switch to online classes.
CU Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano sent the following message to campus Monday morning:
Dear CU Boulder students, faculty and staff,
Since we began the two-week stay-at home period for students last week, our COVID-19 cases have started to come down. To continue this downward trend and help protect the health and safety of our Boulder community, our campus will operate under temporary remote-only instruction for all undergraduate, graduate and law classes for a minimum of two weeks beginning Wednesday, Sept. 23. We made this decision in close consultation with local and state public health officials. While the student self-quarantine remains in effect, between Sept. 23 and Oct. 7:
- All undergraduate, graduate and law classes will be taught remotely.
- Labs, studio and performance classes will be remote, unless approved for an on-campus format by the appropriate college or school dean.
- Staff currently assigned to work on campus will continue to work on campus.
- On-campus research will continue and is not affected by this shift.
Today and tomorrow, classes will continue as planned as faculty make adjustments to prepare for Wednesday.
The provost's office will provide further guidance to faculty, and our Division of Student Affairs will provide further guidance to our students and families.
Your collective effort to comply with the student self-quarantine period is helping us bend the curve in our favor. Thank you and please keep up the good work. To solidify our progress, we are further increasing enforcement for the small number of students who violate public health orders.
Any serious public health violations by students, like hosting or attending large gatherings or breaking isolation guidelines, will result in an immediate 10-day suspension pending adjudication through Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution. More than a dozen students already received notices of such over the weekend.
I know this situation is extremely difficult, and I wish, as I know we all do, that our circumstances were very different. The next two weeks are about more than our ability to see each other in person. The risks to our broader community are too great, and COVID-19 spreads too easily, for any further noncompliance with public health measures to go without immediate consequences.
And so to the members of our campus community who haven't been abiding by public health guidelines, let me be clear one more time: It is your responsibility to follow these protocols as someone who lives in the Boulder community and is part of this university.
Practicing physical distancing, wearing face coverings and avoiding gatherings—24/7, on and off campus—are the only way we will keep our broader community safe enough to return to an in-person campus experience. This may be the last opportunity for our campus to bend the curve of infection and return to in-person instruction before we are forced to move to remote operations for the remainder of the semester.
Please visit the COVID-19 webpage, which has been updated with additional details, for more information.
Let's prove we can do this and be Buffs together.
Phil DiStefano
Chancellor
RELATED: CU Boulder Students Move Out To Make Room For COVID-19 Quarantine Dorm
