As of the beginning of August we will be 100% in non-Covid mode. In particular, all lectures and exams will be held in class and office hours will be held at WH 222. This document will be updated if the situation changes, so be sure to check this web page frequently. The most important part of this document is the yellow box at the end.

PART Zero: Mandatory Vaccination for BU students:

PART I: COVID Instructions from the Harpur College Provost:

The following are excerpts from a document sent to the faculty of Harpur College on August 12, 2021. Please note that "you" usually refers to the instructor, not the students!

A. Campus Safety and Returning to In-person Instruction

..... The University is committed to doing all we can to maintain a healthy campus while offering the in-person education that students find most effective. We know that vaccination is the first and most important step for individual and community health. Infections are significantly lower among those who are vaccinated, and it is rare for vaccinated individuals to develop serious illness or require hospitalization. As a result, a high rate of vaccination slows the spread of the virus. Consequently, we have aggressively encouraged students, faculty and staff to be vaccinated; have required vaccinations where permitted; and have achieved a high rate of vaccination among our students.

All students living on campus are required to submit proof of full vaccination or be approved for a medical or religious exemption, regardless of FDA vaccine approval status, as a condition of moving into their rooms. Students with approved exemptions must wear face coverings regardless of the campus-wide policy in effect at any point during the academic year. They must also participate in surveillance testing at least weekly. Failure to comply with surveillance testing will result in sanction after two missed test dates, which may include removal from campus and classes. Off-campus residents who have not received an exemption or submitted proof of full vaccination status prior to FDA approval must wear face coverings at all times and participate in surveillance testing at least weekly. Failure to comply with surveillance testing will result in sanction after two missed test dates, which may include removal from campus and classes. After FDA approval of a vaccine - which news reports suggest will occur soon - students will have 35 days to submit proof of completing a vaccination series. Failure to comply will result in deregistration and removal from campus. Students were given the opportunity to request medical or religious exemptions by July 23. Exemption requests received after July 23 will be considered only if there is a change in medical status. Approved exemptions currently constitute less than 1% of the overall student population. The Decker Student Health Services Center will continue to provide diagnostic testing for symptomatic students, free of charge, and has added weekend hours that will continue as long as there is demand for service. Contact tracing will continue following identification of positive cases and campus will maintain spaces for isolation and quarantine of on campus residing students. Faculty and staff are required to submit proof of full vaccination or to participate in surveillance testing at least weekly. Any faculty or staff member who has not submitted proof of full vaccination must wear a face covering regardless of the campus-wide policy in effect at any point during the academic year, unless they are eating/drinking or alone in a private space/office. .....

B. Academic Assessment Day

Looking ahead to the start of the semester, we know that our incoming cohort of undergraduates has not had the kind of high school experience that past cohorts have had, and many of them have faced extraordinary challenges in completing their high school studies. One big objective for all of us this fall will be to help provide them with feedback and support as they make the transition to college-level studies. At the suggestion of faculty members on the Road Map Steering Committee, an addition to our academic calendar this fall is Academic Assessment Day, to be held Monday, Sept. 27. Faculty leaders on the Faculty Senate Executive Committee and groups of department chairs discussed and broadly supported this addition, in particular because of its potential to help our new students receive academic and other support services at a point in the semester when intervention and support initiatives have the best chance of success. .....

For all lower-division undergraduate courses, we are asking faculty to provide some kind of substantive academic assessment or feedback to students by Sept. 27. .....

C. Academic Calendar

We’re back to our regular academic calendar and schedule of courses.

Note that on Tuesday, Oct. 12, Thursday classes will meet. Tuesday classes will NOT meet on Oct. 12. This may be a bit confusing, but this schedule has been designed to provide 14 class meetings for each day of the week over the course of the semester, thereby assuring that our classes have sufficient contact hours to meet credit-hour standards. For classes on a Tuesday/Thursday (T/R) meet pattern, there will be no changes. The changes affect courses that meet either only Tuesday (T) or Thursday (R), but not both (TR).

D. International Student Arrivals

International students are eager to join us on campus this fall. However, many of them have been struggling to get visa appointments, complete a vaccination series or overcome other travel challenges to get to Binghamton before the start of the semester. Policy requires international students to join in-person classes no later than the add/drop deadline (Sept 9); if you have an international student in your course, consider how you can accommodate them should they have no choice but to arrive after the semester has already started. .....

E. Courses

..... Binghamton University follows the recommendations of public health experts to protect the health of students, faculty, staff and the community at large. Safeguarding public health depends on each of us strictly following requirements as they are instituted and for as long as they remain in force. Health and safety standards will be enforced in this course.

.....

Current rules require everyone to wear a face covering that completely covers both the nose and mouth while indoors (unless they are eating or alone in a private space like an office). A face shield is not an acceptable substitute. Classroom safety requirements will continue to be based on guidance from public health authorities and will be uniformly applied across campus. If these requirements change, a campus-wide announcement will be made to inform the University.

We recommend that your syllabi:

1. indicate that the University recommends and supports swift action and clear consequences if a student’s non-compliance risks the safety of others.
2. state how you will handle an in-class instance of inadvertent non-compliance or an in-class instance of deliberate non-compliance.
3. state what the consequences for non-compliance will be.

The academic and course-removal sanctions listed here are provided because the Provost’s Office considers them to be valid responses if a student puts the safety of others at risk; you may indicate that in your syllabi. Non-compliance with safety requirements constitutes a public health risk and a disruption of the learning experience. You may choose to establish classroom policies that prohibit eating and drinking; longer classes could include a short break.

...... Instructors should address what happens if the student misses a graded assessment due to being asked to leave the classroom for not having a proper face covering.

If a student does not comply with the requirements or the instructor’s direction, the instructor [will immediately cancel the remainder of the class session and inform the dean’s office, which will work with the Student Records office to issue a failing grade (“F”) for the course regardless of when in the semester the incident occurs. The dean’s office will also inform the Office of Student Conduct.] If you choose to impose this penalty, it should be explicitly stated in your syllabi, like other things that affect grading.

If a student’s refusal to comply is a second offense, the Office of Student Conduct may recommend dismissal from the University.

If the rules for health and safety measures change, the campus will be notified and the new requirements will take effect.

PART II: Covid Instructions pertaining to the Math 330 course:

Everything you see displayed in part I is part of the official Covid regulations for Harpur College. The only exception to this are the square bracketed passages [.....] of part E which are suggested for use by us instructors. The following is to be understood IN ADDITION TO the rules given in PART I.