On June 2, William Jewell College announced changes to the fall 2020 schedule in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to these changes, the College is shifting potential modes of delivery for classes to account for more variability between in-person, online and hybrid courses. 

The faculty ultimately made the decision to make all classes after Thanksgiving virtual. Dr. Ian Coleman, professor of music and Faculty Council chairman, described the decision-making process on the part of the faculty and explained that there was overwhelming support for the changes to the schedule – in order for both faculty and students to plan for the semester ahead.

“Faculty are being asked to consider some additional formal classifications for class instruction… This means that from the beginning, students will know what to expect in terms of their classroom environment. Some of these class formats require more in-class experience and others less, but whatever format is chosen, students will know ahead, and be able to plan their semester accordingly. Temporarily, and I stress that this is temporary, until we overcome this virus, life on The Hill will be different,” Coleman said.

“As much as we can plan knowing that fact, and communicate expectations to Students and Faculty, the better for all,” Coleman continued. “Once we have selected our modes of delivery [where each faculty member will be able to pick the appropriate mode for each class], we will all receive training in best practices for crafting classes that are effective in that particular format.”

On June 15, faculty confirmed five potential modes of delivery. The five modes of delivery are: face to face, hybrid asynchronous, hybrid synchronous, online asynchronous and online synchronous. Dr. Anne Dema, provost of the College, recommended to the faculty the changes in modes of delivery after consultation with academic department chairs and signature program leaders. The five modes of delivery will replace current categories of Web-Enhanced, Hybrid, and Online. These changes will be permanent – not just for the 2020-2021 school year. 

The mode of delivery of each class will be determined before the start of classes so students will be aware of the course plans. Syllabi templates will also be updated to include modes of delivery. Every class will be required to have a presence on Moodle with syllabi posted. The mode of delivery will determine how much course material will be required to be available on Moodle.

• Face to face (FtF) courses will meet physically in person for 76-100 percent of contact hours prescribed by the course type and units. The syllabus and some course materials and activities will be made available on Moodle
• Hybrid asynchronous (HA) courses will have both face to face and asynchronous instructional modes. Between 25-75 percent of contact hours will be physically face-to-face. Syllabi and many course materials and activities will be made available on Moodle
• Hybrid synchronous (HS) courses will have both face to face and synchronous instructional modes. Between 25-75 percent of contact hours will be physically face-to-face. Syllabi and many course materials and activities will be made available on Moodle
• Online asynchronous (OA) courses will be 100 percent online with asynchronous instruction modes. When feasible, instructors may schedule physical face-to-face meetings for orientation and student evaluation. Syllabi and all course materials and activities will be made available on Moodle. Grades must be posted to Moodle
• Online synchronous (OS) courses will be 100 percent online with synchronous instruction modes. When feasible, instructors may schedule physical face-to-face meetings for orientation and student evaluation. Syllabi and all course materials and activities will be made available on Moodle. Grades must be posted to Moodle

“The idea is to allow faculty to construct the best learning environment possible, as opposed to asking them to react to a particular campus incident like in spring. That said, we are also developing protocols for Operation Safe Campus that define how each mode of delivery will adapt should the threat levels change, so that we can keep the campus safe,” said Dema.

The College is also discussing placing an iPad in all classrooms to allow students unable to attend face-to-face classes due to illness to participate via Zoom. 

Further fall semester plans are not yet finalized, but the potential decisions are being considered with the safety and health of the community in mind. Once faculty individually decide the format with which each class will take place, other protocols regarding classes will be determined. 

These protocols could include, but are not limited to: keeping a distance in the classroom, deciding when and where to wear masks, being creative in how ensembles are offered, considering ways to offer laboratory courses effectively and developing cleaning routines before and after each class. This could lead to using larger spaces on campus for larger classes and using outdoor spaces, weather permitting.

Coleman stressed that further plans for how classes may look in the fall cannot be finalized until faculty choose modes of delivery. The following infographic includes drafted – not final or definitive – measures for various modes of delivery associated with different Operation Safe Campus threat levels.

On June 2, William Jewell College announced in an email to students that in-person classes will not resume after Thanksgiving break 2020. Fall Break has been moved to Nov. 23 and 24 – giving students a full week of break for Thanksgiving. Advising Days have been moved from Tuesday, Oct. 27 and Wednesday, Nov. 4 to Thursday, Oct. 29 and Wednesday, Nov. 4.

Jewell made the decision in order to decrease the amount of potential travel throughout the semester and allow students and faculty to return home for Thanksgiving without needing to worry about quarantining for 14 days upon returning. The decision was made to promote the most possible in-person, on-campus education without keeping members of the Jewell community away from their families for the holidays. 

An email announcement from Dr. Anne Dema, provost of the College, and Shelly King, dean of students, discussed the motivation for making a decision regarding the fall schedule so early on.

“Making these changes now are essential so faculty members may plan the best classes possible for the fall, Student Life and Academic Support staff can plan the best co-curricular and support services as possible for students, and Student Organizations can make plans, accordingly. The timing also allows students to make decisions about their individual travel plans,” the email said. 

Dema said that the decision was made as part of an awareness of concerns regarding the fall schedule from faculty and healthcare experts – who want to mitigate the effects of an outbreak on planned activities. 

“Questions about making changes to the fall schedule arose in several faculty conversations including those had by a group of faculty led by Dr. Gina Lane, who facilitated a survey of faculty about their spring, post-spring break experience, and faculty members on the Operation Safe Campus group led by Mr. Daniel Holt,” Dema said.

The College paid attention to how other schools in the region and in the country were planning for the fall semester and the speculation about a resurgence of the virus in late fall. Jewell was also limited in its response without approval from outside entities like the U.S. Department of Education or the Higher Learning Commission. Changing start and stop dates requires external approval but shifting of breaks can be decided by the College itself. 

Dema discussed other alternatives that were considered by the Cabinet before final decisions were made.

“We discussed whether or not to have classes on Labor Day, but decided not to cancel this day off. I know some schools have decided to hold sessions on Labor Day, and even to start early, but we didn’t see the potential gain, especially since everyone will always have a two-day weekend in which he or she will have to make smart choices about keeping themselves and their community healthy in the midst of a pandemic,” Dema said. 

In addition to shifting the fall schedule, the College is considering implementing a self-isolation of 14 days prior to the start of both the fall 2020 and spring 2021 semesters for students coming from farther away. If students are asked to self-isolate for 14 days before official move-in day, they will be provided food from dining services. 

The email announcement said that such precautionary measures would likely be in place, but Dema indicated this self-isolation may not be necessary and that guidelines are still in development. Dema said people are anxious to know more about details for precautionary self-quarantine, so they are eager to finalize details as soon as possible.

Jewell’s Cabinet made the decision to move Fall Break and advising days, while faculty made the ultimate decision about going virtual after Thanksgiving. Academic department and faculty leaders made the decision with endorsement from the Cabinet. 

Dr. Ian Coleman, professor of music and Faculty Council chair, described the decision making process on the part of the faculty.

“The road ahead is, to say the least, uncertain, and I think we are all looking for any opportunity to make final decisions so that we can have at least some sense of what the fall will look like,” Coleman said. “When all the factors were taken into account, including, but not limited to what other schools are doing, how our students usually travel over Thanksgiving Break, the possibility of a resurgence of COVID-19 in the winter weather, the high possible need for quarantine when returning from travel, and so forth, it just seemed to make sense that we make this call now, sooner rather than later, so that faculty can be preparing classes with this schedule in mind, and students can come back with some clarity about the semester ahead. One of the main challenges last semester, for obvious reasons, is that we started it with one calendar in mind, the usual one we always follow, and had to end it very differently. We would like to avoid that as much as possible for the fall.  I think these are the reasons there was so much support for this idea.”

Coleman reiterated the thought and intention that contributed to the decision, and hope that making the decision about virtual learning after Thanksgiving so early will enable the most effective semester possible.

“I would just want to stress that this decision was not taken lightly, or easily, or without much discussion and careful consideration. The goal is to still offer an entire semester of instruction, but the weeks after Thanksgiving will be offered virtually, rather than in the classroom together. So the College is not closing after Thanksgiving, we are just choosing now, before it is forced upon us by circumstance, to anticipate that it will be best for all that we not meet in person after Thanksgiving break,” Coleman said.

“I think it is fair to say that what the Faculty want is to teach their classes in the usual on-ground way to our students, because we value and enjoy the real time, in the classroom, interaction and dialogue that is such an important part of a Jewell education,” continued Coleman. “That sort of face-to-face instruction, where you can look a student in the eye as you ask an important question or watch as an idea forms in the student’s mind right in front of you, that’s the sort of interaction and teaching we want to do… [But] never for one minute think that the Jewell Faculty want anything other than to teach in the way we have for so many years, in the classroom interacting with students in person for the entire semester.”

More information about modes of delivery for classes in the fall can be found in an upcoming article.

Students may reach out to Dema, King, Coleman or Mario Magaña, junior business administration major and interim Student Senate president, if they have questions about the schedule changes. 

“Please know that none of these decisions were made lightly or in haste. They are the result of good deliberations among members of the Jewell community with the best interests of all in mind and a desire to be proactive in support of Operation Safe Campus,” the email said before providing resources for students with questions. 

Dema said thus far the response has been exclusively positive as the schedule changes were viewed as logical changes in light of current circumstances. 

Many colleges and universities have changed the schedule of the fall semester in response to COVID-19. The University of Notre Dame will begin two weeks early and remove Fall Break. Yale University has also decided all post-Thanksgiving activities will be virtual.

Jewell was one of the first colleges in the nation to announce their intent to reopen in the fall, and they plan to release more information about a safe return to campus throughout the summer. 

In the midst of COVID-19, William Jewell College will begin to reopen this summer. Starting June 1, employees will be allowed to return to campus to work and some students will be housed on campus. The College is currently in Level B of their Operation Safe Campus and will likely remain in this level throughout summer. 

Employees will be asked to take their temperature every day for fourteen days prior to returning to campus in addition to engaging in other self-monitoring activities regarding COVID-19. They will also be asked to submit a pre-screening form to Human Resources before returning to campus. Those with symptoms will quarantine an additional 14 days and be directed to medical evaluation.

Facial coverings and masks will be required on campus. Students, faculty and staff will be required to wear facial coverings in Levels B, C and D when they are in public and unable to maintain six feet of social distance. The College is in the process of buying personal protective equipment, masks and other cleaning and prevention equipment for use by all employees. Open and shared workspaces must not have more than one employee per 100 square feet. Plexiglass will be installed in high traffic consumer areas. Cleaning of all high touch occupied areas will be mandatory. 

This summer, Jewell will host a total of 23 student residents on campus. Seventeen residents will live in Mathes Hall, one nursing accelerated-track (AT) student will live in the Coventry House and five visiting students from Park University will live in Senior House. Ernie Stufflebean, director of residence life, explained that these facilities are those best suited for Jewell’s summer COVID-19 plan. The summer housing session will last from May 31 to July 28.

Summer housing was restricted to students who are enrolled in at least one summer course, have an internship or practicum, are working under a summer research grant or who are from outside the greater Kansas City metro area with a job to pay for college. 

Stufflebean described the protective measures in place this summer to minimize COVID-19 exposure: 

Each resident must complete a COVID-19 Screening Form one week prior to arrival.

Each resident’s temperature will be taken prior to moving onto campus. Anyone with a temperature over 100 degrees will be referred to the College’s Nurse Practitioner for screening.

Each resident will live in a single room (no roommate). We dispensed with single room fees for this summer.

Each resident will be assigned to use a specific restroom with their own non-shared sink, toilet and shower. The minimal number of summer residents makes this possible.

Residence Life Staff will facilitate “no contact” check-in.

All summer residents must attend a mandatory hall meeting the evening of move-in day at which COVID-19 education and wellness guidelines will be shared. The meeting will occur within social distancing parameters outlined in the wellness [guidelines].

We’ve added a “COVID-19 Preparedness” section to the Campus Residents Resources Moodle course. Included are the wellness guidelines and other COVID-19 resources for residential students. This information will be updated as needed.

– Ernie Stufflebean, director of residence life.

Summer residents were also asked to bring the following items to campus as part of our COVID-19 preparedness:

• Disposable or 5-7 washable face and nose masks/coverings
• Thermometer
• Alcohol-based disinfectant wipes
• Alcohol-based hand sanitizer
• Disposable gloves

In addition to these measures, Jewell’s nurse practitioner, Paula Brown, will be available in the Student Wellness Center in Mathes Hall. Brown may be contacted at the Student Health Center at (816) 415-5020 or via email at brownp@william.jewell.edu. The summer hours for the Student Health Center will be Monday through Friday from 8-10 a.m. Walk-ins are welcome, but if one has been exposed to or exhibits symptoms of COVID-19, they should call ahead before visiting the Student Health Center. The Clay County Health Department will provide free COVID-19 testing for Jewell students. 

“I think we’ve assembled a good, comprehensive COVID-19 plan for summer housing, but it will require all summer residents’ support and cooperation,” said Stufflebean. 

Dr. Anne Dema, provost of the College, discussed the decisions regarding what programming to host on campus or virtually.

“All courses for summer are online, which is normally the case except for in the Nursing Program and some graduate [education] courses,” Dema said. “This summer those courses have also moved online due to the pandemic. That said, the Nursing Program will have students on campus for labs and simulation but they have plans to keep the group sizes to less than 10 and will implement social distancing, utilize PPE, and follow a rigorous cleaning regime. We are also hosting parts of the May AT orientation on campus Monday, [May 18] so they can get their iPads, ID’s, etc. and then they will have a virtual experience for the rest of orientation.”

The campus will be closed through May 31. However, exceptions to this closure include some employees and a few research programs which will be allowed on campus in May and through the summer. These programs include the Pillsbury Scholars program and National Science Foundation-funded research in biology – with Dr. Lila Rahn-Lee – and in physics – with Dr. Patrick Bunton.

In order to make decisions about which programming would be on campus, Dema was in consultation with appropriate department chairs about various programs. They would discuss the potential to maintain in-person programming while maintaining safe practices in line with guidelines published by Clay County. 

Many classes needed to remain online or in a virtual format – in most cases this was standard practice anyways. Some programming could not be moved online – including scientific research, nursing arts laboratories, nursing practice simulations, etc. In these cases, the appropriate chairs developed plans for safe on-campus conduct. Once plans were developed, Dema shared the requests and recommendations to President Elizabeth MacLeod-Walls, who gave final approval.

Dema described the process of planning for summer 2020 during the time of COVID-19. 

“Early on the [COVID-19] planning group developed parameters for summer activities on campus. There was agreement that we wanted to limit the number of external groups on campus and to privilege our students making progress towards their educational goals,” Dema said. “This also meant that all outside groups that often came to campus in the summer to use the College’s facilities for camps were canceled. The Athletic Department also canceled any plans for student-athletes to be on campus this summer and planned instead to use online tools to promote conditioning and connections among team members during the summer, just like they have been doing since spring break.”

“We also moved new student activities virtual, including Cardinal Days and Summer Fling. The County guidelines for limiting group sizes, and our desire to limit crowds on campus, prevents these activities from happening in person – Admission, Academic Advising, and Student Life have been developing plans to accomplish the goals associated with these traditional events through online or virtual experiences. We are excited to see how the adaptations work and are open minded that some of these changes may create new opportunities for us when working with new students who are getting ready to attend in the fall,” Dema continued.

“The guiding rationale is that we want to do all we can to have a safe campus this summer and to ensure we can re-open in the fall. Limiting outside groups and keeping the density of people low, consistent with Clay County guidelines, should help us mitigate the risk of exposure to active COVID-19 cases or having cases on campus this summer. It also gives us time in the next couple of months to ready the campus for more people and new social distancing practices that will need to be in place in fall when more people return,” Dema concluded. 

Regarding testing, an email announcement about Operation Safe Campus provided the College’s recommendations.

“Clay County is in possession of COVID-19 tests available to all Clay County residents, without cost, and regardless of whether or not individuals being tested are symptomatic. You are encouraged to visit the Shoal Creek testing center if you wish to be tested and certainly if you believe you have been infected with or exposed to COVID-19. The College will not require employees to be tested in June or July, but will require testing as we return in August. Much more information about testing will be forthcoming later this summer,” the email stated.