Dear Georgetown Main Campus and Medical Center Faculty and Staff,
We have had a very successful return to campus this Fall thanks to all student, faculty and staff efforts, and are looking forward to the spring semester. Please find short informational notes here, followed by an endnote. We will continue to monitor public health conditions and will reevaluate guidelines should public health conditions change. All Main Campus and Medical Center students (except School of Medicine students) will receive a similar message in preparation for the Spring semester.
In-Person Learning Continues
The majority of courses will continue to be offered in-person for spring 2022, with some exceptions and modifications based upon pedagogical or operational considerations.
Masks Must be Worn in Buildings
Masking is proven to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 and infection and, regardless of vaccination status, all individuals will continue to be required to wear a mask indoors in University-owned or operated buildings with limited exceptions (e.g., when eating or drinking or when alone in a private office).
Sanitizing and Cleaning in Classrooms
The University will continue to supply hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes in each classroom and will continue to use cleaning supplies that meet the EPA’s criteria for use.
Free COVID-19 Testing; Upon Demand as Often as You Wish
In addition to required COVID-19 testing, including upon your return to campus this week and at the beginning of the spring term, COVID-19 testing is and will continue to be available at no charge to all students, staff and faculty members for the spring semester. Make an appointment online or in the One Medical app for testing at an on-campus testing location.
What To Do if You Have COVID-19 Symptoms, Test Positive, or Have Been Exposed
Regardless of your vaccination status, please stay home if you have symptoms of COVID-19, or a positive test result, and report your symptoms via the COVID-19 Symptom Check-In survey. If you receive a positive test result from a testing site other than those at Georgetown, please immediately report your result to the University’s Care Navigator Team. If you are not vaccinated and have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, you must stay home and contact the University’s Care Navigator Team. A member of the University’s Care Navigator Team will contact you with next steps. You may also email other COVID-19 questions or concerns to covidcarenavigator@georgetown.edu.
Prepare for Absences in Advance
Students who miss class because of COVID-related isolation or quarantine should take steps consistent with students missing class for illness or other reasons. Faculty members will be prepared to make course materials available to students missing classes due to any illness, including COVID-19 illness, isolation, or quarantine, based upon course content and pedagogy. Faculty may use lecture capture software if appropriate for their courses. Lectures can be stored on Panopto and linked on the Canvas site. Faculty are not required to provide synchronous remote learning options for students missing class because of illness.
If a significant number of students are absent from class because of isolation or quarantine, faculty members will consult with their department head, program director, and school dean regarding a decision to move the class to online mode temporarily, or to take other measures to ensure continuity of instruction.
Students must contact their (1) academic advisor, program director, or course director, and (2) each individual faculty member when placed in isolation or quarantine to determine next steps for each particular course.
For privacy and other reasons, please do not email students about a student who may be sick — there is a public health process in place for contacting those who may have been exposed.
Faculty Removing Masks in Classrooms
Current University guidelines allow for fully vaccinated faculty to remove their masks when lecturing, if they choose, but such faculty must be at least 6 feet away from others. Recall that all classrooms have instructor microphones and amplifiers. Students are required to wear masks while in class, unless they have a University-approved disability accommodation, and no eating or drinking in class will be permitted, unless they have a medical accommodation.
For faculty interested in clear masks to use while lecturing, please contact the following office for your campus:
- Main Campus/Medical Center: please contact CETS (cets@georgetown.edu) or go to the Office of the University Registrar in White Gravenor G-10 to pick up a clear mask Monday – Friday 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
- School of Continuing Studies (SCS): please contact Kelly Troxell (kat36@georgetown.edu).
If you forget a mask or are wearing a cloth mask, please use one of the free masks available inside building entrances.
Student in Class Refusing to Wear a Mask
If an undergraduate or graduate student in your class is without a mask in a University-owned or operated building (and does not have an accommodation permitting them to be on campus without masking), ask the student to wear a mask. If they refuse, you may end your class for the day by announcing that since a violation of the public health requirement is occurring, you as an instructor cannot continue. Please report the student to Judy Johnson, Director of Student Conduct, at johnsonjd@georgetown.edu. (School of Medicine students should be reported to Dean Princy Kumar at Princy.N.Kumar@gunet.georgetown.edu.)
Have Clear Attendance and Instructional Continuity Policies in Syllabus
Each syllabus should state the class attendance policy and indicate how students should make up work (e.g., meeting with you during office hours or watching the recorded lecture) and what forms of remote instruction will be offered for students who miss a class (again, this is not required).
Please Take Attendance and Create Seating Charts for Contact Tracing
Take attendance in each class, and consider establishing assigned seats with a seating chart as this information must be forwarded to our Public Health team for contact tracing should anyone in the classroom test positive for COVID-19. Taking this step will ensure more efficient contact tracing.
What To Do if You are Placed in Isolation or Quarantine
If you teach an in-person class and you (or your family) are placed in isolation or quarantine, notify the University’s Care Navigator Team at covidcarenavigator@georgetown.edu and your department head or program director. Similarly, contact your students to notify them of your plans for academic continuity. In consultation with your department head, program director and Dean, you may be advised to move the class online temporarily or to make other arrangements for academic continuity. If you become ill with COVID symptoms and are unable to teach, contact your department head or program director as you would with other illnesses. These matters will be handled on a case-by-case basis by the department/program and school.
What To Do if There are Children’s School Closures and Dependent Care Needs for Ill Family Members
In the event that there are school closures and/or COVID-related dependent care challenges, you may switch to remote instruction for a short period while arrangements for dependent care are underway. Faculty should work with their department chair, program director and Dean if faced with such circumstances.
Visit CNDLS for Help Designing Your Courses for the Spring
All faculty are invited to visit the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship (CNDLS) Teaching and Learning webpage for resources to support your teaching in the spring. CNDLS is also holding Digital Learning Days on December 7th-8th (with an encore on January 6th-7th). The two-day event will feature faculty panels, 75-minute small group workshops, and consultations to help you design your courses to address the most pressing classroom challenges faced this past semester, including increased absences and assessments.
If you use Panopto, Turn on Closed Captioning. This can be done retroactively to videos you’ve already recorded. Captioning not only helps with accessibility of your content, but it helps students locate material to review.
Rehearse Using New Classroom Technology with CETS/Technology Team Help
Please make an appointment with our classroom technology teams prior to teaching in the spring. On Main Campus, contact Classroom Educational Technology Services (CETS) for questions or assistance setting up educational technology in your classrooms. If you teach in MSB, please contact the MSB Tech Center (msbhelp@georgetown.edu). If you teach in SCS, please contact scsavsupport@georgetown.edu. Faculty at the Medical Center campus please contact TESS (tess@georgetown.edu) or call the UIS service desk at 202-687-4949. More information is available on the UIS Educational Technologies webpages.
With Thanks and Looking Ahead
Thank you for all you have done to make the fall semester successful. Let’s continue to approach the next weeks and months with compassion and grace. Some students and faculty may be new to campus for the spring semester. Of course, we will continue to monitor public health conditions and notify you of any changes to planning or requirements.
In recent months, we have reestablished our vibrant in-person community on Georgetown campuses. By working together, we can build upon our experiences this fall, making the spring semester productive and engaging for the entire Georgetown University community.
Sincerely,
Robert M. Groves
Provost
Edward B. Healton
Executive Vice President for Health Sciences