UCCS students can return to campus after 5 weeks of fully remote learning

By Nicole Heins
KKTV News

UCCS students have been remote for the past five weeks. Starting Monday, they will have the option to be in-person, remote or a hybrid flex, which depends on the class and what the teacher has chosen to offer.

During the fall semester, students started off in-person, but by the end of the semester, they were doing remote learning. This spring, more than 930 students will be living on campus, but the majority of students will be commuting.

UCCS is requiring everyone who comes to campus to wear a mask when they are inside a building and is recommending when they are outside to help with the spread of COVID-19 on the campus. Stephanie Hanenberg, the assistant vice chancellor for health and wellness at UCCS, is excited to see students back on campus and hopeful they do not see many cases of the virus like they did in the fall.

“We were very fortunate to not have a single case spread in a classroom setting. Strictly, I believe, because the students wore masks and they were social distancing. Faculty did a great job with ventilation in the rooms, keeping doors open; had smaller class sizes as well, and because they followed all the rules,” said Hanenberg.

UCCS has created training everyone on campus needs to take that explains all the COVID-19 rules expectations. The university will also ask people to do a daily health check before coming to campus, asking them a series of screening questions.

The students who moved into the residence halls were all tested before moving in, and everyone came back negative. UCCS is also doing “surveillance testing” on residential students and some commuter students, which they hope to offer to faculty and staff soon.

Since masks must be worn on campus, Hannenberg knows enforcing masks on campus helps keep faculty and students safe.

“People following the rules actually made a huge difference for us. Not every campus was that fortunate but we were very blessed for the commitment of the whole campus, faculty, staff and students,” says Hanenberg.

If someone comes to campus and they are not wearing a mask, that person will be asked to put one on. If they refuse, the university can ask that person to leave the area, and further action could be taken by the university if needed.