Suggestions

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Setting group expectations for adhering to all safety guidelines and rules

  • Different individuals perceive the risk posed by the novel coronavirus in starkly different ways. The college-age population contains particularly large numbers of people who perceive the risk to be comparatively low. Many faculty have expressed concern that students with whom they will interact will disregard social distancing guidelines, thereby increasing the risk of an outbreak within the class cohort. None of us can control what our students do outside of class. But we suggest that you clearly list all of your expected class norms on the syllabus and engage your students prior to the first day of class in a frank and respectful dialog about the risks posed by the virus to the health of everyone in the class community (and those they come in contact with) and to the accomplishment of your shared educational mission. This includes, for field courses that require travel, recommending to students that they practice strict social distancing measures for numerous days prior to initiation of the course. Further outline your own concerns and facilitate development of a written consensus on shared community values and an agreed code of conduct. Students are much more likely to follow that code if they have participated actively in its creation.
  • Teaching and taking classes in the midst of the uncertainty we face this fall semester is going to take lots of work, thought, and courage. Your students may well experience fatigue, anxiety, and uncertainty at some point during the semester. We recommend that you become familiar with the mental health resources available on campus and include a description of those resources in your syllabus. Encourage your students to seek this assistance as needed.
  • Ensure that all participants wear proper protective gear (e.g. masks and gloves), you have sound communication and evacuation plans, carry a first aid kit, and have appropriate first aid training.

Recognition of the campus requirement to provide remote alternatives for students who can’t participate in in-person field instruction

  • We, of course, always seek to ensure equity for all of our students. In this vein, campus guidelines emphasize the importance of providing remote alternatives for students who are unable to participate physically in your field course (for example, international students who are unable to return to the US or immunocompromised students for whom field participation poses an unacceptable risk). There is also an ever-present possibility that one or more of your students (or you) becomes ill or has to self-quarantine in the middle of the term, which would necessitate a pivot to some form of remote or online teaching. It is best to be prepared for that eventuality from the beginning of class. Establish a list of online resources or activities that you consider acceptable alternatives for course modules. Some disciplines have extensive catalogs of online resources, others have few. See the resource list at the end of this report for some ideas.
  • The extensive reworking of course content and delivery that will be required to develop high quality field experiences in the age of coronavirus, in addition to the need to develop separate online contingencies, will require considerable additional instructor and TA time and effort. It will be wise to plan your class modifications well in advance. It is important for departments to recognize the personal cost in time and money that many field instructors and TAs will incur in the service of producing the highest quality student experience possible; recognition of this investment should be made in the merit review process for instructors and TA efforts should be recognized in some tangible way. This is another place where the timely provision of additional campus resources will likely pay big dividends (to facilitate course planning and development).

Handling interactions between class members and with people outside the class

  • All participants should wear appropriate protective gear (e.g. masks, gloves) and maintain 2 meters of distance between one another. One additional precaution to minimize the risk of virus spread within the group is to organize your students into cohorts. These smaller working groups can be transported into the field together and work in only those groups for the duration of the course. In some cases it might be necessary or advantageous to assign a leader (possibly an instructor, TA, or PA) for each small group. Campus administrators have mentioned that additional TA/PA resources to facilitate such class organization might be forthcoming; instructors will be better able to plan such strategies once detailed information on available support is announced.
  • When it comes to interactions with people outside of your class group, there are two different situations instructors face:
    • Unplanned interactions
      • These interactions, while often pleasant, present an additional infection risk. For example, a class focused on analyzing plants, animals, or rocks on public lands will likely encounter other park users. We suggest that you discuss with your students how to handle such interactions when you develop the class code of conduct discussed in part A (above). Students who have thought about such encounters ahead of time will be prepared to politely describe their activities to curious onlookers and explain the need to maintain their social distance.
    • Planned interactions
      • Some classes go to the field specifically to interact with other people - It is, of course, imperative that instructors consult with the communities they plan to visit in advance to ensure that those communities welcome the planned interaction. Special care and consideration must be paid to the risk posed to especially vulnerable communities; it is quite possible that such classes are simply not appropriate to conduct until the risk from the novel coronavirus subsides.

Transporting students safely to the field

  • Field activities that can be conducted on campus: encourage consideration of this option if possible. Although this is the least logistically complex field setting, it is worth keeping in mind that even here the cohort is still vulnerable to the spread of infection from participant exposure outside of class, even from activities as innocuous as commuting to class on a public bus. Social distancing and the use of PPE are both key components of any field teaching strategy.
  • For simple day trips within a few miles of «Ƶ, the most challenging new aspect of field teaching during the pandemic will likely be how to get your students to the field venue while maintaining social distance. An example can illustrate the point. One committee member teaches a field geology class of 19 students that meets for six hours each Tuesday and Thursday, visiting local destinations like Flagstaff and Eldorado Springs. He normally transports students in two rented Suburbans or vans, one driven by the TA and the other by the instructor. We have not yet received campus guidelines on how many students can be transported in such vehicles; we need those guidelines to plan transport for field classes. In the absence of CU guidelines, the instructor has based preliminary logistical calculations on a first-cut modification of the transportation occupancy guidelines published by other organizations, such as the «Ƶ Valley School District. The result was not encouraging - he estimates that no more than two students at a time can be transported in each vehicle. That means it will require five round trips to get all the students into the field. Given the minimum 45-minute round trip travel time to Eldorado, it would take us 7.5 hours just to get all the students into the field and back to campus. Clearly, this is not viable; the kind of creative thinking the administration is urging us to engage in is required. Here are four ideas:
    • If additional campus resources are provided to departments, they could hire drivers (likely eligible graduate or undergraduate students). That way field instructors can concentrate on teaching rather than chauffeuring. This is another example of how indispensable the infusion of even comparatively modest additional campus resources will be for the execution of field classes and the importance of timely announcement of the magnitude of those resources, which will facilitate necessary planning.
    • We could hire a larger vehicle that can accommodate the whole class in a socially distanced way. The cost of this option is prohibitive for departments given current budgets; additional campus funds will be necessary. This option will likely be higher than would solution above.
    • It might be possible to split the class into smaller cohorts and take one cohort into the field on one day while the rest of the class works on an in-class activity on campus. Then repeat the field trip, swapping the cohort activities, during a subsequent class period. This is another approach that might require additional campus resources to support the hiring of a TA or PA who could supervise one or several cohorts while the instructor is leading the field exercise (or vice versa).
    • If the destination is extremely close, students can walk or ride their bike, rendezvousing at the field site. Such a rendezvous is also potentially viable for destinations within driving distance, but with two important caveats. The first is that arrangements must be made for transporting students who aren't able to transport themselves. In the example presented above, if 11 of the 19 students drove themselves, transport of the remaining eight students would entail only two shuttles with the vehicles normally used for the class, thus making the proposition viable. Our own past experiences tell us that many students who own cars prefer to drive themselves to field trips, so this could be an excellent solution to the transportation issue for some field classes. However, there is inherent risk involved when students drive themselves. We need clarification of the CU liability policy for student self-transport for the purpose of participating in a CU class, including any special caveats due to the virus. Some other institutions have established policies that treat a class meeting within, say, a 20-mile radius of campus as equivalent to meeting in the classroom (acknowledging the commutes that many students engage in daily to attend class). If CU has or can adopt such a policy, student self-transport for local (or possibly even more distant) field trips is a possibility. Without clear guidance regarding liability, this is not an option.
  • There are a few things that you can do to reduce the risk of transmission while traveling in vehicles. Good air circulation is crucial. A local fire department on which one committee member serves requires all trucks to travel with windows down to enhance circulation. That seems a good idea to us, with the obvious drawbacks on rainy or chilly days outweighed by the reduced transmission risk. On warm days it seems clear that traveling with the windows down is much safer than using the air conditioner, which recirculates the vehicle's internal air. Epidemiological studies have shown that more virus particles are injected into the air when yelling and laughing; consider instituting a policy of keeping conversations to a minimum and voices low for the duration of transport.

The sharing of field equipment

  • Some classes require the use of shared equipment. It is necessary to either sanitize the equipment between users or designate one “hands-on” student user for each piece of equipment, with no other students touching it during the field session. The hands-on student would need to sanitize the equipment after use.
  • Exposure to contaminated surfaces also comes from touching equipment during transport to the field, such as gas pumps or restroom facilities. Considerations suggested by the Return to Research Committee include wiping down any gas pump handles with 70% ethyl alcohol before filling tanks and sterilizing your hands after using the pump. Wear gloves when using gas pumps. Try to bring your own food and water during field work and keep them in sealed containers within your vehicle, touched only by the person who brought them.

Field trips farther than approximately 20 miles from campus

  • Most of the issues presented by day trips farther afield are the same as those already mentioned, but these longer trips are more likely to entail restroom or gas stops during which group members may interact with people outside the group and/or use equipment (such as gas pumps or restroom facilities), contact with which presents a risk of virus exposure. It is thus important to remind students to maintain social distance from other patrons, wash their hands thoroughly, and avoid touching public and potentially contaminated surfaces with bare hands.

Multi-day field trips

  • The logistical challenges expand exponentially for multi-day field trips. Although we are confident that, with enough determination, you can surmount each one, the obstacles are such that we advise that you give serious thought to restructuring the class with more short trips in lieu of one long trip if that is practical and will meet the course's educational goals.
  • All plans for travel (multi-day field trips, in state or out of state) must be approved by the appropriate department chair and/or dean, as well as through the campus travel approval process unless additional guidance is provided through the Provost’s office. If approved, students, instructors and TAs must comply with CDC guidelines related to travel and quarantine that are in place at the time of the trip.
  • In addition, all class participants should undergo daily assessments for COVID-19 symptoms, especially body temperature. If symptoms arise, one complication is that not all communities have access to COVID-19 tests, and if they do, they may prioritize testing for groups that do not include field classes from outside of their area or out of state.
  • Faculty must have plans in place for how to deal with participants who contract COVID-19 while in the field. Will you be able to quarantine the individual in the short or long-term? Medical facilities in many rural communities are classified as Critical Access Facilities, which means, in part, that they expect to keep patients for no more than 96 hours. The alternative to quarantine is to send a sick student home. This requires a plan to transport that student. If they cannot drive themselves, who will? We've thought of two possibilities:
    • One approach is to designate at least one participant (2nd instructor, TA, PA or student) as a “safety watch”; that individual could double as the designated driver for a return to «Ƶ. This might require an extra vehicle, which leads yet again to the question of available financial resources. But even if such a person is designated and a vehicle is available, hurdles still remain. Given that this evacuation is happening in the context of a multi-day field trip, the designated driver will be unable to participate in the remaining field content, which is a significant problem whether that person is an instructor, TA, PA, or student. The risk of virus transmission on a long trip in a sealed car with an ill person increases. Is it possible to obtain antibody tests for all class participants prior to departure? If so, the designated evacuation driver would ideally be a person who has previously been exposed.
    • Another idea is to ask that all students who participate in field courses have health insurance plans or special fieldwork insurance that includes evacuation coverage. We recognize that few standard insurance policies provide such coverage. Is it possible for CU to provide evacuation insurance for such a class?
  • Assess the status of medical facilities available at or near the field location. It can be difficult to obtain accurate community-specific information about rates and impacts of COVID-19 infections. Consulting with local medical personnel may provide essential information about local conditions and resources.
  • Food planning is a major issue for multi-day field trips. We strongly advise that instructors ask all students on day trips to bring their own food in sealed containers that only they access (see the treatment of food in the Return to Research document in the list of resources). This strategy may also prove viable on a one or two night trip, although implementation might prove more challenging. Longer duration trips will necessarily require careful thought about the extra measures necessary to safely share food stocks and food preparation equipment. For example, the buffet-style meals that are common features of many field classes are problematic unless it can be ensured that all individuals are COVID-19 free and remain so throughout the course. If it is necessary to shop for groceries, consider designating a single individual, such as the instructor or course TA, to do all the shopping. All purchased items should be immediately wiped down with EtOH wipes prior to further handling.
  • Housing is an equally challenging issue. Shared rooms (or tents), bathrooms, showers, and cooking facilities greatly increase the likelihood of virus transmission. The measures necessary to ensure student accommodation safety are highly individualized and depend on your class' particular circumstances. See the CDC guidelines for camps in the resource section for more details on housing and dining.
  • Determine how the class will travel to daily field locations if they are separate from the lodging. In the case of classes that move from place to place, how will you travel between locations? How will the class move locally from their housing to the specific field site? All of the considerations listed above in section D apply to the transport modes you use.
  • Faculty teaching field classes should have plans for maintaining physicaldistancing during the class. Can students work on their own or do they need to be close together? Can each student have their own designated equipment or do tools and materials need to be shared? What procedures will be in place to sanitize equipment? All these issues, which are covered in more detail earlier in this document, are equally relevant for these longer-duration trips.
  • The multi-day trips we teach are fundamentally very different in their degree of planned interactions with other humans or non-course members (e.g. anthropology vs. field biology). Courses that emphasize or require additional contact with the community must incorporate extra preparedness. Taking students on an extended field class has potential health implications for the students and for the communities hosting the class (if human interactions are inherent to the course). Considerations include: What are the learning goals of the class? Is interaction with the local community incidental to that purpose, and thus possibly controllable, or is it essential? In either case, will the class be in a rural or an urban setting? Rural communities are generally under-served medically and often have an aging population that is at high risk for COVID-19. Potentially introducing the virus into such a community is unacceptable. We need to carefully consider the organization and purpose of the class to assess the risks involved in teaching it. Classes that are isolated from the larger community around them may be more viable than classes that cannot avoid those communities.

Interstate field trips

Interstate field classes are inherently multi-day and often run over multiple weeks. All plans for travel (multi-day field trips, in state or out of state) must be approved by the appropriate department chair and/or dean, as well as through the campus travel approval process unless additional guidance is provided through the Provost’s office. If approved, students, instructors and TAs must comply with CDC guidelines related to travel and quarantine that are in place at the time of the trip.

  • Different states may have in place different regulations regarding COVID-19, and faculty teaching field classes need to be aware of all state and local regulations. CU students are also not all Colorado residents; faculty need to know what documentation they might need to ensure that non-resident students can return to Colorado if state lines become difficult to cross.
  • Faculty teaching out of state classes should determine ahead of time if it will be possible to test class participants locally and quickly, given local/community resources available, or lack thereof. The trip viability may hinge on the answer.

International field trips

  • All CU international field classes are coordinated by the CU Study Abroad Office. They have well-established safety protocols and instructor training requirements. Therefore, the special considerations needed for international field classes during the pandemic are beyond the scope of this committee's charge. Consult with Study Abroad for guidance.