There are a lot of questions about the current COVID-19 (coronavirus) situation. It is a rapidly-evolving situation and we're happy to answer those questions in person - Student Affairs and Campus Safety are good contact points to start - here's a list of some of the questions we've gotten most often that you may not be finding elsewhere.
Q: What changes will take place with Academics in light of the COVID-19 outbreak?
A: The College of Idaho will make the transition to online-only classes on March 17, 2020. Thereafter, classes will continue to meet during the same times and days normally scheduled, but will do so online using Microsoft Teams. Course materials will continue to be available through Canvas, the College Learning Management System (LMS). Faculty will continue to be available to students during updated virtual office hours.
Q: What about labs, performance courses, and activities courses?
A: These courses are being resolved on a case-by-case basis. Some such courses (e.g., Music Lessons, Piyo) can be sustained online for the duration of the semester so that students can earn full credit. In those cases for which activity cannot be continued (e.g., Varsity Athletics, Trap Shooting), instructors will seek to provide alternative ways to complete courses for full credit. In some instances, students may elect to take partial credit for activity already completed.
Q: What about internships?
A: Several options exist for completing internships.
- If students have already completed the required number of hours needed to earn the number of credits for which they registered, then they may stop working on site and submit the reflection portion of the work assigned by their faculty supervisor in order to receive a final grade.
- If the internship host has not imposed a “do not come to work policy”, then students may continue performing their internship hours for credit. Students need only to complete the minimum hours required for their registered credit(s). Once the hours are earned then the experience will be complete.
- Alternatively, if the internship host agrees to extend/postpone time worked on-site in order to complete the required number of hours, students may request to receive an incomplete from their faculty sponsor.
- A fourth option is to reduce the amount of credit for the internship, in turn reducing the number of participation hours in order to shorten the internship and achieve completion with onsite work already conducted.
- If the internship credits are not required for students’ academic program fulfillment, students may elect to withdraw from the internship (if doing so does not affect full-time enrollment status).
- For graduating seniors for whom none of the aforementioned options work, faculty sponsors will be asked to determine an alternate path to completion of the experience in order to allow the student opportunity to graduate.
Q: What about final examinations? Will they be held, and, if so, in what form?
A: Yes, final examinations and other culminating academic coursework will take place, but it will be proctored online so that students are not required meet in person. Adjustments may be made based on the transition of conventional curriculum and evaluation methods to an online context; professors will communicate any changes specific to a particular course directly to students enrolled in each course.
Q: Where do I go with questions about academics?
A: For course-specific questions, start by contacting your professor directly via email, Canvas, or Teams (if she or he has provided instructions regarding a preferred mode of communication, follow those instructions).
For general questions about academic issues at large, contact the Academic Dean’s Office at spalmer@collegeofidaho/(208)459-5259
Q: Must all students move off campus?
A: All students are expected to leave campus and relocate to their permanent homes. Exceptions are being made for students unable to travel, without access to online classes, and for a limited range of other reasons.
Q: For students who wish to move out of the residential facilities, when must they depart?
A: Students may leave at any time. They are encouraged to leave during the period that classes are canceled, March 16-17, or at any point during the week prior to spring break. Regardless of the date of departure, students who plan to leave campus should contact their RA or professional Residence Life staff and follow the move-out procedures. Click here for to access those procedures.
Q: Can family and friends help with moving?
A: We ask those family members and friends who may be coming to campus to assist students in moving to consider the following: a) If you are experiencing symptoms, please do not come to campus. b) Limit your contact with others while on campus. c) Practice preventative measures and hygiene to keep our community safe.
Q: Will refunds or credit be issued for early departure from the residence halls?
A: See the Refund/Financial Credit Q/A below.
Q: Will the Health & Wellness Center remain open? Can I drop in if I feel ill?
A: The Health & Wellness Center is requesting all students to e-mail the Health and Wellness Center rather than dropping in if they need to be seen during this time when we are trying to reduce risk and exposure to the coronavirus.
In order to make sure we are supporting anyone in our community who might become sick, and to limit exposure to others, we have developed an online form for faculty, staff, and students to self-report if they are 1) experiencing COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough, shortness of breath), 2) experiencing these symptoms and been tested, but waiting results, or 3) been tested, and notified of a positive result. Read more here.
Students enrolled in the College's student insurance plan can also utilize Wellfleet's 24/7 Nurseline from wherever they are residing currently:
When should you call?
If you are sick (for any reason) or believe you have the Coronavirus (you feel sick with fever, cough, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath), this is a great option to reduce your exposure to others. The Nurseline is available anytime you are seeking medical assistance and connects student members to a registered nurse within seconds.
Have your Wellfleet insurance ID card handy and simply call 1-800-634-7629 to receive immediate assistance from a registered nurse. If you have misplaced your Wellfleet insurance ID card, log into your Wellfleet account at https://www.studentinsurance.com/MyAccount/Account/Index/922 and then select Student Options. You can then either Print ID Card or Email ID Card.
Q: What about counseling?
A: In order to ensure continuity of treatment for those leaving campus, the counselors will start providing sessions online. Students for whom returning home is not possible, and who will remain on campus will still have the option of doing in-person counseling (with some additional hygiene and social distancing precautions) or telecounseling. Please email Cynthia Mauzerall (cmauzerall@collegeofidaho.edu) or Brian Davies (bdavies@collegeofidaho.edu) to get more information on scheduling. We ask that any student with a cough, cold, sore throat, fever, etc. participate in their counseling session through the telecounseling format until they are healthy.
Q: Will food service continue on campus?
A: Food service will remain in effect, with modifications to venues and variety of food due to the anticipated reduction in the number of students on campus, as well as the need for social distancing. Read here for those modifications, including the College serving food in to-go containers through the remainder of Spring Semester. Students, faculty, and staff will be asked to leave the seating area of the dining facilities to eat someplace else where effective social distancing can be practiced.
Q: Can I use food service if I am not living on campus (e.g. returning to speak with a faculty member?)
A: Yes, food service will continue to be available with modifications noted above. However, if students elect to discontinue their meal plans, they will need to pay as they go for food service.
Q: Will refunds or credits be offered for those who had a meal plan but no longer need it?
A: See Refund/Financial Credits information below.
Q: Does the College still support travel by students, faculty, or staff?
A: A moratorium has been established for all College-sponsored travel through May, 2020. This includes faculty and staff travel to conferences and professional gatherings, as well as student travel for study-away and other high-impact programs. We strongly discourage all non-essential personal travel as well in order to reduce the chances of exposure. We have requested that students, staff and faculty who continue to work and/or live on campus communicate their personal travel plans to the College.
Q: Why is the College asking about my personal travel plans?
A: In an abundance of caution to limit potential exposure to COVID-19, the College is asking all employees, volunteers, and students to disclose any non-local travel plans scheduled between now and the end of June. The purpose of this inquiry is to enable the College to make decisions regarding the need for additional resources over Spring Break, and to take precautionary measures to prevent potential COVID-19 exposure to our community members as a result of any personal travel.
Q: Will the College hold Commencement and Graduation Ceremonies?
A: There will not be an in-person Graduation ceremony this spring. Here's an update on the Virtual Commencement ceremony being planned by the College. It's scheduled for May 23 at 10:00 a.m. (Mountain Time) and will be streamed on YouTube Live. The letter has more details about a second, in-person ceremony in the works for a later date as well.
Q: Will the College provide refunds or financial credit to students who move off campus and/or who stop using meal plans?
A: The College will provide a prorated credit for room and board cost based on each student’s current residence hall and meal plan arrangement. The credit will be computed starting at the date that students discontinue services. For students who return to campus in the fall, the credit will be applied to the fall 2020 cost of attendance; seniors will receive a prorated cash refund. Since spring 2020 courses will continue in an online learning format, there will be no credit or refund for tuition or fees.
Q: Are previously-scheduled events and programs continuing to occur on campus?
A: All external-facing events (i.e., those attended by members of the community outside the College) will be canceled beginning on Monday, March 16 and continue through the end of the semester, Tuesday, May 19. All internal events (i.e., those attended only by members of the immediate College community of students, faculty, and staff) will take place as scheduled through March 20, and are canceled from March 21 through the end of the semester, Tuesday, May 19.
Q: Will Varsity Athletic competitions continue? What about practices?
A: The College of Idaho, the Cascade Collegiate Conference and the NAIA have canceled all spring sports. The College of Idaho Athletic Department has also canceled all team activities including all scrimmages, practices, conditioning/ strength workouts, team meetings, etc. for the remainder of the academic year.
Q: What effect will the shortened season have on eligibility to participate going forward?
A: The NAIA has stated the following in regards to spring sport eligibility, “In an effort to provide relief, no spring sport student-athlete will be charged a season of competition. Any spring sport student-athlete who was enrolled full-time in 2020 will be awarded two additional semester terms of attendance or the equivalent.”
We will continue to work with each spring sport coach as to how this will impact their rosters and scholarships for next year. We understand this has been difficult, especially on our seniors. We will leave the decision to use the extra season of eligibility to each student-athlete and their families as I know this is a family conversation and will have a financial impact.
Q. I am a prospective student. Can I visit the campus?
A. Great news future Yotes! We are now offering in-person campus visits. Your health, and the health of our community, are our number one priority, so with that in mind, we’ve implemented some new protocols for visits to campus.
The total number of each group of visitors to campus will be limited to 10 at one time. Thus, visiting students should plan for no more than two guests accompanying them for their campus visit. Appropriate physical distancing and precautionary measures will be observed.
To schedule your campus visit, click here. We look forward to welcoming you to campus very soon!
Q. Will the Cruzen-Murray Library be open?
A. The Cruzen-Murray Library building is now closed until further notice in compliance with the Governor's Stay-at-Home directive. The library's online services remain available. Read more here and contact the Library directly with any questions.
Q: What about the gym and workout facilities?
A: Due to concerns surrounding the spread of COVID-19, we feel it is best at this time to close both the JA Albertson Activities Center and Marty Holly Athletic Center weight rooms and workout equipment until further notice. We apologize for the inconvenience but want to assure you we are concerned for your health and the health of our campus community. (3/24/2020)
Q. Where should I go for computing help on campus? What about off campus?
A. Start with the collected help documents located here. These instructions deal with the most common concerns, including Microsoft Teams, student laptops, and more. If your question is not answered in these documents, please contact the Helpdesk at helpdesk@collegeofidaho.edu. If your account is the issue please call us at (208) 459-5777 or contact us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/YotesIT. The IT Department is working remotely and will provide in-person support on a best-effort basis when safe to do so. We will contact you to schedule an appointment if needed and possible.
Q: I don’t have a computer (or mine is broken). Can the College help?
A: The IT Department is currently evaluating what we can offer, if anything, for Fall term. If we are able to offer computers for students we will send an announcement and registration information to all students by email.