Updates from Campus & Community Advisory Committee

The Campus and Community Advisory Committee met on April 8th and heard updates from Chancellor Guskiewicz regarding the state of COVID-19 on campus and plans for Summer and Fall 2021. A summary of the meeting is below, and the full recording can be viewed here.

Remarks from Chancellor Guskiewicz 

• Carolina Together Testing Program has now conducted over 150,000 tests. The positivity rate has remained below 1% throughout the semester. 
• No cluster notifications in over two months and quarantine/isolation housing population has remained low. 
• Few reported violations of the Community Standards. 
• As of this morning over 2500 students have been vaccinated through the Campus Health Clinic in the Student Union. Have noted a drop off in registrations over time; this seems to be attributable less to vaccine hesitancy than to students having already obtained the vaccine through other means. 
• As of right now we are planning for a return to an on-campus work environment for faculty and staff by mid-July. Students will return for in-person instruction in mid-August. We will likely still have many safety measures in place. 
• Looking forward to a Spring 2021 Commencement. 

• • 5 ceremonies held over the weekend of March 14-16. 
  • Anticipating approximately 1,000 students per ceremony and up to 4 guests per student. 
  • 2 guest speakers: Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett and Dr. Anthony Fauci. 

Question & Answer Period 

• Mimi Chapman: Will UNC require vaccinations for students returning in Fall 2021? 

• • Kevin Guskiewicz: About 4 or 5 universities have already taken this step. Our public health experts have advised it would be premature at this point, and the System Office shares this view. Currently such a requirement would require a change in state law. Data is critical on this point—at least 35% of NC adults are at least partially vaccinated, 30% fully vaccinated. Current trends suggest that over 80% of our population will be vaccinated anyway, where herd immunity becomes likely. This combined with mask wearing and other safety measures may render a requirement unnecessary. The convergence of this information will guide decisions on the potential requirement of a vaccine. Do not anticipate a decision will be made on this issue within the next month. 

• Aaron Nelson: Do you think the University will require re-entry testing for faculty and staff returning to working on campus? 

• • KG: This is on the table, but no decision has been made. We have not required that for faculty/staff that have already returned, but if the data suggest this would be beneficial, we’ll consider it. 

• Reeves Moseley: What are the plans for summer school and first-year orientation? 

• • KG: Most summer school classes will still be remote, with some in-person labs. It will look similar to the spring semester. We’re still working on Orientation, but we’ve received a lot of feedback not to forget about the rising sophomores who will not have had a traditional first-year experience. 

• Richard Watkins: Given the emergency of variants, what are your thoughts on continued surveillance testing? 

• • KG: We are monitoring the variants closely; the good thing is so far the vaccines appear to be effective against them. However, this is why we continue to require testing for students even after they have been vaccinated. We will continue to test through Commencement and will be making decisions about Summer School and beyond as we get closer. 

• Public Question: As we begin to plan for Fall 2021, when do you anticipate providing updated guidance for events and gatherings? 

• • KG: The Roadmap Implementation Team (RIT) has continued to review requests on a case-by-case basis. We have decided to allow summer day camps for minors to use the campus (upon provision of a negative text), but no overnight camps right now. 
  • Chris McClure: Although NC and Orange County have loosened their restrictions, UNC has elected to maintain prior guidance at least through commencement. We will continue to follow state and local guidelines in any event. 
  • KG: A campus message on this topic will be shared soon. 

• Chloë Russell: Would like to advocate for a hybrid model of learning for Fall 2021. We continue to hear from students and parents who for whatever reason cannot return to campus in the Fall. In addition, many international students (including those from China) are having difficulty getting their visas. 

• • KG: Carolina Away will continue to be offered as an option. 

• Tom Kelley: To clarify, are we expecting to be back to business as usual? Full capacity in residence halls and classrooms? No mask-wearing? 

• • KG: Based on guidance of experts, we believe we can prepare for a normal return to the classroom environment but with continued mask-wearing. Anticipate being mostly full in residence halls but with 1-2 residence halls still set aside for quarantine/isolation housing. This would be around 7500/8000 students in the residence halls. 

• Public Question: Will any adjustments be made to work requirements? Will faculty/staff be able to continue working from home to some degree? How flexible will we be? 

• • KG: As we make a return to residential learning, we will simply need staff and faculty on campus to manage them. Will lean on supervisors to make accommodations where necessary. Don’t anticipate a 100% in-person work environment, but it will be much closer than it is now. We have learned a lot about efficiencies, however, and the value of some remote options. 

• Donna Gilleskie: Will there be any consideration of letting instructors teach masked or maskless by choice? 

• • KG: In certain classroom environments that may be admissible. We need to explore this as a viable option. 

• Mimi Chapman: There is some consternation among the Faculty Assembly regarding HB 243, which would give the UNC System greater latitude to implement furloughs and the early retirement program. 

• • KG: We do not anticipate furloughing many people; we have furloughed very few so far. We have been advocating for the early retirement option, and indeed may faculty have asked for this. 
  • MC: This follows up on the theme of more local control, which the University wanted. However, what this bill does is give more control to the System, not UNC Chapel Hill. 
  • KG: Some staff have asked if they could reduce their FTE (with commensurate salary reduction) and continue working from home in order to accommodate family needs? This bill could give the flexibility to do that. 
  • Shyana Hill: Pushing back on that option. The workload doesn’t change, the expectation doesn’t change, it just reduces the amount of time in which the work is expected to be done. 
  • KG: Doesn’t expect this option to be used on a widespread basis; adjustments would need to be made. 

• Aaron Nelson: How are we addressing our transportation infrastructure for Fall 2021? 

• • CM: Transportation & Parking is working on this and is prepared to scale up or scale down operations based on anticipated campus occupancy. Estimates about 80% of faculty/staff/students will regularly be commuting to campus, but it is difficult to estimate for sure. 
  • Mary Jane Nirdlinger: Town is not prepared to finalize a plan at this time. 

• KG: Do you think we should require re-entry testing? 

• • SH: Training not currently required for staff. 
  • Audrey Pettifor: If everything goes as planned (vaccination rates as high, community prevalence goes down, variants produce challenges) then it should be less necessary. 

• Kim Stahl: If FTE reductions are considered, the option must remain with the employee, not a one-sided decision by the employer. This can be a very successful option if managed well. 
• Seth Noar: Will Carolina Together Testing Program continue in the fall semester? 

• • KG: We still have a lot to learn over the next 3 months. If we did continue it, we would have to dramatically increase the number of tests given increased population on campus. We probably don’t have the capacity for this. While we are likely to have some form of testing program, it probably won’t look the same. 

• Jennifer Gerz-Escandon: Will social distancing measures still be in place? If so, how will this impact in-person classes and close work environments? 

• • KG: Committed to providing safe classroom and work environments. Most classrooms are not conducive to providing 6-foot or even 3-foot spacing. However, if everything goes to plan, spacing should not be necessary when masked. 

• MC: Will CCAC continue after this meeting? 

• • KG: Very appreciative of the work and advice of this committee. Wants to spend some time with the Co-Chairs regarding the future of the committee. Members of this committee have served well beyond the original ask and no one has quit—thank you!