Dear colleagues,

The Office of the Provost is working with the COVID Response team, the Instructional Planning Group and others to share information about preparations for fall instruction. This is the first of a series of weekly updates we plan to send.

Please be advised that the guidance provided in these updates may change or appear to be contradictory from week to week; we’ll always base the information we provide on the most current guidance from the Missoula City-County Health Department, Montana Department of Health and Human Services, and CDC. In addition to these email updates, please visit the UM Coronavirus website for updated information. For the official guidance on instruction, please visit the Deliver Quality Instruction portion of the COVID Operations Plan for 2021.

UM is committed to offering face-to-face instruction this fall. Students are expecting in-person learning. Thank you in advance for not making last-minute changes to your instructional methods for fall. The following risk mitigation measures are in place to support instruction:

• Mask-wearing is recommended: It is recommended that all UM employees, students, and visitors voluntarily wear masks indoors – regardless of vaccination status.
• Testing is available: COVID testing is available for UM students at Curry Health Center and for UM employees at the Missoula County testing center or through their personal care provider.
• Vaccines are available: The Health Service Pharmacy, located in Curry Health Center, offers free vaccinations for anyone, on a walk-in basis, during regular business hours. You can also schedule a vaccine appointment via the Missoula City/County Joint Information Center: Get Vaccinated.

We acknowledge that there are still many variables at play in the health trends and recommended practices in our state, region and country. We will continue to work closely with public health officials to monitor the situation and adjust as needed.

Planning Update, August 2, 2021: Classroom Adjustments and Scheduling

At this time, we plan to be back to near-normal classroom capacity and pre-COVID-19 classroom scheduling, but adjustments have been made configure existing classroom space to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, identify new spaces, and use a variety of course delivery methods to continue to provide in-person education in a safe and healthy manner.

Classroom Adjustments

During the classroom audit that was done at the end of Spring Semester 2020, it became clear that not all classrooms on campus were following ADA guidelines and some were so full of furniture that even general accessibility was not being maintained. As an ADA-abiding campus, we have a duty to our students/faculty/staff to ensure this is being met. To this end, all classrooms on the main campus have been re-assessed and new student seating capacities have been communicated to the Registrar’s Office.

Industry standard indicates that all students should be provided with a writing surface and 30” of clear space, depending on furniture type. Faculty, depending on the size of the room, should be given a minimum of 6 feet from the front of classroom to the first student station for interactive instruction.

ADA requirements call for 36” aisles between surfaces and 60” turning radius at doorways, with 18” clear on the latch side of the door. It important to note that ADA requirements are not only wheelchair dependent and ADA needs can change at any given moment. In a situation where a certain ADA setup is required, Facilities will be notified by the Office for Disability Equity (formerly Disability Services for Students or DSS), a seat will be removed/replaced to facilitate the request and, therefore, this will not change the student seating capacity. Additionally, there are some academic spaces that have wheelchair/ADA dedicated seating areas, which are indicated on the classroom capacity spreadsheet. These spaces must be reserved for those with accessibility needs.

The Facilities Services team has been working to re-set classrooms as they are available and will be going full steam ahead once Summer Session ends this week. The layouts themselves have been done with CAD software. However, once physically set, the occupancies shared with the Registrar’s Office may need to be adjusted depending on any discrepancies between the CAD mockup of the room and the physical space. At this time, only the Facilities Services team can make changes to occupancy capacities. For more information, please contact Kim Nielson at kim.nielson@mso.umt.edu or 243-2420.

Room Scheduling

In scheduling courses for the fall semester, the Registrar’s Office must evaluate student accessibility first and foremost, then we follow standard scheduling procedures. The Course Scheduling tab on our website also outlines some important information for faculty.

Please note, in particular, this bullet point from the Course Scheduling tab; the standard schedule procedures include a detailed description of what constitutes a “deviated” schedule:

Deviated schedules: Courses scheduled in buildings/rooms controlled by the Registrar’s Office that deviate from the standard scheduling guidelines will be scheduled last, even if the room was assigned the previous year.

Your cooperation and support of these guidelines is appreciated as we prepare for the fall semester.

Sincerely,

The Office of the Provost, Registrar’s Office, and Facilities Services

This message was sent by the Office of the Provost to all UM staff, faculty, and administrators.