Column: Planning a safe return to campus

When COVID-19 emerged, 帕洛阿尔托 大学 和 the 阿拉莫大学 区 responded swiftly to transition to remote operations in order to protect the health 和 wellness of our students, employees 和 community. That same focused care is guiding our plan to resume on-campus operations.

5月27日, the entire 阿拉莫大学 区 joined more than 660 businesses 和 organizations in signing onto the “Greater. 更安全的. 在一起.“承诺, which includes the promise to wear face coverings, practice social distancing, conduct temperature checks, provide h和 sanitizer, follow CDC cleaning protocols, implement contactless payment, 和 offer COVID-19 awareness training for employees 和 students.

In addition to the district-wide pledge, 帕洛阿尔托 大学 is activating a phased plan for returning to our physical campus that is specific to the needs of our college community. 今年秋天, we will begin a phased approach to resuming on-campus operations with a limited number of courses offered in-person. At any given time, the capacity of each building 和 room on campus will not exceed 25 percent.

帕洛阿尔托 大学 will still offer the same variety of courses, but many will still be conducted remotely. Our in-person course offerings will consist of programs that require h和s-on experience for credentialing purposes, such as our Professional 和 Technical Education degrees 和 certificates.

In spring 2021, 帕洛阿尔托 大学 plans to transition to 50 percent capacity, with the hope of being back to 100 percent by next summer. During these times of uncertainty, we will continue to embrace a spirit of flexibility, so that we are prepared to be nimble as conditions warrant for the safety of our community.

Caring for our community is of the utmost importance, as it has always been. We care by educating 和 empowering students for success, 和 we are committed to providing a safe learning environment by taking measures to cautiously resume on-campus operations.

Whether we are serving our students 和 community remotely or on our campus, 帕洛阿尔托 大学 is committed to providing the same level of high-quality instruction 和 services to support individuals on their higher education journey. To learn more about remote learning 和 how you can begin the enrollment process, visit us at 阿拉莫.edu/pac/remote-register.

This column by Dr. 罗伯特·加尔萨, president of 帕洛阿尔托 大学, was originally published in the 圣安东尼奥 Express-新闻' Southside Reporter 和 mysanantonio.com.