FAQ: Trinity Campus Expectations for Spring 2021 Archives
This section contains operations information on Trinity’s approach to Spring 2021.
The main features of Spring Semester 2021 at Trinity include:
- For all students: option for in person v. remote learning
- For traditional students who choose to be in person: option to live in de-densified residence halls, commute from home, or commute from an off-campus residence
- COVID-safe campus life and activities throughout the semester – offered in-person and virtually
- Modified athletic competition schedules throughout the semester
Trinity monitors state, federal and local dashboards regarding COVID-19 for data points such as test positivity rates and hospital capacity. As of this writing, we understand that the State of Illinois has permitted education decisions to be made at the local level as state-wide mitigations are enacted to stop the spread of COVID-19. In addition, we monitor Trinity student case counts, athletic team case counts, quarantine and isolation capacity, and staff and faculty case counts. We make ongoing, real time decisions about campus events accordingly. We have been working this multi-faceted approach throughout the fall semester. Ongoing updates are sent out to the campus community via email and/or text message.
Watch your distance – 6 feet+. Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Complete your daily screening with the #CampusClear app. We’ve learned throughout the fall that honest self-screening is a significant factor in limiting the spread of COVID-19. We will be checking for “green screens” in various locations throughout campus where in-person activity is taking place. The details are outlined in the Covenant of Care, which lays out the expectations of all community members. Athletes and students involved in internships may have additional requirements.
In addition to preventative measures in the classroom, Trinity has implemented safety measures in every building on campus. This includes limited in-person dining at the Dining Hall and BBC; designated dining areas; plexiglass shields in various locations; clear signage with directions for safe, physical distancing; modifications to entry and exit points in buildings; and more frequent cleaning of public spaces and high-contact surfaces. Trinity is also reducing the number of external guests permitted on campus. Trinity is requiring all students, faculty, and staff members to sign the Covenant of Care.
The Covenant of Care is posted online for you to review and can be signed on your student portal. All students will be required to review their student portal student life forms for Spring semester 2021 and update and re-sign.
The COVID Care Team will support the student and the community, following the most up-to-date recommendations from the Illinois Department of Public Health and CDC. This will include isolation for the individual with COVID and quarantine for close contacts. The COVID Care Team oversees this process, and has been implementing it throughout the fall semester. See section on COVID Care Team and COVID Positive Response for more information.
As per our usual conflict resolution process at Trinity, we ask that each and every member address one another directly when a person is not living up to the expectations of the community. At the same time, we recognize that COVID-19 presents a more urgent need to be vigilant and protect the community’s safety. Faculty and staff reserve the right to deny access to campus facilities to students who are not following the Covenant of Care (for example, to ask a student to put on a mask before entering the classroom or ask a person to leave who is not following guidelines). In addition, Trinity has developed an accountability structure that includes educational response, fines, and dismissal from campus for students found responsible for failing to comply with the Covenant of Care.
Face coverings are one of the key tools we have to mitigate the spread of the virus while we work and learn together in community. They are a way we can demonstrate love and care for others among us – who may be vulnerable to COVID-19. If you are unwilling to wear a face covering, unfortunately, you will be asked to leave campus. Staff from Student Life will work with you to transition to remote learning.
Exceptions to mask wearing: your own enclosed residence hall suite or on campus office. A person who is alone in an enclosed space may choose to remove his/her mask while alone in that enclosed space if s/he so chooses; however, if the space is not enclosed, or if another individual is present, a mask must be worn.
Residential students should complete their two-week travel quarantine PRIOR to arrival at Trinity, limiting contact with others during the prior two weeks to arrival. During move-in, residential students will be required to provide documentation of a negative COVID test taken within 5 days of arrival on campus. All student athletes, regardless of commuter or in-person status, will be required to provide documentation of a negative COVID test taken within 5 days of arrival on campus.
Students commuting to campus for in-person classes will be informed in January about COVID testing requirements.
The Gatherings Committee monitors Illinois guidance around size of groups, and posts updates regularly based on local conditions. The most we can allow in a group is 50, as that is the limit under Phase 4 of Restore Illinois Guidance. That limit will apply to classroom and athletic functions. However, as of this writing, the State of Illinois is in Tier 3 mitigations of Phase 4, so the limits for non-school gatherings (social events, etc) are much smaller. We will continue to update the community as the guidelines shift.