Recent Program Features

All employees are encouraged to check out the Return to Learn Website. Content will be updated regularly and includes important information such as safety measures, employee return to work expectations, Fall 2020 Semester schedule changes, FlexSync resources, and COVID-19 Notification Procedures.

University branded face coverings have been delivered to department offices for distribution to faculty and staff. In addition, branded face shields have been ordered and will be available soon. Face shields for instructors and other employees who need them will be distributed through their respective College and Division offices. Additional face shields can be requested by contacting University Stores by emailing sharon.wetzel@mnsu.edu.

IT Solutions will be holding FlexSync open sessions over the next few weeks to allow faculty to try out the new technologies. These sessions will be hosted in AH 214 but include the opportunity to spread out into other classrooms to experience the technology and ask questions. Please stop in during the hours listed below.

Open Sessions:

• August 12: 9am - 12pm; 1pm - 3pm
• August 13: 9am - 12pm; 1pm - 3pm
• August 14: 9am - 12pm
• August 17: 9am - 12pm; 1pm - 3pm
• August 18: 9am - 12pm; 1pm - 3pm
• August 19: 9am - 12pm; 1pm - 3pm
• August 20: 9am - 12pm; 1pm - 3pm
• August 21: 9am - 12pm

The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning is offering a Faculty Peer Coaching program to support faculty as they prepare for fall courses. A D2L course will be monitored by Faculty Peer Coaches to offer support, connection, and resources; to be added to the course, email cetl@mnsu.edu with your star ID. Coaches are also setting up office hours to offer 1:1 assistance with FlexSync and online course design, assessments and class activities. Use the calendar to views days and times for drop-in hours and support.

Town Hall forums for both faculty and staff are scheduled for Thursday, August 6. Please register in advance to participate:

• Faculty Town Hall: 11am - 12pm
• Staff Town Hall: 12:15pm - 1:15pm

Faculty and staff are encouraged to help welcome new students to the University at the virtual New Student Rally on Friday August 21 at 10:30am. The rally will be live streamed on the Minnesota State University, Mankato Facebook page.

All faculty and staff are encouraged to submit any questions about Return to Learn. We will do our best to get back to you as soon as possible.

To Our Student Community:

As we make final plans to start the new academic year in just three weeks, I want to let you know about a significant change we've made in an effort to minimize the potential spread of COVID-19 on campus.

All on-campus, in-person instruction will transition to remote, virtual face-to-face delivery via Zoom after the Thanksgiving holiday break. This change impacts your final week of classes (Nov. 30-Dec. 4) and your final exams (Dec. 7-Dec. 12) and includes all FlexSync courses and any required in-person experiences like science labs, etc. If you are attending classes on-campus and in-person this fall, following the Thanksgiving holiday break you will complete the fall semester remotely.

A few important notes:

• This transition away from in-person meetings is not an early end to the fall semester. Students should plan to attend the final week of classes and complete final exams virtually.
• Students who wish to remain in the residence halls after the Thanksgiving break may do so; residential rates will remain the same.
• Students who do not want to remain in the residence halls following the Thanksgiving break may request a prorated refund.
• The campus will remain open during the two weeks after Thanksgiving to accommodate students who choose to stay in their private Mankato residences or in the dorms.

Again, this change is an attempt to minimize the potential spread of COVID-19 following the Thanksgiving break. Public health officials tell us that mass travel during a pandemic, and particularly in late November at the traditional beginning of the typical flu season, raises significant concerns about the transmission of viruses. We want to do everything we can to reduce the risk to you as well as to our faculty and staff.

If you have questions about this change, please email provost@mnsu.edu. We will try to back to you as soon as possible. Don't forget to visit www.mnsu.edu/returntolearn for more information as well.

I look forward to seeing you again in August!

Sincerely,

Richard Davenport,
President

Dear Campus Community:

As always, our top priorities at Minnesota State University, Mankato are protecting the health and safety of our faculty, our staff, and our students, and supporting our students as they continue their progress towards their educational goals.

Beginning on Monday, August 10, we will launch a new required COVID-19 screening tool that all faculty, staff, students and visitors are required to use every day prior to coming onto our campus (students who live on campus will use the screening tool each day prior to leaving their residence). This online health screening tool is part of a system-wide initiative by the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities, and is being implemented at each of the system's 37 colleges and universities and at the system office in St. Paul.

Further information about the screening tool can be found on the Return to Learn website including a video tutorial, an advisory statement and a FAQ.

I look forward to working together, as a community, to keep our campus as safe as possible.

Sincerely,

Richard Davenport
President

Good afternoon,

Today marks two weeks until classes begin and one week until faculty contracts start. Next Monday, our campus will be opened to the public. One key part of returning to campus is daily self-screening. Our Return to Learn work groups created a local screening questionnaire several weeks ago. However, our questionnaire has been replaced by an online screening tool created and mandated by the System Office. The screening tool needs to be completed by all employees, students, contractors, and visitors prior to entering campus starting today, Monday, August 10^th.

The System Office screening tool:

• Must be completed daily before coming to campus
• Requires a login using your StarID and password and acceptance of a Tennessean warning since personal data is being collected and stored
• Was built with Qualtrics and individual versions of the tool were created by the System for each MinnState campus
• Sends an email upon completion

While we are still asking questions about how campuses should use the tool, everyone agrees that personal self-screening is an essential part of keeping our campus safe. Every employee, student, and campus visitor must complete the tool each day.

• COVID-19 Self-Assessment Tool
• Daily Self-Screening Information

One outstanding issue we are following is the development of metrics to guide conversations about localized campus closings in case of outbreaks. The System Office, Office of Higher Education, and the Minnesota Department of Health are finalizing an approach we expect will be similar to but more nuanced than the state’s formula for determining the mode of delivery for public P-12 schools. We expect the higher education metrics to be finalized this week and will share more as soon as we have that information.

Once again, I want to thank everyone for their patience this summer as our Return to Learn teams have worked through the complex planning required to potentially open in a hybrid, FlexSync, in-person, and online mode this fall. I am proud of the work our faculty, staff, students, and administrators have accomplished this summer.

With just a week before campus buildings reopen and many of us return to our offices, we have done our very best to assure the campus is as safe and secure as it can be. If you have questions, ideas, concerns, or comments, please email: provost@mnsu.edu.

Thank you for all you do for our students and our university.

Kind regards,

Matt