CAS COVID-19 Information and Resources

COVID-19 Resources

(Updated 6/8/2021)

Below is a repository of resources, updates, and links released over the last few months about preparing for the Fall semester and BU-specific COVID-19 topics. New and updated information is regularly released, so we will update and mark when appropriate.

General Resources

• Back2BU: You will find a comprehensive list of the University’s public advisories on the COVID-19 response at Back2BU, including information on remote teaching and detailed Q&As on wide-ranging topics for the entire community.
  • Faculty Q&A section (updated with further information about testing, classroom and campus expectations, and healthcare, mental health, transportation, and childcare options)
• CAS Announcements page: Faculty and staff members can find the list of all CAS announcements to faculty and staff about the virus response, such as information on working and teaching remotely.
• Back to On-Campus Work Guide (Phase 4) (added November 2)
  • Back to On-Campus Work Guide (Phase 3)
  • Back to On-Campus-Work Guide (Phase 2)
• BU Human Resources
  • Recovery plan for faculty and staff
• Faculty and Staff Wellness
• Boston University Occupational Health Center
• Digital Learning & Innovation (DL&I) and its affiliated units: the Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL), Educational Technology (EdTech), and Digital Initiatives.
• BU Today COVID-19 articles
• BU Academic Calendar
  • Adjustments to the Spring 2021 Academic Calendar (spring break news)
• Healthway

Classrooms and Teaching

• Learn from Anywhere (LfA) resources page, where you will find:
  • LfA training modules and information sessions from the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL)
  • Classroom visit information (schedule is on BU TechWeb)
  • Pedagogical Partnerships via Blackboard
  • List of campus resources (libraries, disability services, and wellness resources)
  • LfA Classroom Checklist (added September 4)
    • One-page summary
• LfA FAQs page, with information about faculty coaches and classroom moderators and a comprehensive list of guides
• LfA Faculty Coach List
• BU Information Services and Technology (IS&T), with resources and support available to faculty
  • More information about what technology is available and how it will be supported is available on the BU Classroom website.
• Digital Learning & Innovation (DLI) has classroom recordings for remote learning training.
  • Additional videos of visits like this and on other LfA-related technology topics and resources are available in the Faculty Back2BU guide. 
  • DLI’s Remote Teaching & Learning Lightning Talks Summer Series 2020 also has training videos for faculty.
• CAS Remote Teaching Resources Page, with shared tips and resources from faculty and staff from the spring semester.
• Syllabus Resources, including shared resources from the College and CAS faculty (added August 25)
• Campus Building Hours for the Academic Year (added August 24)
• Faculty/Instructor Bluetooth Headphone Distribution Plan – Fall 2020 (added September 4)
• Temporary Preservation of Video Recordings of Class Sessions from the Office of the Provost (added September 11)
• Surveys of Student and Faculty Experience with Learn from Anywhere from the Office of the Provost (added December 21)
• Announcement of Two “Wellness Days” in Spring 2021 Semester from the Office of the Provost and BU Today article (added February 9, 2021)

Commencement

• From BU Today: “In-Person Commencement for BU Class of 2021 Planned for May 16, unless City Requires Virtual Ceremony” (added March 1)
• From President:
  • Plans for Commencement 2021 (added February 26)
  • “Commencement Plans for May 2020 Graduates and Graduates from September 2019 – January 2021” (added February 26)

Final Exams

• CAS Guidelines for Spring 2021 Final Exams, from the Undergraduate Academic Program Office

General News

• Back to On-Campus Work Guide, Testing Reminders, and Spring Events and Visitor Policies, from the Office of the Provost (added January 22, 2021)
• From the President: A Letter to Boston University Faculty and Staff (with mention of Fall 2021 plans)
  • From BU Today: Coming This Fall for BU: Nearly Normal (added March 12, 2021)
• BU Today article, “President Brown on BU’s Lessons Learned from the Fall, Hopes for Spring” (added January 25, 2021)
  • BU Today Q&A with President Brown about the start of the semester (added September 4)
• State of the University, Fall 2020 from President Brown (added October 2)
• Spring 2021 Workplace Adjustment Request Process from the Provost (aded October 13)
• Spring 2021 Staff Workplace Adjustment Process from the Office of the Provost (added November 9)
• Important Updates on Compliance with COVID-19 Health and Safety Protocols from the Office of the Provost (added October 27)
• From The Brink: BU Weekly COVID-19 Report (added May 14, 2021)
• From BU Today: “COVID-19 Precautions in Effect for Move-in 2021” (added July 15, 2021)

Graduate Students

• Remote Student Engagement Guide for Graduate and Professional Students (added September 24)

Health and Safety Protocols

• From BU Today:”University Updates Mask-Wearing Guidance” (added March 1)
• Safety Responsibilities and Protocols, “Protecting our community and each other” (letter from President Brown to all faculty and staff on August 28)
• Announcing New Backup Care for Children and Elders from the Office of the Provost (added August 20)
• Faculty and Staff Health Commitments, Expectations, Compliance, and Resources (added August 17)
• BU Today article, summarizing actions the University is taking, in compliance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to improve airflow and ventilation in BU buildings (August 3)
• Memo from the University on ventilation, outlining  the University’s HVAC Evaluation, ventilation rates for various campus spaces, and precautions occupants can take (July 28)
• Video presentation by Senior Vice President of Operations Gary Nicksa, discussing the ventilation systems in the University’s 317 buildings
• The University’s Campus Planning and Operations website has detailed information on building maintenance and operational changes in response to COVID-19.
  • The Return to Campus Advisory Services page includes links to Building Operations where you can find detailed information on cleaning and disinfection protocols, and a list of Building Coordinators you can contact with questions.
• If you have questions for Campus Planning & Operations, you can submit them on their website here.
• BU’s submission to the MA COVID-19 Higher Education Control Plan (August 10)
• BU Today article on “How to Wear a Face Mask Properly” (added September 4)
• BU Today article on bookstore protocols (added September 4)
• BU Today article on FitRec changes and protocols (added September 9)

International Student Support

• Document on supporting remote students globally from the Office of Distance Learning, addressing general issues to consider in order to offer the same student experience, information, and resources to all students, regardless of geographical location (added September 18)

Modeling

• Go to this website for the BU-COVID modeling for the reopening plan

Remote Work/Return to the Office & Campus (Staff)

• From the President: Remote Work at Boston University, Message to Faculty (added June 23, 2021)
• From BU Today: “BU to Permit Remote Work for Eligible Staff, Up to Two Days a Week” (added June 23, 2021)
  • From BU Today: “Staff Excited about Remote Work Policy, although Some Want More” (added June 23, 2021)
• From the President: Returning to Campus letter (added May 6, 2021)
  • From Campus Planning & Operations: Capacity Limits by Activity (added May 6, 2021)
• From the Office of the Provost, “Campus Repopulation and Updated BU Public Health Protocols” (includes information on vaccination, the gradual repopulation plan, mask, visitation, and physical distancing policies, and testing requirements)
• Back2BU Repopulating Campus Faculty & Staff Town Hall Recording
  • • From BU Today: “At Town Hall, President Brown Urges BU Community to Get Vaccinated, Acknowledges Anxiety about Return to Work”
• From BU Wellness: First Steps to Facing Your Return to Work Anxiety

Research

• Research Recovery Toolkit, with guidance and templates for BU’s return to on-campus research
• BU Libraries Website (updated hours for the semester; visit website for more information)
  • BU Libraries Remote Teaching & Learning Support
  • BU Today article on library protocols for the semester (added September 4)

Staff

• Future of Staff Work Survey – An Invitation to Participate, from the Office of the Provost (added May 3)
  • From BU Today: “Survey on the Post-Pandemic Future of Staff Work at BU Opens Tuesday (May 4)” (added May 3)

Students

• Safety Responsibilities and Protocols, “Staying safe and healthy, our shared responsibility”
  (letter from President Brown to all students on August 28)
• COVID-19 Compliance and Enforcement Protocols letter in conjunction with this Back2BU page about campus (letter from the Dean of Students to all students on August 13)
  • Updated Student Compliance Policies from the Office of the Provost (added November 9)
• BU Today FAQ about safety, campus life, and student testing (added August 12)
• COVID-19 Testing Protocols and Expectations – Graduate and Professional Students (from Dean of Students to all graduate students on July 27)
• COVID-19 Testing Protocols and Expectations – Undergraduates (from Dean of Students to all undergraduate students on July 27)
• Undergraduate Campus Life Guide
• Student Residential Life COVID-19 FAQs
• Student Health and Safety Expectations
• Residential Life Guides
• Move-In 2020 Guide
• Decision Regarding Notification of Positive COVID-19 Test Status from the Office of the Provost (added August 24)

Student Support

• For students with disparities in quality of access (including access to computers, special high-speed Internet plans, etc.), please direct them to the following resources (added September 17):
  • Undergraduate Students:
    • CAS Advising Office (casadv@bu.edu)
    • Dean of Students
    • University Service Center
    • Disability & Access Services
  • Graduate Students:
    • Please direct these students to contact Janette Countryman, GRS Director, Finance and PhD Admissions & Financial Aid (janette@bu.edu) and visit this site.

Summer Term

• From the Office of the Provost: Summer 2021 LfA Status Instructions (added May 16, 2021)
• From the Office of the Provost: “Looking Ahead as a Residential Research University” (added March 1)
• From the Office of the Provost: “Summer 2021 Workplace Adjustment Request Process” (added March 1)

Testing

• From BU Today: “Faculty, Staff Will Transition to Unobserved COVID-19 Testing” (added July 12, 2021)
• BU Today article on BU’s COVID-19 dashboard of data and the launch of Healthway (added August 18)
• President Brown’s memo about testing protocols and compliance for students, faculty, and staff (added July 27)
• BU Today article answering testing questions about how it works, categories and placement (including descriptions of the four testing categories), frequency, how and where to get tested, contact tracing, result speed, and BU’s methodology and reasoning behind it (added July 28); there was an initial article on June 17 with similar information.
• BU Today article on testing pilot results from the medical campus (added August 6)
• BU Today article on testing categories and preparing staff for the fall semester (added July 10)
• BU Today POV article on what testing is like (September 4)
• BU Today video on testing procedure (September 4)
• BU Today article on contract tracing at BU (September 17)
• Back2BU information on testing and tracing, with further information about self-monitoring and symptoms to look for, how the University is ensuring community adherence of testing requirements, how you get results, testing costs, what to do if your test comes back positive, and the public health interventions to expect on campus
• Revised Category 3 Testing Requirements from the Provost (added October 13)

Travel

• Travel Guidance for Thanksgiving Break (July 29)
• Policy Regarding Fall 2020 University-Sponsored Travel, which prohibits University-sponsored domestic and international travel for students for the fall semester unless exempted by their dean (July 31)
• Policy Regarding Campus Visitors During the COVID-19 Pandemic, which mandates, until further notice, all University campus spaces, facilities, and buildings be open only for official University business (July 31)
• Updated University-Sponsored Travel Policy, Travel Guidance, and Compliance Expectations for Intersession (added December 21)

Vaccination

• From BU Today: “What You Need to Know About Updating Your Vaccination Status for Fall” (added July 9, 2021)
• From the President: Vaccination Requirement (added July 19, 2021)
• From BU Today: “BU to Require Faculty, Staff to Get Vaccinated for Fall Semester” (added July 19, 2021)
  • From BU Today: “Staff and Faculty React to BU COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate” (added July 20, 2021)
• BU Today article, “BU Will Require Students to Get COVID-19 Vaccine for Fall Semester” (added April 12, 2021)
  • Letter from President Brown: “Vaccination and the Fall Semester at Boston University” (added April 12, 2021)
  • BU Today article, “Here’s How to Upload Your COVID-19 Vaccination Documentation” (added April 20, 2021)
• The Brink article, “COVID Vaccines Arrive at BU: Everything You Need to Know” (added January 28, 2021)
• BU Today article, “Phase 2 of COVID Vaccines Is Here: What It Means for BU, and You” (added February 2, 2021)
• From BU Today: “State Vaccine Shortage Pauses BU’s First-Dose Vaccinations” (added March 1)