Sims-Aubert sends expectations communication to students

In an e-mail today, Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Climate Gail Sims-Aubert, outlined return to campus guidelines for students:

Dear UWGB students,

As preparations for your return to campus are being actively planned, the global pandemic remains an acute threat, and is one that UW-Green Bay leadership is taking very seriously. Every effort is being made to develop processes and protocols that will work to safeguard you while you learn, live and lead on campus this fall.

As you may have seen, the University has recently affiliated with Prevea Health to provide health and wellness support to UW-Green Bay students. After much deliberation and collaboration with our partners in healthcare, we are able to reveal the following guidelines, that when employed appropriately, will work to protect both you and those with whom you may come into contact with on campus.

Return to Campus Guidelines

• Physical Distancing – Stay at least six feet from other people at all times (about two arms’-lengths).
• Face Coverings – All UWGB faculty/staff/students are required to wear a face covering over the mouth and nose in all campus communal spaces (including classrooms, hallways and offices).
• Handwashing – Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after having been in a public space or after blowing your nose/sneezing/touching your face. (Hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol can be substituted for handwashing.)
• Self-Assessment – Monitor for the onset of symptoms daily and do not leave your residence if the possibility of infection exists.

For students living on campus who test positive or may have been exposed to the virus, rooms with private bathrooms have been reserved for isolation and quarantine needs. The University will employ contact tracers trained in conjunction with Prevea Health and Brown County Public Health to help identify those who may have come into contact with anyone testing positive on UW-Green Bay’s campuses. Prevea Health will also be working to provide testing to those students who have a recognized need.

Join me for a live Instagram Q&A where I’ll be answering your questions about returning to campus housing. Visit UWGB Instagram’s story on Monday, August 10 from 11 a.m. to noon and send your questions!

As you know, in-person classroom instruction will look different this fall. Similar precautions are being undertaken in campus housing, where safety protocols will limit capacity in common area spaces and visitation restrictions will be imposed. Dining venues will also operate differently, where more grab-and-go options will be made available along with an adjusted layout in dining rooms to accommodate distancing and volume concerns. Other campus locations (libraries, rec centers, etc.) will engage in comparable risk mitigation measures for your safety across the university.

I fully recognize that the requirement of wearing a face covering and staying physically distanced from fellow students and faculty/staff will be a cultural shift from how we normally would operate. You’ve been away from campus for several months, and want to see one another and be able to gather in large groups. However, we also know that the acts of wearing a mask, keeping a distance from one another and undertaking good hygiene are the very strategies that will keep one another safe and healthy.

UW-Green Bay’s goal is to create a culture of cooperation where all students/faculty/staff will understand that compliance with the safeguards of face coverings, physical distancing and handwashing is critical to the safety of the entire campus community. There may be times when adherence to these safeguards may be inconvenient or uncomfortable, but our goal, is to continue to provide you a safe path to your degree.

The disruption caused by COVID-19 has been hard on everyone, from students and their families to our faculty and staff. I’ve not come into contact with a single person who doesn’t want things to go back to “normal”, but by all indications things are going to be quite different for the coming year. That is why I want you to know how appreciative I am of your commitment to our university community. UW-Green Bay will get through this unprecedented time, and will be better for it. Thank you for signing on as a Phoenix. I am proud of you and eagerly await your return in a few short weeks.

Go Phoenix!

Gail Sims-Aubert

Gail Sims-Aubert
INTERIM VICE CHANCELLOR FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS & CAMPUS CLIMATE
DIRECTOR OF RESIDENCE LIFE
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
2420 Nicolet Drive
Green Bay, WI 54311
tel: (920) 465-2040 / email: simsg@uwgb.edu
web: www.uwgb.edu/housing