UW Plans For Return To Campus At The End Of January
SEATTLE — After starting off the winter quarter with remote learning, students at the Univesity of Washington's Seattle, Tacoma and Bothell campuses will return to the classroom by the end of the month, officials announced this week.
UW shifted to a largely remote learning plan after the holidays amid a record-breaking surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the omicron variant. In an announcement published Monday, university officials said improving coronavirus metrics would allow for most in-person classes to resume on Jan. 31.
While hospitalization rates remain elevated and transmission metrics stubbornly high, case counts have trended downward in King County since plateauing earlier this month. Officials said most classes would return to their original format and schedule unless instructors share separate plans with their students.
In a message sent to students, UW President Ana Mari Cauce writes:
"We look forward to welcoming more of you back to our campuses and into our classrooms and labs. As was the case in the fall, accommodations can be requested by those with health-related conditions or needs that put them at heightened risk. We’re also asking instructors to be flexible when it comes to student absences due to illness or other coronavirus-related disruptions, including the need to quarantine or because of day care or school closures that may affect our students who are parents. Please note that while instructors will work to find ways for you to make up missed coursework, they are not required to provide a synchronous remote option for classes that are being taught in person."
Cauce's letter asked students to keep up the same precautions they used in the fall, including staying home when sick and wearing well-fitting masks on campus and said the university purchased a large number of KN95 and surgical masks to help students "level up" their protection.
More information about UW's return to campus is posted on the university's website.
This article originally appeared on the Seattle Patch
