Memo from the S.J. Quinney College of Law Career Development Office, 2020-07-07 : The 2020 Recession, COVID-19, and SJQ Operations

Memo produced by James Holbrook from the S.J. Quinney College of Law Career Development Office "for the Dean of the College of Law about Covid disease, coronavirus vaccines, the economy and employment."

The 2020 Recession, COVID-19, and SJQ Operations To: Dean Elizabeth Kronk Warner Date: July 7, 2020 From: S.J. Quinney College of Law Career Development Office Table of Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................2 1. The 2020 Recession and COVID-19 Transmission ...........................................3 The 2020 Recession .....................................................................................3 COVID-19 Symptoms .................................................................................5 COVID-19 Disease Progression ..................................................................6 Risk Conditions for COVID-19 ...................................................................7 COVID-19 Transmission ..............................................................................8 Post- COVID-19 Recovery Issues ...............................................................8 COVID-19’s Long-Term Effects .................................................................9 COVID-19’s “Lost Generation” of Children .............................................10 2. Anti-Racism Training ......................................................................................11 3. Planning for SJQ In-Person Operations ...........................................................11 4. Another Critique of In-Person Education During the Pandemic .....................13 Executive Summary As of today, COVID-19 cases are increasing in 36 states. Reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are approaching three million and exceed 25% of the world’s 11.6 million cases. COVID-19 deaths in the U.S exceed 130,000 which is 25% of the world’s 500,000 COVID-19 deaths. COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. may exceed 160,000 by the end of this month. CDC Director Robert Redfield said that, based on antibody tests, the number of people in the U.S. who have been infected with coronavirus is probably ten times higher than the number of reported cases. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates the death toll in the U.S. will exceed 200,000 by October.1, 2020. On June 30, Anthony Fauci warned a Senate committee that, unless more precautions are practiced, COVID-19 cases may increase from 40,000 per day to 100,000 per day. The next day, the U.S. reported a record 52,789 new single-day cases. The economy added 4.8 million jobs in June, which brought the real unemployment rate down to 12.1% from 16.3% last month, counting people who are being paid but are not working. However, the Congressional Budget Office forecast that the unemployment rate ten years from now in 2030 will still be above 2020 pre-pandemic levels. 14 million people have not been rehired after losing their jobs this year; layoffs continue, including people who were recently rehired as their state economies opened too soon. 1.4 million people filed unemployment claims for the first time last week. New COVID-19 cases are surging in many states, threatening the ICU capacity in many local hospitals. Some states are beginning to reclose parts of their economies to try to control the surge in new infections. Wages face downward pressure. Consumer confidence is low. Uncertainty about both the pandemic and the recession will make people more likely to save money than spend it. Congress is unlikely to pass the fourth stimulus package any time soon. State and local governments are going to lay off more workers because their tax revenues are down. The Federal Reserve has few tools left to stimulate the economy. Coronavirus positive-test rates and COVID-19 cases in the U.S. rose by 50% since last month, led by states that reopened first. As coronavirus infections increase sharply across the American South and West, states are closing back down, and workers are getting laid off a second time. California, Florida, Arizona and Texas have implemented new policies that partly restrict restaurant and bar service. Other states have postponed or slowed their reopening plans. And because the U.S. has the most coronavirus infections and COVID-19 deaths in the world, the European Union said Americans are not allowed to travel to its 27-member countries which reopened their borders on July 1, 2020. Economists at Goldman Sachs said a nationwide face mask mandate could substitute for a new lockdown of the U.S. economy and save 5% of the U.S. gross domestic product. President Trump’s Republican allies and his supporters on Fox News recently began urging Americans to wear face masks which will help the country reopen sooner. Many in the President’s base refuse to wear masks, citing personal “liberty.” Utah is reopening its economy while coronavirus infections and COVID-19 cases are increasing here, coronavirus testing is decreasing, and physical distancing guidelines are being more widely ignored. Utah’s Governor Herbert gave Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County the authority to impose face mask requirements through July 10, 2020. On June 30, 2020, Governor Herbert, together with other state governors, asked Vice President Pence (Chair of the White House Coronavirus Task Force) to have the Trump administration encourage the public to wear face coverings. 2 1. The 2020 Recession and COVID-19 Disease The 2020 Recession To slow the spread of COVID-19, the federal government issued physical distancing guidelines in March, and state and local governments imposed stay-at-home restrictions and closed nonessential businesses. This caused millions of Americans to become unemployed, which had an immediate adverse effect on the American economy, which in turn has had a significant adverse effect on legal services, law firms, and legal hiring, especially at Big Law firms. It also affected operations at SJQ which almost immediately went online in March. Law firm mergers have hit a 10-year low because of the pandemic. Many law firms have implemented measures to preserve cash, anticipating that the recession will reduce their revenue throughout the year. Large law firms nationally are cutting salaries to partners and associates (“lawyers”) and staff, delaying bonuses to lawyers, furloughing lawyers, buying out lawyers, laying off lawyers and staff, freezing new hiring, and canceling summer associate programs. Law firms in Utah have not yet been affected to the same extent as Big Law has been nationally. Unemployment in the U.S. has soared from record lows earlier in the year to record joblessness in the last four months: President Trump unveiled Guidelines for Opening Up America Again, based on the advice of public health experts. These data-driven criteria specified the conditions that each region or state should satisfy before proceeding to a phased reopening: 3 Symptoms Cases Hospitals Downward trajectory of influenzalike illness reported within a 14-day period AND Downward trajectory of documented cases within a 14-day period OR Treat all patients without crisis care Downward trajectory of COVIDlike syndromic cases reported within a 14-day period Downward trajectory of positive tests … within a 14-day period … Robust testing program in place for at-risk healthcare workers … AND However, most states which opened their economies did so before they met these criteria for reducing symptoms, cases, and hospitalizations. And these states have not sufficiently increased testing or contact tracing. After they reopened, many red states – like Arizona, Texas and Florida – did not enforce physical-distancing safeguards or impose face mask requirements. Consequently, many individuals began behaving irresponsibly, congregating in dense gatherings, not wearing face coverings and acting as though the pandemic was over. As a result, COVID-19 cases have exploded, especially in Sun Belt states in the South and West, threatening to overwhelm the ICU capacity of their local hospitals (e.g., Houston hospitals are overwhelmed now and are sending new COVID-19 patients to Huntsville and Galveston, 50 miles away). COVID-19 cases have increased so much in these states that it is not possible to do contact tracing – there simply are too many cases. As cases have surged in Florida, more than 40 hospitals in counties across the state reported having no more beds available in their adult intensive care units. In recent weeks, as COVID-19 cases have surged in many states, the demand for testing has soared, exceeding testing capacity. In many cities, there is a shortage of testing supplies and there are backlogs at laboratories that process the test sample. Public health experts worry that not enough Americans grasp the serious risks of the coronavirus pandemic – or worse, view the crisis through a political lens in an election year. Wearing a face mask is seen by some Trump supporters as a critique of the President, and these people in turn choose to assert their “liberty” by deliberately not wearing face masks. COVID-19 is increasingly a disease of the young, with the decreasing median age of those infected by COVID-19. In Arizona, for example, half of all positive cases are now people between the ages of 20 to 44. Once states began to reopens a result, young people packed clubs and crowded restaurants. In a suburb of Austin, Texas, teenagers held a very large party and, since then, a number of those who attended have tested positive for COVID-19. At the same time, young people attended massive street demonstrations protesting police brutality and racial injustice. As a result, case counts have soared to record levels. Young people believe they are invincible and believe, if they do get COVID-19, they are going to be fine, because young people are less likely to get severely ill or die from the disease. Young people are engaging deliberately in reckless behavior with their peers. They congregate in bars and restaurants, refusing to wear face masks or practice physical distancing. Groups of students in Alabama have even bet money in a pool and intentionally tried to be the first to contract COVID-19; the winner gets all the money in the pool after having exposed others to the coronavirus. Health officials worried that the Fourth of July weekend will have many 4 superspreading events involving young people, with the consequent increase in COVID-19 cases. High-ranking Republican – Senators Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Marco Rubio (Fla.), Rick Scott (Fla.), and Tim Scott (S.C.); House members Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and Liz Cheney (Wyo.); and Governors Doug Ducey (Ariz.), Greg Abbott (Tex.) – have urged President Trump to encourage wearing face masks. House Minority Leader McCarthy said, “I do not want to shut the economy back down. … Wearing the mask is the best opportunity for us to keep this economy open, keep us working, keep us safe and help us as we build toward that vaccine where we’re in a much stronger position than any country before.” President Trump’s political strategists believe his base will accept an uncontrolled pandemic with 100,000 or more new COVID-19 cases a day between now and the November 3rd election. Their goal is to convince Americans they can live with the coronavirus — that schools should reopen, professional sports should restart their seasons, a vaccine is likely to arrive by the end of the year and the economy will continue to improve. Over the weekend the President even said that 99% of COVID-19 cases are “totally harmless” – when more than 4% of those who contract COVID die. Millions of Americans are still unemployed, and states which opened too quickly are beginning to reclose bars, restaurants and beaches. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close supporter of the President, said the election will hinge on whether the economy has made a robust recovery, which can happen only if the COVID-19 outbreak is brought under control. Polls have shown Americans are growing increasingly worried about the course of the pandemic. A Gallup poll released on July 2 found a new high of 65% of Americans saying that the coronavirus situation is getting worse — up from 48% the week before. Democratic candidate Joe Biden last week criticized President Trump for having “surrendered” to the virus, leaving the COVID-19 battle to the states. Another recession-related crisis will begin this month as state courts start to reopen around the country and begin to address eviction cases. The backlog of eviction cases is moving through the court system as millions of Americans who had counted on federal aid and eviction moratoriums to stay in their homes now fear being thrown out on the street. A crisis among renters is expected to deepen this month as the enhanced federal unemployment benefits that have kept many afloat run out at the end of the July. Of the 110 million Americans living in rented housing, 20% -- i.e., 22 million people – are at risk of becoming homeless. African American and Hispanic renters are expected to be hardest hit with evictions. Congress has adjourned for a two-week break without renewing the $600 weekly individual jobless benefits. U.S. Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia told “Fox News Sunday” that the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic has been better than expected so far, so it won’t be necessary to extend the federal emergency unemployment program that ends this month. COVID-19 Symptoms COVID-19 symptoms appear 2 to 14 days after exposure to the coronavirus. People with the following symptoms may have COVID-19: 5 • • • • • • • • • • • • Fever or chills Cough Abnormally low blood oxygen level Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing Fatigue Muscle or body aches Headache Loss of taste or smell Sore throat Congestion or runny nose Nausea or vomiting Diarrhea If someone is showing any of these warning signs, they should seek emergency medical care immediately: • • • • • Trouble breathing Persistent pain or pressure in the chest New confusion Inability to wake or stay awake Bluish lips or face COVID-19 Disease Progression COVID-19 disease attacks the lungs most aggressively, but also the kidneys and liver. It destroys the body’s cells which produce platelets, which leads to uncontrolled bleeding, which in turn leads to dangerous clotting. Oxygen deprivation of the brain and the formation of blood clots start early in the disease process. The disease can produce hundreds or even thousands of microclots in the lungs for which physicians are now giving blood thinners to COVID-19 patients. Abnormal clotting also can be found in the kidneys, liver and heart which may be the cause of multiple organ failure seen in some in COVID-19 patients. Researchers at the University of Utah and other institutions have found that, as part of the body’s immune response, white blood cells release web-like Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs) to capture and kill pathogens, including the coronavirus. While typically beneficial, overactive NETs exacerbate certain illnesses, including COVID-19 disease. NETs and blood platelets become increasingly hyperactive in patients on ventilators, causing clots in blood vessels which are a major cause of COVID-19 deaths. This research also has shown in laboratory experiments that a naturally occurring protein—originally found in umbilical cord blood—quiets the NET immune response. COVID-19 disease also produces a host of neurological impairments, including confusion, disorientation, excessive tiredness, the reduced ability to smell or taste, altered mental status, strokes, seizures, delirium, and coma. One study found that about 84% of COVID-19 patients in intensive care had neurological problems, and a third were confused or disoriented when they were discharged. This damage to the brain is likely caused by oxygen deprivation rather than by 6 the coronavirus. This underscores the importance of getting patients on supplementary oxygen quickly to prevent irreversible brain damage. Brain damage also is caused by strokes and ministrokes, which underscores the importance of putting COVID-19 patients on blood thinners early in the disease process. On June 30, the federal Health and Human Services Department announced that current Public Health Emergency regulations related to COVID-19, scheduled to expire on July 25, will be extended for an additional 90 days, ending around October 22. Healthcare related to COVID-19 therefore will continue to be eligible for Medicare reimbursement for services provided via telehealth. Risk Conditions for COVID-19 On June 25, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated and expanded the list of people considered at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 disease. The CDC enumerated seven underlying medical conditions for people who are at an increased risk to develop severe illness from COVID-19. According to the CDC, people of any age with the following conditions are at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19: • • • • • • • Chronic kidney disease Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from an organ transplant Obesity (body mass index of 30 or higher) Serious heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies Sickle cell disease Type 2 diabetes The CDC warned that people with more than one of these underlying medical conditions are at an even higher risk for developing severe illness from COVID-19. Eight out of 10 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. have been among adults aged 65 or older, and the risk of severe illness or death increases steadily with age. “Understanding who is most at risk for severe illness helps people make the best decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities,” said CDC Director Robert Redfield. “While we are all at risk for COVID-19, we need to be aware of who is susceptible to severe complications so that we take appropriate measures to protect their health and well-being.” The CDC advised higher risk individuals to limit their interactions with other people as much as possible, to focus on activities where social distancing can be maintained and, if engaging in public activities, to practice protective measures such as wearing a face covering when around others. Herman Cain, the former pizza chain executive who ran in the Republican presidential primary in 2012, is an example of someone who did not take these protective measures. Cain was hospitalized with COVID-19 less than two weeks after attending President Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa. Cain, 74, learned that he tested positive for the virus on June 29, and by July 1 he required hospitalization for his symptoms. There is no way of knowing for certain how or where 7 Cain contracted COVID-19, but Cain was among the 6,200 attendees at Trump’s Tulsa rally on June 20, most of whom did not wear masks. Cain was pictured without a mask and was in the densely packed crowd at the event. On July 3, President Trump held a political event at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. Kimberly Guilfoyle – the girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr. and national chairwoman of the Trump Victory Finance Committee for the President’s reelection campaign – tested positive for coronavirus in South Dakota as she was set to attend the President's Mount Rushmore event. Campaign aides are routinely tested before the President’s events. Guilfoyle attended the President’s Tulsa rally and was backstage there. She also attended the President’s event in Phoenix. Although she is asymptomatic, she cancelled her public appearances and was immediately isolated. Donald Jr., who tested negative for the virus, also cancelled his public appearances and is self-isolating. At recent fundraising events in Montana and South Dakota, Guilfoyle was not wearing a mask. Experts say wearing a mask or other face covering reduces transmission of the coronavirus by as much as 50%. COVID-19 Transmission The World Health Organization (WHO) contends that coronavirus is spread primarily from surfaces after large droplets containing the virus are produced by sneezing or coughing and fall on surfaces that are then touched by someone who touches their face, mouth, nose or eyes. The WHO therefore emphasizes physical distancing, handwashing and sanitizing surfaces. Until recently, the WHO believed airborne transmission of the coronavirus is only possible after medical procedures that produce aerosols. Other experts, however, believe that the coronavirus lingers in the air indoors, especially in crowded places with poor ventilation, and even more so in superspreading events. These experts believe microdroplets of the virus are produced by breathing, talking and shouting, and can travel more than six feet and fill up a typical room. These experts say even cloth masks, if worn by everybody, can significantly reduce airborne transmission of the coronavirus.. Today the Trump administration formally notified the United Nations that, effective July 6, 2021, the United States was withdrawing from the WHO, cutting off one of the organization’s biggest sources of financial support in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Last year the United States provided $553 million of the WHO’s $6 billion biennial budget. Prominent Republicans recently urged President Trump to wear a face mask and encourage his followers to do that too. On July 1, 2020, during an interview on Fox Business Network, President Trump said he is "all for masks" and that he "thinks masks are good" and he would wear one in the right circumstances. But he doesn’t believe making masks mandatory across the country was necessary. He believes that the coronavirus will “just disappear” at some point, despite the spike in newly confirmed cases. Post-COVID Recovery Issues Many COVID survivors are struggling to overcome a range of troubling residual conditions, including physical, neurological, cognitive and emotional issues, which may persist for months, years or even the rest of their lives. Because COVID-19 disease is so new, it is still too early to 8 say how long-term recovery will affect survivors. Survivors now leave the hospital with scarring, damage or inflammation that still needs to heal in their lungs, heart, kidneys, liver or other organs. The most common physical problem survivors experience is shortness of breath, which can be the result of lung damage. During the course of COVID-19 disease, the body’s immune system’s response to the virus can cause blood to flood into the lungs’ tiny air sacks called alveoli, or cause blood clots that prevent blood from flowing to parts of the lungs. The lack of oxygen in these areas causes lung tissue to die, forming holes in the lungs called fibrosis. Post-COVID fibrosis can produce lasting complications such as cough, shortness of breath, and the need for supplemental oxygen. Sometimes the damage is so extensive that a COVID-19 survivor has to have a lung transplant. And while the majority of COVID-19 cases and deaths have occurred in people who are older, post-COVID lung disease has been found even in young people who survive the disease. Some discharged COVID-19 patients also have an intermittent cough that doesn’t go away that makes it hard for them to breathe. Some patients who were on ventilators report difficulty swallowing or speaking above a whisper, which is usually a temporary result of bruising or inflammation of the vocal cords caused by a ventilator’s breathing tube down the windpipe. The prolonged sedation necessary to be on a ventilator can cause cognitive impairment such as paranoid hallucinations and anxious confusion. Other neurological conditions associated with the disease include fatigue, confusion, and mental fogginess. Some COVID-19 survivors have experienced PTSD, with nightmares, depression, anxiety, and flashbacks. In a study of patients who recovered from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) – the kind of lung failure that afflicts many COVID-19 patients – most had regained near-normal lung function within five years, but many still struggled with persistent physical and emotional issues. About a third of the ARDS survivors never returned to work, and others had to change their occupation to a job that was less challenging at less pay. COVID-19’s Long-term Effects on the Economy and the Birthrate A paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis forecast that Americans’ experience of the coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing recession will make them and businesses less likely to resume their previous spending and investment patterns, which would have an extended stunting effect on economic growth. Severe economic shocks such as the Great Recession caused individuals, institutions and businesses to permanently change their behavior, because these shocks “scar” people’s beliefs and confidence about the future and modify their behavior. For example: • • • Experiencing the current coronavirus pandemic has taught Americans that the resulting health risks and economic costs have been much greater than they thought, changing their lives in ways never imagined. Investors and businesses will make their future decisions with the risk of another pandemic in mind, thereby decreasing the amount of capital invested and labor employed, below pre-pandemic forecasts. Consequently, the U.S. GDP will drop by 10% in 2020 and in the future will remain about 5% below pre-pandemic forecasts, resulting in future lost output of 50%. 9 A paper by the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development predicted that people who endure a pandemic in young adulthood will be more distrustful of government institutions for the rest of their lives. Citizens expect their democratic governments to protect their health in a pandemic, and where the public-sector response is not sufficient to do so, they revise their views of their government, government leaders and institutions in unfavorable ways. The politicizing, mixed messaging and changing policies about the coronavirus pandemic from federal and state government leaders is having a negative impact on public trust in government and in public policies. Governmental actions have created confusion in many sectors of the public about the seriousness of the pandemic and how best to address it. For example, the politization and confusion about the pandemic explain why American leaders and the public have responded in a less than coherent way to the CDC’s public health guidelines. Using data from the 1918 influenza pandemic and the 2008 Great Recession, a new report from the Brookings Institution estimates the U.S. could see far fewer births next year as a result of the economic recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In economic terminology, birthrates are “procyclical” — they tend to rise during times of economic growth and fall during recessions. For example, between 2007 and 2012, as a result of the Great Recession, the U.S. experienced a 9% drop in the birthrate, resulting in 400,000 fewer births. The reason is children are expensive, and having a child is in many ways a financial decision. The loss of a job or otherwise uncertain prospects for a steady income lead many would-be parents to postpone having children until things are more settled. Birthrates also track pandemics, as the fertility data from the 1918 pandemic show. For each of the three waves of the 1918 pandemic, birthrates dropped sharply nine months after deaths peaked. And American mothers did not “make up” for the decline in fertility by having more children after the pandemic ended. Today, the U.S. has both a pandemic and a recession, so the U.S. could see 300,000 to 500,000 fewer births next year. The effects of the current recession are also likely to be long-lasting and will lead to a permanent loss of income for many people. By one estimate, for instance, over 40% of jobs lost during the pandemic will never come back. If the pandemic lingers or the unemployment rate stays depressed through next year, effects on birthrates are likely to be even larger. Economists use a tool called the “value of a statistical life” (VSL) to measure the economic lass attributed to a loss of life. Using a standard VSL of $10 million, the permanent loss of half a million births in the U.S. results in an economic loss of $5 trillion over the coming decades. COVID-19’s Long-term Effects on a “Lost Generation” of Children From their academic success to their social skills and mental health, the coronavirus pandemic is a crisis for today’s children, and the consequences may follow them for the rest of their lives. When these children grow up, they may see themselves as a “lost generation” whose lives will forever be overshadowed by today’s pandemic. They will have missed playdates, parties with their peers, school sporting events, dances and proms, and in-person graduations. Remote learning has widened inequalities so that disadvantaged children are paying the highest price now in their education and will fall further behind in the future in grade-level reading and math. If in-person education resumes in Fall 2020, school children will have been away from school for 20 consecutive weeks, and normal in-class education will be disrupted, and students and teachers will be distracted, by physical distancing and personal hygiene requirements. 10 Remote education requires access to a suitable computer, reliable internet connection, and a quiet study area. Homeless children may not have access to all three. Disadvantaged children often lack some or all three. In homes that have all three remote learning requirements, students may have to share one computer with other children and with parents who are working from home. If there are enough computers in the house, the family’s internet connection may not support all computers online at the same time or the family may not have enough quiet spaces for everyone in the house who is engaged in online education and remote work. Some children cannot learn online and some special-needs children require support services that their families don’t have at home. Reported cases of child abuse have gone down while schools have been closed. It is unlikely that abusers have ceased abusing their children at home. It is more likely that teachers and school counselors, who had regular in-person contact with students when schools were open, are now unable to observe and report suspected abuse. The amount of child abuse also probably increased during the coronavirus lockdown because of all the extra stress of living in overcrowded and overstressed households. If parents are unemployed and are without income, they likely are extremely stressed, and their children likely absorb some of their parents’ acute anxiety. Neither parents nor children have been taught how to deal with this stress, e.g., how to talk about it and deal with it effectively. Isolation and physical distancing may adversely affect children’s ability to develop and use their socioemotional skills, the so-called “executive function” in regulating feelings, exercising selfcontrol and managing conflict with others. Some parents may not send their children back to school in the fall, if there is no coronavirus vaccine or effective COVID-19 cure, perceiving in-person education to be too risky, either for their children or for high-risk adults living at home. If state and local hospital ICU capacity is overwhelmed late this fall by a second wave of coronavirus infections at the same time as the annual flu season, it may be necessary to reimpose a lockdown to try to control the spread of the coronavirus. This would exacerbate all the adverse effects on children that are described above. 2. Anti-Racism Training CDO staff members were encouraged to sign up for the 21-Day Racial Equity Habit-Building Challenge© developed by diversity expert Eddie Moore, Jr., to advance deeper understanding of the intersections of race, power, privilege, supremacy, and oppression. The Challenge began July 6 and runs for 21 consecutive days. The YWCA of Utah is hosting the Challenge and you can join at any time: https://www.ywcautah.org/challenge/. 3. Planning for SJQ In-Person Operations Many faculty and staff from across the University are engaged in collaborative planning for the scheduled August 24 return to campus. These efforts include: 11 • • • • • The USHE taskforce, with U participation by several campus leaders, including Jason Perry, Cathy Anderson, Marlon Lynch, Andy Weyrich, Kyle Brennan, Lori McDonald, Bryan Watts, Martha Bradley, and Wendy Hobson-Rohrer Project Orange, which is shaping the university’s overall return to campus strategy Project Marmalade, which is shaping fall instructional plans (membership listed below) COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, led by U of U Health’s own Dr. Ed Clark, as well as Stephen Lacey, the new chair of our Division of Public Health Senior Vice President Michael Good, a member of the Gov. Gary Herbert’s Utah Leads Together taskforce This planning process includes many collaborative facets: • • • • • • Rigorous tracking of public health and U of U Health data on COVID-19 cases and treatments Departmental and collegiate priorities for in-person instruction Temporary Work Adjustment (TWA) processes for faculty/staff to share ADA, CDC, or other personal concerns University policies for sanitization, face coverings, and services Teaching technology upgrades across campus, along with faculty support from Teaching and Learning Technologies (TLT) and the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE) Continuing flexibility to adapt to a variety of scenarios Fall 2020 Instructional Guidelines as of July 2020 include: All instructors must prepare for online and digital instruction, with in-person instruction delivery where course schedules and campus planning permit, recognizing that everyone will be teaching online for at least part of the semester. 1. Engage TLT and CTLE as soon as possible for best practices for online, hybrid and inperson instruction. 2. Develop and post course syllabi and the Fall 2020 schedule on Canvas as soon as possible. 3. Integrate this guidance in course syllabi: • Face coverings are required in all in-person classes for both students and faculty. • If in-class attendance is mandatory, state that explicitly in syllabi. • For all other in-person classes, strongly encourage but do not require in-class attendance. • Advise students to familiarize themselves with Canvas, with appropriate tutorials. • Include a reminder that students must self-report if they test positive for COVID19: coronavirus.utah.edu • State the format of any final exam or final project. • Describe how the course will operate during October 5-10 (the national Vice Presidential Debate will be held at the University on October 7 and there will be no on-campus instruction during October 5-10) • Describe the reading period beginning November 30 and explain how online final exams will be conducted. 12 • Describe how all class materials can be accessed online. 4. If teaching a portion of a course in person: • Visit the assigned classroom well before the first in-person class. • Practice lecturing while wearing a face covering. • Prepare online education content for any student who needs to self-isolate. • Record lectures using Zoom and post them on Canvas. • Create a seating chart and tell students to sit in their assigned place each class. • Bring several extra face coverings to all in-person lectures for students who forgot to bring theirs. Important Resource Links: Faculty Center: Single point of contact for online webinars, teaching guides, and other resources Center for Teaching & Learning Excellence: Webinars and online boot camps, including recorded events Teaching & Learning Technologies COVID-19 Online Education: Guide to preparing to teach an online or hybrid class, using the U’s teaching technologies Teaching & Learning Technologies: Individual consultations for Canvas and other class technologies Teaching & Learning Technologies Support: Online guides for teaching technologies, including Canvas, video systems, classroom A/V systems and examination technologies Center for Disability and Access Canvas guide for students COVID-19 self-reporting process and guidelines Return to Campus: Up-to-date information on fall planning Course Reserve: Library reserve requests 4. Another Critique of In-Person Education During the Pandemic Professor Susan Dynarski of the University of Michigan has written a critique of conducting inperson education during the COVID-19 pandemic before a coronavirus vaccine is readily available. 1 Her critique is directed primarily at residential undergraduate colleges which, she says, are under financial and political pressures to reopen this fall and make choices involving difficult trade-offs between their students’ education, public health and their own economic wellbeing. 1 Susan Dynarski, College Is Worth It, but Being on Campus Isn’t, THE NEW YORK TIMES (July 3, 2020), https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/business/college-campus-coronavirus-danger.html. 13 Dynarski contends that colleges can control how students behave in classroom buildings, but not how students act off-campus. When students return to campus this fall, they will act like young people. They will meet for lunch, go to parties and bars, and congregate in crowded off-campus venues. The coronavirus will quickly spread among these students, who mostly will recover quickly or will be entirely asymptomatic. But soon the virus will reach older, more vulnerable members of the faculty and staff, and serious illness will surge. Dynarski concludes that, given the enormous health risks involved in in-person instruction during this pandemic, college education has to be conducted online until there is a coronavirus vaccine. 14