University and College Updates
First, if you have not already done so, read the information the university has posted on the Safe and Healthy Buckeyes website. Also check out how the College of Arts and Sciences is responding to the pandemic. If you’re not in the habit of checking your university email on a daily basis, this is a good time to develop that habit.
Training and Pledge
All students, faculty, and staff must complete an online training course and the Together as Buckeyes Pledge before returning to Ohio State campuses. More information and instructions for completing the training are available at https://safeandhealthy.osu.edu/training-pledge. A link to the university document outlining accountability measures is also available on the same page.
Daily Protocols
Public spaces (including classrooms and labs) will be cleaned each night. We must rely on building users to clean and disinfect workstations and equipment during the day. Cleaning supplies will be available in the classrooms. We are providing a
Instructors and students who work in a computer lab or with specialized equipment will be responsible for the appropriate cleaning of that equipment.
Building Access
The Drake Performance and Event Center is open 8am-5pm weekdays as of Wednesday, August 19th. Beginning Tuesday, August 25th, the hours will be Monday-Friday, 8am-8pm.
Building Logistics
Building entrances and exits will all be marked to direct traffic flow and maintain physical distancing. Each bank of perimeter doors has a dedicated entrance and exit with applicable signage. To aid in traffic flow, all exit doors will remain locked and inaccessible from the outside. We've decided to keep the north entrance on the mail level (the one past the vending machine cafe) secured for the semester. Use of a BuckID will be required to use those doors. The outside group that uses the room inside that vestibule will be onsite this fall, and we want to limit traffic through those doors as musch as possible.
Rooms with more than one door will have designated entrances/exits.
Rooms with only one door will have signage to indicate to line up at 6 ft intervals. Please allow 5 minutes at the end of class to manage an organized exit.
COVID-19 room capacity will be posted outside each room.
Motion sensor faucets and flush valves on all the toilets will be installed throughout the building. This will likely occur during the 1st few weeks of classes.
Elevator use, including the backstage and freight elevators, should be limited to absolute necessity only. One person in an elevator at a time.
Non-Department Classes
In order to accommodate classroom needs from around campus, Classroom Scheduling is utilizing the River Den, Thurber Theatre, and Roy Bowen Theatre for approximately 25 classes. This will bring in significantly increased traffic to the building.
Reduction in Building Density
In order to reduce the overall occupancy of the building, some staff members will continue to work remotely. Some instructors have also requested accommodation in order to work remotely.
The faculty and staff who are teaching in-person or hybrid classes should only come to campus on the days they are scheduled to teach. Graduate teaching associates should only come to campus on the days they are scheduled to teach or attend in-person classes.
In-person meetings are strongly discouraged. Unless absolutely necessary, all meetings and office hours should occur via Zoom.
Ideally, unless you are teaching a class, taking a class, or working at your desk, you should not be in the building. Furniture in the lobby and the vending machine area has been removed, and students are discouraged from congregating there. I realize that this may be challenging, especially for graduate students who share offices. In addition to being able to schedule time in their offices, graduate students will be able to schedule time in DR2068 to study between classes.
“Mask-off” Spaces
The Harbor Room, DR0101, and DR0107 are designated “mask-off” spaces, with enhanced social distancing of 10 sf to allow us to teach our performance classes. This will be noted both inside and outside these rooms.
The floors will be marked to enable physical distancing. Instruction in these rooms is limited to 60 minutes at a stretch with 30 minutes of down time to allow for cleaning and air recirculation. Instructors will need to account for the loss in contact hours. These spaces have additional cleaning protocols. Instructors should require that their students bring in their own yoga mats if the class involves floor work.
Closed Spaces
Some of our spaces will be closed either because they are too small to comply with social distancing requirements or to discourage individuals from congregating in them. These spaces include:
- Green Room
- Locker Room
Main Office
Department mailboxes are being moved into the main office to eliminate the bottleneck in the faculty office corridor.
Access to the photocopier, as both a copier and a printer, must be scheduled in advance. Details and a link to schedule a reservation are available at https://theatre.osu.edu/room-reservations. Individuals using the photocopier are responsible for cleaning it before and after use. Cleaning protocols will be posted on the whiteboard above the copier. We will provide a troubleshooting guide at the copier. Any service issues that you can’t resolve, or any shortages of supplies, should be reported to theatre@osu.edu.
Room Reservations
Room reservations must be made 24 hours in advance. Expect that being in the building outside of class will require a reservation. Reservation times will be limited to allow overnight cleaning by facility services. When making a reservation, you will be required to include any other individuals you are bringing with you (i.e. for rehearsal). You are responsible for cleaning high-touch surfaces and equipment before and after use.
For more details, and to schedule, please visit https://theatre.osu.edu/room-reservations.
Whiteboard Supplies
Every instructor who is teaching in-person classes will be provided one personal white board supplies kit containing markers, an eraser, and spray cleaner. These kits, along with the university’s return-to-campus kit will be left in your office when they become available. Instructors who are teaching in a room within our building with a chalkboard will also be provided with chalk and an eraser. If you are teaching in a room outside of our building that has a chalkboard, please email theatre@osu.edu to request those supplies.
Instruction and Syllabi
As you finalize your syllabi for the upcoming term, please keep the following in mind:
- All syllabi for Autumn 2020 should include the following statement:
“Health and safety requirements: All students, faculty and staff are required to comply with and stay up to date on all university safety and health guidance (https://safeandhealthy.osu.edu), which includes wearing a face mask in any indoor space and maintaining a safe physical distance at all times. Non-compliance will be warned first and disciplinary actions will be taken for repeated offenses.”
- Instructors meeting in person will need to include a syllabus statement about student expectations for cleaning and sanitizing their desks and any equipment they use, each and every class session. Instructors will ensure that students comply with these protocols before and after class. Instructors who teach an in-person class outside of Drake Performance and Event Center should be receiving instructions specific to your classroom directly from the Office of the University Registrar.
- We must identify back-up instructor for all classes offered in Autumn 2020. All faculty are to place the course syllabus, assignments, and grades on Carmen. They should also stay up to date with their grading to reduce student anxiety and in case a faculty member becomes ill and must have a substitute step in for them.
- All instruction will be online after November 25th. Have a plan in the event we are forced to go online before that date as well.
- As always, please submit syllabi to Logan Kelly during the first week of classes. Syllabi for courses taught by GTAs must be approved by the course supervisor prior to distribution. Any changes to the syllabus during the semester should be approved by the course supervisor as well.
We will continue to work with individual instructors and course supervisors to manage concerns unique to each course. In addition to the university’s Keep Teaching website (https://keepteaching.osu.edu/), we have maintained the Box folder TH-Keep Teaching Resources so that we can share additional resources with each other.
Unable to Teach
In the event you become ill and are unable to teach (in person or remotely), faculty members (including lecturers) should notify Logan Kelly (kelly.472@osu.edu) and their designated back-up to arrange class coverage. Graduate teaching associates should notify Logan Kelly and their course supervisor. The course supervisor will arrange class coverage.
Graduate teaching associates will not be assigned as back-up instructors.
COVID-19 Safety Committee
I am creating an ad-hoc COVID-19 Safety Committee with representation from the faculty, staff, and students. The committee is charged with gathering and monitoring faculty, staff, and student feedback regarding health and safety, and with making recommendations for improvement.
Mental Health and Wellness
Mental health and wellness are particularly important during this crisis. I encourage faculty and staff to take advantage of the Employee Assistance Program. I also encourage you to consider including mental health and wellness information on your syllabus by at least providing a link to the Counseling and Consultation Service: https://ccs.osu.edu/mental-health-support-options/.
--21 August 2020
[pdf] - Some links on this page are to Adobe .pdf files requiring the use of Adobe Reader. If you need these files in a more accessible format, please contact theatre@osu.edu.