Dean's Community Message

Feb. 26, 2021

Dear College of Engineering Community,

As we close week six of the spring semester and the second week of in-person classes, I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.

We must take care of ourselves and our community. Avoiding large gatherings is a vital part of the campus community health and safety guidelines. This is increasingly important as we enter a weekend that is typically filled with large social events. I urge all students to act responsibly and safely. Borough and University police and state law enforcement agencies will be present throughout the weekend to ensure individuals are following state and local orders and ordinances that prohibit social gatherings and mandate mask wearing.

“The time is always right to do what is right.”
—Martin Luther King, Jr.

Here are today’s updates:

Teaching Modes for Summer and Fall 2021

The University announced plans for a phased return over the summer semester to a full on-campus learning environment for fall 2021. The summer semester will again use Penn State’s COVID-19 instructional modes but will maximize the number of in-person courses based on space utilization, including continued use of non-traditional spaces for instruction and the public health guidance at the time. In addition to in-person courses there will be some remote options, both synchronous and asynchronous. Plans are for the fall semester to more closely resemble Penn State’s in-person instructional experience, while continuing to offer a full range of web classes. Please keep in mind that the University and the college will continue to closely monitor the current rapidly changing conditions. The health and well-being of our students, faculty, staff and local communities is our top priority, and the plans for expanded in-person classes have the flexibility built in to quickly respond to changing conditions, if necessary. More details on the upcoming semesters are forthcoming.

Planning for Summer Programs

As we navigate through detailed plans for the summer and fall semesters, please know that we are also planning for the college’s summer programs such as REUs. This planning is ongoing, and we will share more details in the near future.

Expansion of Walk-Up COVID-19 Testing

The University announced that it will be shifting resources to increase walk-up testing for students. It will also implement additional rapid testing at various testing locations on University Park campus. This adjustment emerged through COVID-19 Operations Control Center monitoring that shows active student use of walk-up testing has proven to be an important mitigation factor that can be expanded. Between 1% and 2% of the University’s on-campus population of students and employees will still be tested each day as part of the random testing program. At University Park, walk-up testing for students is available at the Hintz Alumni Center and will be available at the Pegula Ice Arena beginning on March 1 (Monday to Saturday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.). At the Commonwealth Campuses, testing processes are defined for each campus and are typically administered by the local health center or other designated area. Specific details and hours can be obtained through Student Affairs.

Virtual Study Group Resources

The University has added resources to the Keep Learning site that focus on creating virtual study groups via Canvas Prides, Office 365, and Zoom. The detailed instructional videos and additional resources can be found here.

Teaching Tip #78 – Students with color blindness

When preparing slides or other class materials, keep in mind that one in eight men and one in 12 women have some form of color blindness. Red/green color blindness is the most prevalent, so avoiding those two together is important. The Penn State Accessibility and Usability site has examples of other problematic color combinations.

Have a great weekend!

Justin Schwartz
Harold and Inge Marcus Dean, College of Engineering