Xavier University fall plan: Most classes will have face-to-face component

This story has been updated to correct the first day of the fall semester at Xavier: Aug. 17.

Xavier University students will be in the classroom this upcoming semester, but class sizes will be significantly smaller than normal.

In a comprehensive email sent to students Thursday, Xavier announced it would incorporate a variety of class models this fall, including fully remote and hybrid courses, which blends in-person and distance learning.

Instructors are expected to share details with students by Aug. 12 about how their courses will function and if it will include an in-person component. The first day of the new semester is Aug. 17.

In a video interview with six Xavier officials, The Enquirer posed questions about the upcoming school year. All the officials – ranging from a professor to administrators to a practice manager with TriHealth – are members of the university's COVID-19 task force, which has worked in recent weeks to address the challenges of educating students amid a pandemic.

Rachel Chrastil, a professor of history who focused on academics while serving on the task force, estimated 90% of class offerings for undergraduates will include at least some in-person sessions.

There will be a particular emphasis on ensuring first-year students receive a face-to-face experience, Chrastil added. Xavier aims to offer at least half its courses for incoming students in-person. 

To maintain 6 feet distancing, many classes will shift to a hybrid model in which half the students of a given class will physically report to a classroom and the other half will watch remotely, with the two groups alternating between the two models.

David Johnson, the chief student affairs officer, said conceiving of these protocols required "de-densifying" the physical space available.

"Across campus, we're trying to think about how we can use space in new ways for students to be together," Johnson said.

New safety protocols include some 1,100 hand sanitizing stations installed on campus, according to the task force, as well as contact tracing and accommodations to allow for remote learning for qualifying students with health risks, including those with risk factors to develop severe COVID-19 symptoms.

Xavier has allocated funding for enhanced cleaning, supplies, signage and other items needed for a return to campus, though an estimation of the additional costs due to COVID-19 was not available.

"We recognize we have risks, as every university does," said Dave Ridgon, a practice manager with TriHealth. But he said that by following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he's confident in Xavier's plan.

Student life and enrollment

Xavier has requested students limit the number of family members or friends who accompany them on move-in day to just two, according to the message to students, which was sent by Provost Melissa Baumann.

Density in residence halls will be constrained by removing three- and four-person rooms, but two students will be assigned to first-year rooms.

Masks will be required in "most indoor spaces," and students have been encouraged to avoid large or compact gatherings.

Exercise equipment at the recreational building will be spaced out. 

In-person daily Catholic masses will continue.

Kelly Pokrywka, associate vice president for enrollment management and student success, said Xavier had nearly 15,000 applications, an all-time high.

Xavier's current number of incoming students, 1,364, is on pace to be the second largest in the university's nearly 200-year history. Nearly a quarter are minorities, Pokrywka added, and nearly one-fifth will be first-generation college students.

When asked if Xavier had considered offering a tuition discount, as some universities have done, Jeff Coleman, the chair of the task force and vice president for risk management, pointed to the high percentage of classes that will include an in-person component.

Coleman added that "we haven't had those conversations. ... Obviously if things change and we have to pivot then that may be something we discuss."

International students affected by new ICE policy

Xavier's 111 international students could be forced to leave the country if the university shifts to remote instruction at some point during the upcoming semester, according to a new regulation announced this week by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The regulation prohibits international students who attend U.S. colleges from remaining in the country if their classes are fully remote. 

Pokrywka said the new policy, which is already being challenged in court by universities, has "caused significant stress and panic among the students who are already managing a tremendous amount of uncertainty."

She added that the policy doesn't detail how long students could remain in the country if an institution shifts to online instruction and "does not address barriers that students might encounter in leaving the U.S."

Xavier issued a statement in support of its international students, and those students received details from the university earlier this week on how the new policy may affect them.

A temporary shift to remote learning at Xavier could be spurred by an increased presence of COVID-19 among students, faculty and staff or the surrounding community, according to the task force.

"That’s, of course, a concerning recommendation," Johnson, chief student affairs officer, said of the ICE policy. "We consider our international students to be core constituents. We want them with us. We’re better with them."

The University of Cincinnati also shared a message of support to its approximately 3,000 international students, adding that UC's return to campus plan allows all international students to meet the ICE requirements and therefore remain in the country.

"You elevate our learning environment with your talent and unique perspectives," UC wrote to the students affected.