UTSA returns to regular campus operations and in-person classes February 7

JANUARY 28, 2022 — Editor’s note: The following message was sent via email today from President Taylor Eighmy, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Kimberly Andrews Espy, and Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President for Business Affairs Veronica Salazar to all faculty, staff and students:

As we continue monitoring local COVID-19 trends, we are eagerly anticipating the return to in-person learning and our many spring semester traditions and experiences. Based on current projections, we will return to regular campus operations on Monday, February 7 as planned. On that day, classes will commence meeting in the teaching modalities originally planned for this semester.

READINESS TO RETURN

We remain committed to putting the health and safety of our entire campus community first. Over the last several weeks we have closely monitored local, statewide and national COVID-19 surge trends, and received regular updates from our wide array of expert public health advisors. We know that our community is still impacted by the Omicron variant—especially our health care systems and K-12 schools—and that care is still needed to vaccinate, mask, test and stay home when you are sick.

New daily COVID-19 cases have begun declining nationally and in many states where the Omicron surge first began. In Texas, new daily case counts look to be declining. Current modeling for Texas suggest the surge is already declining (IHME) or will be declining in the next week (CDC, Covid-19 Scenario Modeling Hub). Although several factors can change these models’ outputs, they remain solid forecasting tools for our planning purposes to return to campus safely.

In addition to modeling forecasts, we will continue to follow our situation locally, working closely with San Antonio Metro Health and their tracking of stress level and trends. We are also monitoring hospitalization rates, vaccination status of our Roadrunner population, vaccination trends locally and in Texas, as well as our own campus impact trends around positive tests and faculty/staff health and availability. We are especially appreciative of the discussions and input from our Public Health Task Force, as well as the Faculty Senate, Chairs’ Council, Staff Senate and Student Government Association through University Leadership Council. As conditions continue to evolve, we will base any future operational modification decisions on these data, in consultation with UT System and our campus colleagues. 

CAMPUS OPERATIONS

Beginning on Monday, February 7:

Classes

All classes will be held as scheduled and according to the modality listed in ASAP. Students are expected to attend their face-to-face instruction sessions of traditional and hybrid classes in-person—fully online instruction will no longer be available. Please see our Spring Classes & Student Experiencepage for more information. 

Work Modalities

For faculty and staff, work modalities in place prior to the winter break will resume. As always, supervisors, department chairs and unit leads will have the ability to adjust modalities for their employees as needed to best manage their units. If you have specific questions, please reach out to your supervisor. 

Student Services

Many offices will continue to offer virtual options for student services. We encourage you to check office websites for the latest information on in-person and virtual offerings as we progress through the spring semester.

Research

Research activities will continue without added restrictions aside from the existing safety and health guidelines in place. The UTSA Knowledge Enterprise office is always a resourcefor the campus research community.

Mandatory Testing

Our current mandatory testing program will continue through the spring semester. Testing requirements include policies for asymptomatic and symptomatic testing, testing locations, self-reporting and more.

Masking

We continue to encourage masking on campus, especially while indoors and in classrooms. Please remember to wear a well-fitted mask, self-report COVID-19 exposure or diagnosis, and quarantine as needed.

Events

On-campus, in-person events and gatherings may resume. We encourage mindfulness regarding room capacities when planning events.

Our Roadrunner Roadmap website will continue to be the hub for the latest spring semester information and provide answers to frequently asked questions. It will be updated regularly throughout the semester.

Thank you for continuing to do your part to help our community navigate the pandemic. We will continue to keep you updated as conditions evolve, and look forward to welcoming many of you back to campus next week.