Update regarding COVID-19 from President Houston Davis to incoming and returning students
The start of a new academic year is always an exciting time, and with less than three weeks before classes start, we wanted to take an opportunity to provide some information and guidance for the upcoming fall semester. I know you all look forward to the sense of routine that comes with campus life both inside and outside of the classroom. Whether you are a returning student or you are stepping foot on campus for the first time, we are committed to finding a place for you to plug in, connect with your peers, and thrive in the classroom.
To have a successful semester, it will take all of us working together to ensure that we face as little disruption as possible. COVID-19 is still very much with us and likely will be for months to come, but we have learned so much over the past year about how to manage and adapt through the pandemic. To that end, we will start the semester as originally planned on August 19, and we will have a renewed emphasis on those strategies that we know will keep us safe. We will focus on the following:
- Free, easy, and convenient access to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for all UCA students and employees through UCA’s Student Health Clinic. Vaccination is the most important step in avoiding serious illness and hospitalization.
- Encouragement for all to wear face coverings in indoor, common spaces on campus, as well as continued availability of face coverings and other personal protective equipment for students and employees. To minimize the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, the CDC currently recommends that all individuals wear a face covering while indoors, regardless of vaccination status.
- Free and fast COVID-19 testing for the UCA community, and continuation of our tracing protocol and Testing & Tracing Consortium in partnership with Conway Regional Health System and local universities.
- Availability of quarantine and isolation housing, as well as appropriate support services, for any student that needs on-campus housing during a quarantine or isolation period.
- Preparing classrooms and common spaces for normal occupancy, with contingency plans for some periods of limited remote instruction if necessary.
More details about the strategies mentioned above are available by visiting the university’s COVID-19 information page.
It will take a commitment from all of us to ensure that our semester can continue as normal as possible. Over the upcoming days, you will receive several communications from our office with more information about what you can expect when you arrive, particularly as it relates to our safety measures for COVID-19. Until then, enjoy the final few weeks of summer.