The in-person return of up to 25% of students from Unicamp's undergraduate courses begins on November 16, according to the schedule provided for by the Partial and Gradual Return Plan. However, the guidance of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies (PRG) is that all activities that can continue to be carried out remotely are maintained in this way and that, in order to return to campuses, priority is given to students who are completing their courses or face-to-face activities that do not have remote alternatives and that do not may be postponed. Each unit must evaluate the cases of the courses they offer and define their priorities within these recommendations.
According to Eliana Amaral, Pro-Rector of Undergraduate Studies at Unicamp, the alternative of remote teaching is already foreseen in course planning for this second semester and, therefore, the recommendation is that teachers continue with their schedules. "It is important that the subjects that are already being taught remotely during the second half of 2020 remain that way until their completion. In fact, they have already been planned for this remote mode. In laboratory subjects, which should be the priority for the return in person, each unit will need to prepare its spaces in order to consider all sanitary and return protocols", explains the Pro-Rector.
The spaces that welcome students again will be organized according to the necessary hygiene and maintenance of social distancing. This includes evaluating the maximum number of people that can be inside rooms and laboratories at the same time, cleaning dynamics and minimum use of air conditioning. "This requires a logistical strategy in rooms, laboratories and other spaces, air circulation issues, which requires a minimum number of people throughout the campus while there are important health risks", highlights Eliana.
Students who are in groups where in-person return is necessary must follow the protocols defined by the Partial and Gradual Return Plan. They include testing for coronavirus, attending video lessons on safe living which will be available online and respond to the health survey daily through the Unicamp Health Surveillance Application (AVISU). Anyone who presents any symptoms of Covid-19 will receive guidance to leave and seek medical service, which can be provided by Cecom. All guidelines are detailed in the Handbook for Safe Living and can be accessed at: https://www.unicamp.br/unicamp/cartilha-covid-19/plano-de-retorno-unicamp
In the case of students who use Student Housing, there is a protocol of specific guidelines for the location that includes care with the use of shared areas and with purchasing and receiving products. The return to the location will also be done in a controlled, gradual manner and in cases where necessary. Students who are away from home and need to return must fill out a form for follow-up, scheduling testing, sending access to video classes and guidance on the AVISU app. The form must be completed 10 days before the return and can be accessed at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSchplU6sEV2-s2jzNy9MkN_fSicDdH3ze82jXlevLuXyc96cg/viewform
"Good experiences with remote teaching will be enjoyed"
The first academic semester of 2021 is scheduled to begin on March 15th. Eliana analyzes that the 2020 experiences of adapting subjects to remote mode and discovering new digital tools and teaching possibilities can facilitate the process of updating and improving the University's undergraduate courses. "We hope that the pandemic will have a level of control by then that we can resume activities closer to what they were before the pandemic. But we already know that the good experiences with remote teaching will be used and that we will have more options for incorporating technologies into many disciplines and greater flexibility with their development, adopting a more hybrid model, with the best use of new teaching methodologies", he reflects.
She considers that it will be necessary to evaluate the priorities of the curricula of each course, taking into account the experiences of 2020 and any needs for content recovery. However, the Pro-Rector comments that the evaluations and data collection that will support this planning are already underway. "The assessments carried out by the Unicamp Institutional Observatory and those that are part of the Undergraduate agenda, held in the first semester and the next one in the second semester, must help the coordinators and their teachers and carry out this replanning for 2021", details the dean.
All detailed guidance on the partial and gradual return of Unicamp's in-person activities for undergraduate students is available in the Handbook on Safe Living available at https://www.unicamp.br/unicamp/cartilha-covid-19/estudantes
Also access the complete plan at https://www.unicamp.br/unicamp/cartilha-covid-19/plano-de-retorno-unicamp
Questions can be sent to the email reta.covid19@unicamp.br
