Bluffton University has been working closely with local health departments to ensure a safe return of their students next month.
Many universities across the country are preparing to open their campus once again since being shut down at the start of the pandemic. With help from the Allen County Health Department, the Bluffton University has created a plan to manage the threat of the virus on campus.
Jane Wood, the president of Bluffton University says, “We know it’s going to be a new normal, but we think that our students will still be able to have the full college experience. They’re going to have masks on, they’re going to be a little bit further apart, but they’re still going to be talking to each other.”
Their plan is called “Protect the Dam” and it offers extensive details on how to keep safe, and minimize possible exposure to the virus. Within the plan has the standard mask requirements and social distancing guidelines, but it also goes further to require daily virtual health screenings from students and staff, and limits visitors on campus.
“Protect the dam is us saying we want to be as safe as possible for our institution for our students, faculty, and staff but also for our community,” says Wood. “So what we would like to do is when students get back here, we’re just going to want to drop an invisible bubble over our campus and we’re saying ‘we want to keep you safe, stay here, stay safe,’ and we’re going to be really limiting visitors on campus.”
While the relatively small campus was able to move around classrooms to accommodate social distancing, only a few classes had to be moved online for the fall. And of course Wood says that they will adapt to any heightened threat of the virus if there happens to be one.
“If we see surges in the community or any kind of surge on campus, we have plans in place that we will not hesitate to make sure our campus stays safe as possible,” says Wood.
To see the full list of guidelines for students returning to the university of findlay, visit the Bluffton University Website.
