Schools implement individual coronavirus protocols
With in-person classes beginning last Monday, USC’s schools began adhering to University and county coronavirus guidelines as well as taking school-specific precautions.
Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Last Wednesday, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Dean Amber Miller and College Dean of Undergraduate Education Emily Hodgson Anderson sent an email to all Dornsife students about the coronavirus pandemic protocols set for the upcoming school year. With over 95% of Dornsife faculty and staff already vaccinated, the message informed students that masking will be required indoors and outdoors to follow county guidelines. Students who wish to eat or drink must step outside the classroom.
The letter also informed students of upgrades to facilities and classrooms that follow USC Environmental Health and Safety guidelines, which follow the protocols of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
Students who wish to seek further information can visit the FAQ section of the COVID-19 Resource Center website. They are encouraged to seek emotional and mental support from a team of school-specific embedded counselors.
School of Architecture
The Daily Trojan reached out multiple times for comment on any recent updates regarding coronavirus protocols but did not hear back in time for publication.
Any coronavirus news from the School of Architecture can be found on the “COVID-19 Information and Updates” section of their website, which was last updated in December 2020.
Roski School of Art and Design
The Roski School of Art and Design intends to follow the same coronavirus protocols as mentioned in a letter sent out by Dean Haven Lin-Kirk on Aug. 11.
The letter specified a series of “enhancement projects” in response to the ongoing pandemic, which includes renovations to Watt Hall, such as better ventilation systems and touchless faucets. Canopies that provide outdoor venues aim to reduce classroom densities and provide places for students to “hang out.”
Like other schools, Roski hosts
in-person, hybrid and online courses. The status of each course can be found on the Schedule of Classes.
Iovine and Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation
The Daily Trojan reached out for comments on any recent updates regarding coronavirus protocols but did not receive a statement in time for publication.
Marshall School of Business
The Marshall School of Business does not have any new updates according to Matthew Simmons, senior manager of media relations and executive communications at Marshall. On July 28, Marshall’s Vice Dean for Undergraduate Programs Ramandeep Randhawa sent an email informing students that Marshall and, the Leventhal School of Accounting, expected to offer all of their courses in-person, with some exceptions for students who needed specific accommodations, such as medical needs or the inability to travel abroad.
Students determined to be “medically unsafe” need to immediately contact USC’s Office of Student Accessibility Services and notify their instructors with an accommodation letter from the office. International students unable to enter the United States needed to complete a petition in order to obtain accommodations for their Marshall and Leventhal classes.
The letter noted that the accommodations listed are “Marshall-provided” and may not apply to “non-Marshall classes” in students’ schedules.
School of Cinematic Arts
The Daily Trojan reached out for comment on any recent updates regarding coronavirus protocols but did not receive any statement in time for publication. The last updated notification from the School of Cinematic Arts came from an SCA Human Resources webpage released on April 21, informing staff of the preparations being made in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
While noting the unpredictability of the pandemic, the webpage read that the official SCA website will include an FAQ section about the school’s coronavirus protocols. The webpage also provided a link to vaccination information and noted the creation of the University’s Remote Work Team Force that will help set up the “parameters” of doing remote work.
Changes made to the SCA area include updates to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system to allow air filtration, as well as reconfiguring classroom and theater settings to allow for social distancing. Theaters will have signs placed on seats to indicate six feet of social distancing and rooms will have furniture moved to allow for a more spacious environment. Common areas will follow similar guidelines and will have hand sanitizing stations.
Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
The Daily Trojan reached out for a comment on any recent updates regarding coronavirus protocols and was redirected to the central communications of the University.
Glorya Kaufman School of Dance
In a statement provided to the Daily Trojan on Aug. 10, Cecile Oreste, head of communications at the Kaufman School of Dance, said that Kaufman students would have in-person courses and be required to follow the mask mandates set by county guidelines.
However, according to Dean Robert Cutietta, there has been some difficulty with students and faculty needing to wear masks.
“We are just following the regular guidelines,” Cutietta said. “We are indoors but it’s really uncomfortable for our dancers. Imagine trying to dance or teach dance in a mask. It’s really hard but that’s what we’re doing. We’re just following the rigid guidelines.”
Cutietta said that if any student or faculty member tests positive for the coronavirus, they are required to follow the University’s procedures, which follow the CDC guidelines of quarantining for at least 10 days away from others. In terms of making accommodations for international students, he said that there is little issue.
“We have very few international students in the Kaufman school,” Cutietta said. “Fortunately, they have been vaccinated and they’re back so we haven’t had a problem there.”
School of Dramatic Arts
In an interview with the Daily Trojan on Aug. 11, the Vice Dean of the School of Dramatic Arts, Lori Ray Fisher, said that they would work closely with the University to ensure a proper following of school and county guidelines. In order to comply with guidelines and ensure that the performing aspect of the school is kept, students and faculty will have the opportunity to utilize clear masks.
“[Students will] have approximately two to three clear masks to start the semester and this will help with their ability for their faculty to see their faces when they act, whether they’re in a voice class, whether they have rehearsal, whatever those protocols are,” Fisher said. “They will be masked indoors.”
Fisher also said that supplemental teaching material and meeting spaces have been provided alongside four additional outdoor tents for the purposes of providing more space. She said that SDA staff will serve as coronavirus compliance officers who will be conducting a presentation for faculty and students about coronavirus classroom protocols.
However, the school currently has no restriction on the number of students entering a classroom.
“We’re following the University guidelines and the University guidelines says that there are no density rules that are set in classes,” Fisher said. “If a class has a capacity of 15 to 20 students, then we’re able to put 15 to 20 students in that class, and the guideline and the rule requires those students to wear masks.”
Like other colleges, SDA’s physical building has been adjusted with new ventilation systems, such as the implementation of MERV 13 air filters.
Courses in SDA have the option to switch to a “hybrid modality” in the case of specific scenarios, such as if a student tests positive for the coronavirus, Fisher said. She also discussed the ability to be flexible with Zoom sessions, especially for camera courses.
“We’ve talked about students who are international who may not be able to make it into the country,” Fisher said. “We’ve worked with our advising office to determine how those students can stay on track curricularly, so we’re prepared to offer one of our incoming freshman acting classes online should our incoming freshman class have international students that are not able to secure the visas to get here.”
Students with disabilities will be accommodated as well. SDA will look toward the Office of Student Accessibility Services and serve these students accordingly.
Viterbi School of Engineering
In an email sent out to students on July 20, Dean Yannis Yortsos announced that most of the Viterbi School of Engineering’s courses will be held in a hybrid format due to the “challenges and barriers” faced by students who cannot attend in-person classes because of travel restrictions or medical needs. However, in an interview with the Daily Trojan, Yortsos clarified that no courses will be offered completely online except in very special circumstances, such as courses with doctorate students.
“[I] just want to make sure that it’s very clearly understood that students who want to take their classes on campus, they will be able to take the class on campus,” Yortsos said. “There will be no courses offered by a faculty who are teaching remotely, except over very special rare cases.”
Yortsos further encouraged students who may need to take a lab course to take such a course on campus since he believes that the “the lab experience is best obtained in-person.”
Leonard Davis School of Gerontology
The Daily Trojan reached out for recent updates regarding the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology’s coronavirus protocols but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Thornton School of Music
The Thornton School of Music began the in-person semester with its students playing outdoors. Thornton Dean Robert Cuttieta said that the situation stems from county guidelines inhibiting music students from being able to make music indoors.
“We have a very unusual situation that’s unique on campus,” Cuttieta said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “Our students produce aerosols when they play an instrument, when they sing, and the county guidelines are very unclear on what that means but [those guidelines] say that we can’t perform indoors.”
As a result, Thornton created and placed temporary stages all over the University Park campus, such as outside the Hancock Foundation Building and the Glorya Kaufman School of Dance building. Traditional classroom lectures, however, are not as bound by the guidelines as performance courses are, and are allowed to be taught indoors.
Cutietta, supported by the University’s Provost Office, has appealed to L.A. County to allow for changes to the guidelines that would allow students to perform indoors. If the guidelines do change, Cutietta intends to alter the setting.
“We will instantly move inside because we don’t want to be outside. We know it’s going to be disruptive to other people trying to learn,” Cutietta said. “Our halls are perfectly designed for acoustics and our Symphony Hall was designed so that when you’re playing in the orchestra, you can hear yourself, you can hear everything.”
Gould School of Law
The Daily Trojan reached out to the Gould School of Law for recent updates but did not receive any statement in time for publication.
The last update provided by the Gould School of Law comes from a letter sent out to students on Aug. 9 informing them that they would need to comply with University policy, including ensuring they complete Trojan Check and screening each student before they enter the building.
The same letter asks students who need certain accommodations to reach out to the University’s Office of Student Accessibility Services. Furthermore, employees who need accommodations must reach out to the law school personnel office.
The Gould School of Law building previously allowed entries and exits from the north entrance located in the Ackerman Courtroom. However, Gould now allows for students and staff to use both the north and west entrances of the building.
School of Pharmacy
The Daily Trojan reached out to the USC School of Pharmacy for recent updates but did not receive a statement in time for publication.
Sol Price School of Public Policy
The Daily Trojan reached out to the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy but did not receive a statement in time for publication.
Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry
The Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC has established that it will apply the University guidelines for both students and employees, such as completing Trojan Check daily. The east side of the dental school building is reserved for students and employees to enter or exit, while the west side is reserved for patients. Patients must be screened for coronavirus symptoms between 24 to 48 hours before their procedures. Patient screenings also occur at the door.
Mask mandates apply to anyone who enters the building. Those who treat patients, though, upgrade their safety attire when coming into contact with patients.
“We’re a healthcare facility so everybody has to wear a mask at all times while in the building,” said Chief Health Officer Joyce Galligan. “It’s at least a surgical mask when they’re in the building, but when they’re treating patients, everybody has to wear an N95 mask as well as a face shield, head cover, shoe covers, gown and gloves.”
Both students and employees are required to take training courses before entering the dental school. Alongside the Trojan Learn mandatory training, students and employees need to complete Herman Ostrow mandatory training that can be accessed on the dental school’s intranet.
While some classes are hybrid and online, the dental school continues to teach in-person for students to gain hands-on experience. Originally closed down for two weeks back in March 2020, the dental center eventually opened back up for patient care.