FAQs for Students
Health and Safety
- What policies and protocols have been implemented to keep students, faculty and staff safe?
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The health and safety of our community is our #1 priority for the 2020-21 academic year. Learn more about the new protocols and plans by visiting the Health and Safety page. Information on masks, testing, quarantine and isolation guidelines and more can be found there.
Additionally, before returning to campus, all students were required to submit the Personal Responsibility Statement – Commitment to Community form in the forms portal. This statement acknowledges understanding and acceptance of the following:
- Follow physical/social distancing guidelines, maintaining a minimum of 6 feet between myself and others with whom I do not live, both on and off campus.
- Wear a mask at all times when I am outside of my place of residence, both on and off campus.
- Avoid activities that put myself or others at greater risk of contracting and transmitting COVID-19.
- Abide by all seating, sanitation, hygiene, disinfection and occupancy limits in all public and personal spaces.
- Abide by all expectations and restrictions on the LINK Bus.
- Complete my daily health screening honestly and accurately.
- Not attend in-person classes when I am not feeling well and communicate this situation to my professors in a timely fashion.
- Report to my resident/community assistant, residence director, area coordinator, faculty resident, and/or a campus health professional, that I am not feeling well or experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and abide by the directives provided by those officials for caring for my health and the health and welfare of others.
- How will CSB/SJU enforce health and safety policies with students?
- What if I have symptoms of COVID-19?
- What if I have been exposed to COVID-19?
- What do I do if I feel sick after I have filled in my daily health screening?
- What do I do if I receive a positive test result from an off-campus test site?
- If I’m waiting for my test result, can I go get food or will my meals be delivered?
- If I’m waiting for my test result, can I shower or do laundry?
- What do I do if my roommate or close friend is instructed to quarantine?
- What do I do if my roommate or close friend is instructed to isolate?
- What do I do if a person in my class or my professor tests positive?
- What counts as a close contact?
- If my roommate is waiting for a test result, what does that mean for me? What actions should I take?
Semester Calendar and Breaks
- What will the academic calendar look like? Will we still have spring break?
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An updated academic calendar is available on the Registrar webpage (fall; spring). In efforts to keep our community together and on campus, we will limit the number of breaks throughout the semesters. We will not have a fall or spring break. Instead, we will offer Community Engagement Days at the end of each block to celebrate the work or our community.
- Will there be transportation from the airport?
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If you need transportation from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, we encourage you to use Landline (https://landline.com/). You can make reservations by calling them directly at 1-888-428-1149 or using the online reservation option. Please note: If you use the online reservation option, you will select STC Airport as your destination. There will be an option for you to indicate St. Joseph or Collegeville as your final destination prior to confirming your reservation. Landline is the only company providing service from the airport to the St. Cloud area at this time and are quite busy. We recommend making your reservation as soon as possible. Should you need financial assistance, you can submit a request to be reimbursed using this form
Block Schedule
- What is a block schedule with hybrid learning?
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A block schedule allows students to take a single four-credit course in an intensive, 4-week block. The block schedule will give students the opportunity to dive deeply into a topic and build strong community with peers and a professor. Every four weeks or so, students will move to a new block with a new four-credit course. By the end of the semester, students will have completed the same number of credits they would within our typical academic system (four classes for 16 weeks). Four-credit classes will meet Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
This new structure creates a learning environment that not only sustains but enhances our interactive and in-person academic experience with safety and flexibility at its foundation. Imagine a political science course that delves into the process of an election or a biology class that embeds research into the topics normally discussed in class. The block schedule enhances what CSB/SJU does best by creatively supporting students’ individual learning, even within the uncertainties of COVID-19.
Hybrid learning allows students who cannot be in class to participate in the class virtually. Microphones and video technology will be used to fully engage all class participants, regardless of where you are.
If you have questions or comments regarding the block schedule with hybrid learning, please submit this form.
- Why did we decide to move to a block schedule?
- Why are we moving to a block schedule for the entire year (2020-21)?
- Why is the block schedule safer than the semester structure?
- Can a student take more than 16 credits in the block schedule?
- How will professors keep students engaged in class for three hours?
- Three-hour classes, four days a week, sounds overwhelming and like a heavy course load. How will students manage this?
- Three hours is a long time in class. How can we expect to focus this long?
- Since four-credit courses will happen Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, what happens on Wednesdays?
- How will science labs work on the block schedule?
- What will a capstone look like?
- What will finals look like?
- What will happen if a faculty member becomes ill?
- How were professors supported as they prepared their courses for the block schedule?
- If there are more students in a class than what’s recommended for proper social distancing, will some students be required to participate remotely?
- If a class is missed for health or personal reasons, how can a student catch up on the material covered?
- Are there attendance policies for in-class vs. remote participation?
- How do one- and two-credit courses fit in the block schedule?
- When will grades be distributed based on the block schedule?
- Will professors still have office hours?
- What are Community Engagement Days?
Hybrid Learning
- What is hybrid learning and how is it different from online learning?
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We are calling classes “hybrid” when the class is held on campus in a classroom composed of people participating face-to-face and people participating remotely. This is a fully synchronous course that will run during the time scheduled by the Registrar’s Office in the classroom assigned by the Registrar’s Office. The reason students may participate remotely: there aren’t enough seats in the classroom, they are feeling ill or are quarantining, or they are not living on campus due to safety or travel issues. Likewise, if the faculty member for the course has an accommodation to teach remotely, the class would still be using hybrid learning. In this case, the instructor is simply one of the people accessing the class remotely.
Given the social distancing requirements, we know that many classrooms will not be able to hold all of the students and still retain social distancing. Hybrid learning will allow faculty to create a schedule with students where some days the student might participate remotely from their dorm room and on other days they will be in the classroom. Students should adhere to this schedule. If there is another reason a student living on campus or in off-campus student housing cannot attend class in-person, that student must receive permission from his/her instructor to do so. If a student cannot be on campus and wants to participate entirely remotely, the technology we are installing allows that student to log into the class and participate “live” with the instructor and other students.
Online learning is the term we use to describe a course that is fully online because we have closed the campus. All participants will access the course remotely. Although we are developing expectations regarding required synchronous Zoom meetings, there will also be asynchronous components in our online classes.
- If I need to quarantine because I was exposed to someone who has COVID-19, how does that impact my academic experience?
- What if I need to take my courses remotely? Can I do this?
- Can hybrid learning sessions be recorded and viewed again?
Student Life
- Will students be able to leave campus for breaks?
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We will be limiting the number of breaks throughout the semester and will encourage students to stay on campus. We have established protocols and guidance on community behavior to prevent transmission of COVID-19.
- How will off-campus housing students be supported if all are moved online? Will they be on their own to access Wi-Fi since they opted out of campus residences?
- How will the LINK transport students to classes?
CARES Act Student Emergency Grants
- What is the CARES Act?
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The CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund provides $786,276 to CSB and $678,568 to SJU to be awarded as grants directly to students to help cover expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19. Expenses include, but are not limited to, food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and childcare. See full update to CSB and SJU students here.
- Do I qualify for the CARES Act grant funding?
- If I have questions or would like to talk to someone regarding our family financial situation, who do I contact?
Student Employment, Tuition and Financial Aid
- Can student employees work remotely?
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Some students may have the ability to work remotely. Remote work will be determined by your supervisor(s) and will be coordinated directly between the supervisor(s)/department(s) and student employees. Students working remotely will be paid for any hours worked. Hours will continue to be reported and approved per the student payroll schedule.
- Will tuition be different depending upon whether the campuses are open (hybrid learning) or closed (online learning)?
- What if I don’t have a course scheduled in one of the blocks? Do I still have to pay full tuition and room and board?
- What if I need to take my courses remotely? Will there be an adjustment to my tuition?