FORT SMITH -- The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith will return to in-person learning and operations Monday.
The university announced Jan. 14 it would switch to remote instruction in response to the ongoing surge of the omicron variant of covid-19 in Arkansas. Returning to campus Monday was part of the plan.
Chancellor Terisa Riley wrote in an email to the campus Thursday the decision to return came after discussion with the university's Covid-19 Emergency Management Team. The group includes representatives of each academic college at the institution, as well as all the governing and advisory bodies there.
"This decision was made based on information shared by all participants including active cases on campus, trend data for our region and campus, availability of staffing to continue operations of our critical departments on campus, and preference of participants to return to on-campus work and instruction," Riley said.
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However, Riley said the move will be accompanied by additional precautions. This includes an update to the university's face-covering policy, which will require masks to be worn at all times and in all indoor spaces. The only exceptions to this will be students in their dorm rooms or apartments and employees who are alone in their offices.
In addition, Riley said the university asks people looking to hold events on campus for the next six weeks to consider options for reducing contact by hosting them online or reducing the number of participants to half the event space's capacity.
Updates and information concerning the university's weekly active case counts can be found on its Covid-19 Dashboard at https://bit.ly/3fOz6by.