Ohio State announced Monday that applicants to the Columbus campus for the 2021-22 academic year will have the option to not submit ACT or SAT scores.

Ohio State announced Wednesday detailed guidelines for on-campus operations this fall.| Credit: Lantern file photo

Ohio State has released guidelines for students, faculty and staff returning to campus for in-person classes this fall. 

The guidelines — detailed on the newly created Safe and Healthy OSU website — require face masks to be worn indoors at all times and outdoors when physical distancing cannot be maintained; daily health checks, either via the Ohio State app or Compass.osu.edu, to report temperature and health status for all students, faculty and staff every day they plan to be on campus; and the completion of a BuckeyeLearn module before the return to campus, according to a Wednesday universitywide email. 

Face masks and other personal protective equipment will be provided by the university. The website also outlines seating arrangements for classrooms to provide physical distancing, as well as information regarding on-campus housing and dining. 

“The university will continue to evaluate recommendations based on evolving conditions, and the site will reflect any updates,” the email reads.

Before the start of the semester, the university will provide a return-to-campus package of personal protective equipment including face masks, hand sanitizer and a body thermometer to all students, faculty and staff, according to the website. Students, faculty and staff will also be required to complete BuckeyeLearn health and safety training modules and a commitment pledge to promote a safe and healthy campus before the semester begins.

If employees do not meet the health guidelines, they will not be permitted to work, the website states. If students, faculty and staff refuse to participate in the daily health reporting, corrective action may be taken.

“Accountability measures will be in place for those who refuse to abide by required health and safety guidelines,” the website states. 

Classes that draw more than 100 people will be conducted virtually or in a hybrid model that includes virtual instruction and in-person components for smaller groups, according to the website. In-person classroom seating to allow for physical distancing between students and instructors has been redesigned as well depending on the classroom’s layout. 

In classrooms with tables and chairs, students will be required to sit in every other chair, alternating seat per row; in lecture halls, students must sit three seats apart with a row of empty seats between every student-occupied row; and in computer labs students must sit with a minimum of two empty computers between them, according to the website. 

The university will place signage in high density areas and encourage people to take the stairs instead of elevators if they are able, according to the website. 

All students living on-campus will receive their final rooming assignments by mid-July, according to the website. They will be required to wear masks in common areas and access to residence halls through BuckID will be limited to each student’s residence hall. 

On-campus dining will primarily be offered as carry out, but some in-person seating will be available on a first-come-first-served basis, the website states. Masks are required in all dining halls unless the customer is sitting down and eating, and physical distancing is required at all times in the dining halls. 

The university state of emergency has also been extended through July 11. The state of emergency, which was originally announced March 22 and is reviewed on a weekly basis, allows leaders at Ohio State to use Disaster Leave (Policy 6.28). 

The university announced April 3 that all in-person university events would be canceled through July 6. The email states that gatherings with more than 10 people remain restricted on Ohio State campuses with limited exception of weddings and additional events. Additional information on in-person university events will be provided when available.

More information can be found here: https://safeandhealthy.osu.edu/