COVID Mitigation Strategies for Computer Science Classrooms & Labs
These strategies complement the CS lab policies.
For both labs and classrooms, if a student is experiencing the following common symptoms of COVID (and they cannot be attributed to another health condition), they should be excused and leave the lab or classroom:
- Cough, Shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing
- Fever, Chills, Muscle pain, or Sore throat
- New loss of taste or smell
- Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
From the guidance from the university, Computer Science is implementing the following mitigation strategies for COVID: Masking, Room Ventilation, Hand Hygiene.
Masking (Before April 11th, 2022)
- Masks must be worn properly the entire time in labs and classrooms
- Spare disposable masks will be provided
- If a student is unmasked, they will be offered a mask, and asked to put it on
- Students who refuse to put on a mask will be asked to leave
- If a student is unwilling to put on a mask or leave the room, TAs and instructors have the authority to cancel class or lab
- If an unmasked student is unwilling to put on a mask, leave the room, and/or is engaged in threatening or otherwise belligerent behavior, the TA or instructor will inform campus security at 360-650-3911
Masking (After April 11th, 2022)
- The above policy will be optional
- No one person can request/require any other person to wear or not wear a mask
Room Ventilation
- CF ventilation has been improved and fine-tuned by WWU’s Environmental Health and Safety team (detailed information can be found here) specifically for COVID mitigation
- Air goes through two stages of filtering, pre + final, where final is MERV-13 (pics below). Pre-stage filters increase final-stage filtering effectiveness by 20%.
- Airflow has been increased; room occupancy (CO2 load) curves adjusted.
- It is not necessary or advisable to open a window or use personal air purifiers.
- The CF building is less than 20 years old, with properly working HVAC system.
Hand Hygiene
- Students should wash hands with soap before coming to lab or class
- Students are asked to use hand sanitizer upon entering a room which will be provided near the entrances of all labs and classrooms
- Students are asked to use sanitizing wipes (provided near the entrance of instructional and research labs) on all keyboards, mice, and other surfaces that they touched when done using a shared space