Bemidji State University Will Welcome Some Students Back to Campus August 24th

Bemidji State University will allow students back on campus for the fall 2020 semester starting on August 24th. They will be following guidance from executive orders issued by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the Minnesota Department of Health, and the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities. This semester classes will be delivered in a variety of methods to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in Bemidji.

Based on the latest guidance from Sanford Health and public health officials, housing at BSU for the fall 2020 semester will be limited to 500 students who had on-campus academic or athletic experiences on their schedules prior to July 31st.

Current guidance directs that all college courses which can be offered through alternative delivery methods must be delivered that way. Higher education institutions are only allowed to offer in-person courses where alternate delivery methods are not possible. Because of this, the majority of courses offered at Bemidji State this fall – around seven out of eight classes offered – will be conducted entirely online or via hybrid or hy-flex models. Hybrid- or hyflex-style courses which means that they will be conducted primarily through remote means, but will offer some face-to-face instruction.

Instructors at BSU have been provided resources for delivering their courses through alternative methods along with services and tools to help them effectively use remote-teaching technology for their courses.

A technology survey will be sent to students and a limited number of laptops and desktop computers will be distributed based on needs. BSU has also set up a select number of on-campus labs with appropriate social distancing for students.

While many academic classrooms have been organized to allow for proper social distancing, the main doors to most buildings will remain locked as BSU continues to be closed to the public. Students, faculty, and employees will have access to academic buildings via keycard to attend classes and utilize on-campus computer labs.

Bemidji State’s general maintenance crews have adjusted their focus to address high-trafficked areas of campus. Plexiglas barriers and hand sanitizing stations have been installed in service areas and sanitizing kits have been placed inside high-use classrooms to reduce the chance of contamination.

All employees, students, and visitors at Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College must have a mask or face covering readily available at all times when on campus. Mask or face coverings are required inside the campus, outdoors in situations where six feet of social distancing is not possible, and when riding in university vehicles with others. For employees and students, there are some limited exceptions to this requirement.

All student services will remain open. This includes the Student Center for Health and Counseling, Career Services, the Advising Success Center, Financial Aid, the Gillett Wellness Center and more. The Hobson Memorial Student Union will also remain operating as a student hub while following all current safety guidelines for social distancing and gathering sizes.

Beginning August 10th, all visitors to Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College will be required to complete an online health self-assessment questionnaire before being granted access to campus as part of continuing efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.