In the week that ends, the Minister of National Education indicated to the country that, between the months of June and July, the universities are authorized to finish the semester 2020-1, developing activities that demand face-to-face for practical laboratories as the only option, as long as they comply with the protocols approved by the territorial entities, guaranteeing body distance and self-care.

 

It also indicated that according to the development of the pandemic, the universities located in COVID19 municipalities will be able to resume face-to-face activities from the month of August, using the alternation of face-to-face methodologies with work at home, to guarantee the development of the academy and the protection of students.

 

It is worth mentioning that the University of Cauca for its academic planning in the pandemic period since April, defined the starting date of the semester 2020-1 as July 24, 2020, coinciding with the decision of the National Government related to social isolation. Likewise, for more than a week, the proposal called “Route for the return to classes”, an orientation guide that sequentially orders the tasks and products necessary to be presented to the three classes (Teachers) was socialized within the academic community , students and administrative staff), with whom we will build a consensus proposal around defining the return plan, taking into account the specificities of each undergraduate program, the institutional capacity installed, body distancing and the state of the pandemic in the country, in the region and in the city.

 

As a prelude to returning to classes, the “Management in teaching, learning and assessment from home” program was implemented, with the aim of preparing teachers in the development of special courses, achieving the certification of more than half of teachers.

 

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Similarly, during the months of May and June, special courses were offered at the Santander de Quilichao and Popayán headquarters, allowing students, teachers and the university to be academically active in this period.

 

The external determining factors of the return plan:

 

The two main external determining factors for the formulation of the return plan are the level of the pandemic in the country and the physical distance. In this context, in August three epidemiological situations or scenarios could be found, as follows:

 

 

Scenario 1: The COVID-19 pandemic continues with an increase in new cases, showing an ascending phase curve.

 

 

Scenario 2: The COVID-19 pandemic continues with a sustained reduction in new cases, showing a descending phase curve.

 

 

Scenario 3: The COVID-19 pandemic reaches its maximum peak, with a curve that suggests a descent.

 

 

Common sense would indicate that given the case of finding the scenario first, the return plan proposal would be with a reduced presence; for the second scenario, presentiality would be in a greater proportion; and facing the third scenario, it would be an intermediate proposal between the previous two.

 

To guarantee body distance, variables proposed in the classroom of 36.4 meters2 must be determined, of which 26.4 meters2 are allocated to locate the desks taking into account the dimensions of the distance

 

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The application of body distance with 1.54 meters in a simulated scenario, with a classroom with an average capacity of 40 attendees shows us a rearrangement of the students, increasing the number of courses variable that must be considered in the definition of the Return Plan.

 

The internal conditions of the return plan:

 

The internal conditioning factors that complement the external ones are:

 

Facilitate the enjoyment of the right of access to higher education for all students, finding innovative alternatives that can minimize the connectivity gaps related to the use of ICTs.

 

Maintain the current hiring of temporary teachers.

 

Prioritize face-to-face academic activities, mainly to students who show disadvantages due to not having mobile devices and data plans that prevent them from developing work at home.

 

Review and adjust the micro curriculum to accommodate the scenarios generated by the pandemic and the sanitary measures of body distancing within the University Campus.

 

Redistribute the programming of the face-to-face classes and the independent work supported in the ICTs in the weeks agreed with the Tripartite Table for the first semester 2020, and study the possibility of using the weeks contracted in November and December.

 

Privilege work at home with asynchronous sessions as a measure to mitigate connectivity gaps.

 

Adapt and update the university's infrastructure and technological resources to improve connectivity within the campus.

 

The steps for the construction of the Return Plan:

 

1. Assume and understand the protocol of security that will be presented to the entire university community, which will be mandatory in all institutional processes and in the daily life of each of its members, as a measure to protect health against the threat of the pandemic.

 

2. Recognize the infrastructure and technological resources with the support of the building administrators, the ICT units, maintenance and the Planning Office that will deliver the updated cadaster at the end of next week with the new offer installed for classrooms, libraries , laboratories, computer rooms, among other physical spaces.

 

3. Formulate the plan for updating the ICT resources of the university campus, for which the responsible area will update the cadaster of technological resources and formulate the plan for updating them, aimed at improving connectivity within the campus.

 

4. Connectivity improvement plan that will be formulated under the responsibility of the Academic Council and delegates of the Tri-stamentary Table, with the support of the Administrative Vice-rectory and the Planning Office, which will be built with the information on the plan for updating resources Tic and the results of the socio-economic update survey to determine the state of connectivity and Tic resources, with two objectives: To improve internal institutional connectivity and external connectivity that allows work at home.

 

5. Evaluate to learn from the experience of the special courses by the Deans, Heads of Department, program coordinators, teachers, students and administrative staff, through various methodologies of impact evaluation in the academic and logistical aspects, the results of which will serve to correct the shortcomings of the adoption of this educational resource.

 

6. Construct the general lines of the academic proposal corresponding to the Academic Council to propose to the Faculty Councils the general lines of the possible scenarios, taking into account the external and internal conditions and the products of the previous steps with the results of the update of the cadasters of real estate and technological resources, as well as the installed capacity, the number of students for each classroom, the system rooms, libraries, among others to be presented to the Faculty Councils

 

7. Adopt the return plan that will be built in the program committees under the guidance of the Faculty Council and the Tripartite Table, a space where the analyzes supported by the information contained in the general lines of the academic proposal will be developed.

 

To adapt as a university in the period of activity and resolution of the pandemic, we have to dive into complex systems related to the impacts of COVID-19, that is, systems composed of various elements and events that are related to each other and require knowledge of their characteristics to adapt to the situation, without risking institutional sustainability.

 

As rector, I think that listening to the different voices of our university community is a complex and difficult decision in the face of the gaze of some logics that defend authoritarian models, but I consider it the only way to govern. We are already prepared to accompany the hard work sessions that are expected, where we remain committed to territorial peace.

 

More Info: 

 

Rectory

Email: rectoria@unicauca.edu.co