CSU Bakersfield’s faculty and staff are actively working to find the safest protocols to navigate the upcoming fall 2020 amid a global pandemic. At this time, CSUB has released a wide range of information surrounding COVID-19.  

These policies will differ from the defensive plan that the administration put in place after the sudden switch to online education during the spring term, as they were given the time needed to begin developing a multi-step plan that would reduce the overall risk to Runners or neighboring communities. 

CSUB’s administration announced that the overall campus population will be reduced by 8.3% from the fall 2019 term; the total population will be about 1,040 people. According to the CSUB COVID-19 information page, this will include the about 865 students enrolled in 51 classes that will meet face-to-face classes. Classes at the Antelope Valley campus have been temporarily suspended at this time. 

While a new residency requirement had been established that was scheduled to go into effect, this requirement has been suspended for the 2020-21 academic year to help residents maintain social distancing. 

However, CSUB’s plan does not stop there. Before attending class or going to work, all Runners will be required to complete an online training. This will help explain a variety of safety protocols to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 at CSUB, as well as how to properly report positive COVID-19 test results. 

Masks will be required to enter the campus, following the guidelines that have been recommended by the Centers for Disease Control. CSUB will provide free masks for those that will be on campus this semester. 

To decrease the risk of transmission of the virus within the classroom even further, plexiglass dividers will be installed at each instructor’s station. All classroom desks and tables will be marked off to help students maintain social distancing. The university has maked one-way entrances and exits, directional paths like what has been adopted by retailers nationwide, and closing alternating parking spaces to avoid Runners from crowding together. 

CSUB will also be providing hand sanitizing stations at each entrance and exit, as well as sterilizing doorknobs, bathrooms, and classrooms at least four times per day. Every classroom will be closed for a minimum of one hour after each session to allow staff to properly disinfect the space.  

These protocols will allow a small group of services to still be provided on campus, as not all can be offered digitally or through Zoom. While students are encouraged to utilize the online services when possible, some of the in-person services will include a self-serve computer lab in the basement of the Walter Stiern Library, Student Health Services, and the Library Testing Center. Supplemental instruction and tutoring will be available online only. 

While the university has closed multiple of the on-campus dining option during the pandemic, the Runner Café and Starbucks will remain open. At this time, the Runner Café will only offer grab-and-go and made-to-order to-go items for lunch and dinner only. Starbucks will only be open during the morning. 

Despite the numerous changes that students will face this upcoming semester, university president Lynnette Zelezny encourages students to remember that everyone is in this together. 

In a written statement to The Runner, Zelezny expresses her message for the student body: 

“I am delighted to welcome CSUB students, faculty, and staff to the 2020-21 academic term. This year will be like no other in the history of our university given the confluence of world challenges — the pandemic, the economy, and the reckoning of social justice.  As Runners we will face these challenges together, as Runners United for Change, which gives me hope and optimism.” 

For more information pertaining to CSUB’s protocols and policies regarding COVID-19, please see https://www.csub.edu/covid-19.  

If you test positive for the COVID-19 and have been physically on CSUB’s campus, it must be reported. The report can be filed by emailing Erika Delamar, the Associate Director of Student Health Services at [email protected], calling (661) 654-3453, or filing a digital report https://linktr.ee/csubshs.