Planning for fall term at PSU

For the past month and a half, everyone in the Portland State community has had to live with a great deal of uncertainty. It remains a tremendous challenge. As we plan for the future our primary goal is the health and well being of our community — not just today, but in the months to come.

How do we address uncertainty, keep our community healthy and safe and meet our goals for student success? We’ve moved all teaching and learning to remote delivery for spring and summer terms. The campus is limited to all but essential activities through June 13. And while our goal is to have a safe and responsible return to campus in the fall, it is too soon for us to make that call. 

Our collective effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 has been effective by many measures, and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is working on a plan to gradually reopen portions of the state’s economy. 

Here’s what PSU is doing to plan for reopening: 

• PSU’s Incident Management Team, a group of professionals from departments across the university, has been meeting multiple times per week since February to track the coronavirus and coordinate our response. 
• The PSU Registrar’s office is leading a group to identify flexible options for face-to-face instruction as conditions allow. 
• The Center for Student Health and Counseling (SHAC) is gathering the supplies and equipment, and coordinating with county public health officials, to be able to offer COVID-19 testing to the PSU community. 
• These teams, working in concert with Provost Susan Jeffords and Interim President Stephen Percy, will continue to monitor the latest guidance and develop a phased approach for returning to campus. 

PSU is not working on this alone. We receive data, guidance and reopening criteria from state and county public health officials and from Gov. Brown’s office. We are also collaborating with Oregon’s other public universities and the Higher Education Coordinating Commission. 

The class schedule for fall term is now available and was developed assuming a return to campus with in-person classes. If remote or partially remote delivery is necessary, the university will announce a decision as soon as it’s made. We understand that certainty is at a premium and we are committed to keeping the PSU community informed. 

Please visit the Coronavirus Response website for more information and send specific questions to coronavirusresponse@pdx.edu.