Hello Accelerated BSN Students:
We hope you are doing well and staying healthy and safe. Please read the entirety of this email as it contains important information regarding the School of Nursing’s academic plan for the fall term.
The School of Nursing’s top priority is the health and safety of students, faculty and staff. All students and faculty will follow the appropriate space and social distancing guidelines, recommendations on use of PPE, and CDC guidelines.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Everyone on campus will be required to wear face coverings in all indoor public spaces, including classrooms, and outside.
PPE requirements:
- In Cooper Hall: Students must bring and wear their own cloth face covering while in Cooper Hall.
- In CTEN: The School of Nursing will provide students with medical masks and face shields to be worn while in CTEN and around Cooper Hall when engaging in experiential learning (skills lab, simulation)
- At Clinical Sites: Students will follow the requirements of their specific site. If a clinical site is unable to provide PPE for students, the School of Nursing will provide PPE. More information will be provided by your instructors.
Building access
Students will have access to Signe Skott Cooper Hall for the purposes of engaging in face-to-face instruction and/or research through their WiscCard. Students may not use common spaces in Cooper Hall (i.e. atrium, Curran Commons, conference rooms, etc) for studying, socializing, meetings, etc. Revive, the UW Union cafe located in Cooper Hall, will be closed for the fall semester. If food is needed, students are asked to bring their own, non-refrigerated food. Student refrigerators and microwaves will not be available for use.
Advising & Student Services
Academic and career advising along with other student services will continue remotely during the fall semester. Advisors are available to meet with students during regular business hours (Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm). To schedule an appointment, please use Starfish within your MyUW page. Academic and NCLEX support, including wellness activities will continue to be offered remotely through the Nursing Learning Center (NLC). Stay tuned to students.nursing.wisc.edu for the most up-to-date information.
ABSN Course Schedule
The fall semester will begin as scheduled on September 2. In-person instruction will continue until the Thanksgiving recess begins on November 26. After the holiday recess, beginning November 30, we expect to switch to a virtual format for all undergraduate courses for the final nine days of instruction plus exams.
All School of Nursing didactic (non-clinical) courses will be offered remotely to ensure low transmission risk and to control the density (number of people) in Cooper Hall. Most of the instruction will happen asynchronously, but there will be times during the week when students will be required to attend synchronous remote instruction. You can find the course schedule in your Student Center. Please be aware that the schedule may change as we continue to adapt to public health requirements affecting instruction. Faculty, teaching assistants, and staff are working to ensure content and course delivery will match UW-Madison’s dedication to high quality learning experiences.
Clinical/Experiential
Experiential/clinical courses are prioritized for in-person instruction (labs, simulation, experiential) on campus in Signe Skott Cooper Hall as well as in clinical agencies. The School of Nursing expanded its use of innovative technologies to provide high quality learning experiences both in and out of the clinical setting. Students will learn more about these online learning platforms as we near the start of the fall term. Faculty will be working with students and clinical agencies to maximize clinical hours early in the semester.
The Clinical Placement Unit is working collaboratively with clinical agencies, and will communicate more information regarding your specific clinical placement when able. Going forward, as we continue to secure sites, we are making assignments over the summer on a rolling basis, up until the start of the semester. Therefore, you may receive your assignment in a couple of weeks, or you may receive your assignment in late August. We understand that waiting for this information may be difficult, but appreciate your understanding as our clinical partners are working very hard to respond to the pandemic, and to ensure that student re-entry to sites is safe for everyone. Please know that we will communicate any additional information readily, as soon as we are able.
Like you, we continue to learn more about the campus response to this evolving situation. Continue to check your WiscMail, UW-Madison’s Smart Restart page, and the School of Nursing student website for updates. Academic Affairs will continue to update students through the weekly email digest that is sent to all students every Monday. Along with checking the student site, the weekly email digest is the best way to get information.
Questions? Please contact academic.affairs@nursing.wisc.edu.
Thank you,
Academic Affairs
This post was authored by Katie Bleier on 07/27/2020.