I am not sure that what applies to one applies to all. My older daughter attends CP and they laid out a very detailed, multi-tiered approach to various versions of delivering at least some classes in person. Because they emphasize learn by doing, they are trying to honor that and provide some coursework live, such as architecture or anything with a lab. Additionally, they feel they have a solid process in place for managing social distancing and testing. Completely agree that the SLO area is unique and a bit like an island so hoping this helps with their re-opening process. Fingers crossed!!
@5OnTheHill Agree, I just talked to a staffer there and apparently the president is trying to work some magic and do what is best for them, independent of the overall system. Hope they are able to rock it this fall!
@WWWard When the band played “I’ll be seeing you”…I bawled…
Has anyone received an email about orientation? We have not but my daughter says she has heard that some have.
@5OnTheHill I’m not sure they have updated it, but they have a website dedicated to Orentation: https://orientation.usc.edu/freshman/
Our daughter received an email on Friday May 15 from School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) listing what the dates are for orientation (there are 3 different “welcome” sessions and she’ll have to choose one and then there are about 7 different dates that are suggested for students in her major within SCA for choosing her classes and she’ll have to choose one) but it said that she’d hear from someone from Orientation “next week” (i.e. this week) to invite her to actually register for a summer registration session. So it’s a little confusing but I interpreted that as we still are waiting for the email invite to actually register. I think each college or school within USC must be sending their own information to their admitted students.
Yes, my son must have received one today to select a session. He’s accepted to Marshall.
He forwarded me an email that confirms his registration for a “Freshman Online Orientation” on June 12, which would have been the follow-up to the initial message.
I presume these are being sent out on a rolling basis (perhaps based on school, student last name, when the USC account was created - my son submitted his application on October 31 last year - if this generated an ID number, etc).
@ridingthewave Thanks everyone for the info! It does seem a bit confusing. You share a quote that says your son has “completed the first section of online orientation.” Did he do this in response to something he was sent, or did he find this on his own?? Sorry, it’s always confusing getting used to a new school’s system! Appreciate any help!
Yes, I just asked if he could share with me the prior email …
There are then 4 steps that he was asked to do.
He said these emails are coming out on a rolling basis. One friend that is attending received it a day or two before him (she is a math/comp sci major).
All UC’s opening this fall was just announced. Yay! That’s a good sign. Not sure how much in person v. online, but campuses will be open. That is huge. Frankly, and I have said this before, I think being on a college campus may be one of the safest places to be this fall. I’m sure USC and many other schools, will have testing available and resources to handle their own.
^^^ Yes… excellent news. Hopefully USC follows through and re-opens as well.
I posted this in the other thread but please be careful when interpreting the statement from the UC Regents. Opening research labs is different than opening large lectures which is different than opening dorms.
Don’t lump all of the UCs together. Berkeley is on the semester system so starts in August. It is in the cool, damp SF Bay Area, has a dense student population on a campus with a very small footprint and has had a housing shortage for several years. Davis, which is an hour away, is on the quarter system, is very hot during the summer/fall, is the largest, most spread out campus with lots of potential space for outdoor classrooms. The approach that these two schools adopt in the fall will most likely be very different.
https://edsource.org/2020/uc-may-allow-partial-campus-reopenings-in-the-fall/632102
I wasn’t putting all the UC details here since not directly relevant to USC folks - just thought it encouraging that such a big system said they would open to any degree, versus the CSU system that said they would not open.
UT Austin another big one having students return in August, run through Thanksgiving, with students then returning home for reading days (what students call dead week) and remote finals. TSU system announced having in person classes for their second summer session.
Specifics will and can change everyday so I I like taking the zoom out approach and seeing any progress towards college on campus this fall. I am confident in USC to have some fab plans and adjustments in place while taking great care of their students!
YAY!
June 2, 2020
Dear USC Community,
I write to you today with the full understanding that we stand astride two of the most challenging situations in the history of our nation: the ongoing tragedies of the COVID-19 pandemic and our recent horror over the senseless killing of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer. I am confident in the university’s direction as we work to confront the fallout of these two situations among our students, faculty, and staff. I also acknowledge what might appear to be a sense of bad timing, but we have important information to share that will help you start planning for the fall, and that I believe you will welcome.
I know many of you have been waiting to hear about our plans for the upcoming 2020-2021 academic year. We all are eager to return to campus life this fall and committed to making this decision with a great deal of care and planning…
…While we still have many details to work out, we are planning for an in-person fall semester for students beginning on August 17, 2020, a week earlier than originally scheduled. All classes, including final exams, will end by Thanksgiving. By ending the semester before Thanksgiving, we are aiming to minimize the spread of the virus, particularly as the flu season commences. To support this schedule, we will not have a fall break in 2020. Please understand that these plans remain contingent on several factors, including the continued spread of COVID-19, and the health orders from state and local authorities. So, things could change, but we are excited to move forward and to have you back…
In gratitude and anticipation,
Carol L. Folt
President
THE FULL LETTER CAN BE FOUND HERE:
^^^ Excellent news… but now we and others need to check on the flexibility of lease start times, change flights, change storage deliveries, etc. I hope they settle on this change and the new dates.
We are happy at our house! We were just at USC a week ago and it was so weird! Way tooo quiet. Summer is quieter, but this was eery spooky! Will be great to see it come alive again as it should be!
Great news! Thanks for sharing it @CADREAMIN !
This linked letter below from the USC Provost and Chief Financial Officer was interesting:
Summary: USC has a potential budget gap of $300 to $500 million in FY 2021. The gap arises from lost revenues and increased costs associated with COVID-19. We are preparing for a prolonged economic recovery that could impact our finances for several years. We remain confident that we can close this gap for FY 2021, and over the next year, develop plans to emerge stronger from the pandemic.
Link to full letter below…
https://coronavirus.usc.edu/2020/06/08/6-8-update-from-the-provost-and-chief-financial-officer/
Of course, USC is not alone in this. It will be challenging financially for most colleges and universitites, especially over the next couple years.
I apologize if this has already been addressed, but I am wondering if any current USC parents can comment on the USC student health plan? First, is it mandatory? If not and a student uses private insurance, can they still use on-campus student health? If you do enroll in USC health insurance, do you drop your personal, at-home coverage? Does it cover you for off-campus health needs that maybe on-campus facilities cannot address? Sorry for so many questions!
The USC student health insurance plan, currently administered through Aetna, is not necessarily mandatory. If you have a family heath insurance plan that fully covers the student while in California, that can suffice. In that case, they will likely only charge the per semester student health fee… which is circa $300 per semester. We opted for the USC insurance plan (as our FL insurance plan lacked certain required elements), and we were still charged such… so I assume everyone is. That will allow them to access all on-campus clinics, etc. I suspect it is mandatory to pay that much at least. If you enroll a student in USC health insurance, as I did for both of my daughters, you certainly should then remove them from the family coverage… as they will be fully covered… and everywhere. Not doing so would be a replication in coverage and an unnecessary extra expense. Yes… the USC / Aetna insurace plan would cover you for off-campus health needs as well (at home or even while abroad). Again… it is a full Aetna policy and fairly extensive in terms of what is covered.