First-day-of-school jitters are a given. Whether it’s frantically scouring the campus in search of your next class or having an existential crisis over the outfit that — let’s face it — will be the first impression you make on people you haven’t seen all summer, the anxiety of the unknown is a recurring theme with the start of any academic year.

Now, factor in the coronavirus pandemic and the fluctuating guidelines in response to it, and that unknown can become a whole lot scarier. 

In order to address the major questions that the Chapman community may be asking before their return to campus, we’ve compiled a comprehensive guide to the university’s current COVID-19 protocols.

What are the university’s masking policies, and why did they change?

After months of optimistic updates from the Chapman University administration regarding the return to in-person learning, President Daniele Struppa’s Aug. 17 email announcement reimplementing masks indoors was a stark reminder that the institution’s protocol is subject to revision based on the ever-changing nature of the coronavirus. 

“More and more science comes up every day, and that’s also what makes communication difficult,” said Norma Bouchard, Chapman’s executive vice president, provost and chief academic officer in an interview with The Panther. “Because it literally changes sometimes from one day to the next. Things come up (and) new research is made available.”

Indoor masking for vaccinated individuals is recommended, not mandated, on a national, state and county level. However, Dr. Dan Kelly, Chapman’s consulting epidemiologist from the University of California, San Francisco, suggested that the university resume wearing face coverings inside to minimize the risks of infection and hospitalization upon the widespread return to campus.

“I made that recommendation based on the data I'm collecting for the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and other data that I'm seeing through the San Francisco Department of Public Health,” Kelly said. “(It’s) all indicating and confirming that secondary transmission from fully vaccinated people to each other is occurring at significant rates.”

The new policy states that face coverings must be worn by all individuals using indoor facilities on either the Orange or Rinker campuses. That overrides Struppa’s July 13 announcement, in which masks were only required indoors for unvaccinated individuals. An exception remains for those occupying an isolated office space and those who are eating or drinking.

Kelly added that the university’s attempts to relax masking protocol a month earlier was originally based on the assumptions of the CDC, along with epidemiologists and public health specialists, that transmission of the virus would be minimal between vaccinated individuals. 

That assumption, Kelly said, would turn out to be false.

“High viral loads suggest an increased risk of transmission and raise concern that, unlike with other variants, vaccinated people infected with delta can transmit the virus,” CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky stated in a press release July 30. “This finding is concerning and was a pivotal discovery leading to (the) CDC’s updated mask recommendation.”

Kelly also told The Panther he views masks as a more effective long-term strategy for curbing the spread of COVID-19 than physical distancing measures, which Chapman no longer requires for indoor learning.

“If you're unmasked in a room with somebody who has symptomatic COVID-19 for an extended period of time — like an hour or more — even if you are 10 feet away, that's an exposure,” Kelly said.

Restrictions on outdoor masking are far more lenient, with a mask mandate only applying to gatherings of 1000 people or more. 

What are Chapman’s protocols for tracing positive COVID-19 cases and addressing potential outbreaks?

With a full year of practice under their belt, the university’s contact-tracing team will continue to identify positive cases among the Chapman community and track down individuals who may have been unknowingly exposed.

The institution also instilled a daily tracking system in early August to monitor compliance with the university’s COVID-19 protocol. If students are out of compliance, they’ll be automatically sent an email alerting them not to access campus facilities. Their faculty will also be notified.

“We can’t check who's planning on coming in and out of (Argyros Forum) that day, and we can’t check who's planning on going to Starbucks every day,” said Jerry Price, the dean of students and vice president for student affairs. “But we do know when people are supposed to be in class, and you also don’t get a grade when you go to Starbucks.”

Bouchard offered The Panther hypothetical situations in which a student might accidentally fall out of compliance with protocol: forgetting to bring a mask to campus or getting a COVID-19 test at an off-campus location and neglecting to inform the university of the results, for example. In these cases, students may be provided with any necessary resources, like face coverings, and can return to campus if they have an “ALL CLEAR” email.

Dr. Jerika Lam, Chapman’s viral infection specialist, contributes to both the Long Range Planning Council and the Senate Executive Board, both of which have been communicating with Chapman administration about contingency plans for a potential outbreak of the virus on campus. She told The Panther she believes senior administration members are still working on protocol for such circumstances.

“If there is an outbreak in a general education class that might have students from multiple majors, then I think that (would require) a different strategy,” Bouchard said. “Hopefully we won’t get there.”

Lam said the university may need to alter its tracking mechanism if they receive reports of breakthrough infections. 

“If we are having more anecdotal or more verbal reports from people who have been infected, we need to be nimble to fix (the contact tracing system),” Lam said. “We're not working with the Alpha variant this semester.”

What are the parameters of the vaccine mandate, and what are the current vaccination rates?

With the U.S Drug and Food Administration’s approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for individuals 16 and older, universities operating under the guidance of government authorities were given the go-ahead to sweepingly institute vaccination. Though the university was originally planning on waiting for FDA approval, the decision to enforce vaccination was implemented preemptively in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases, according to Price. 

Students, faculty and staff are expected to either submit proof of vaccination or a form of personal declination by Sept. 14. The option for declination exists for other vaccines offered by the university as well, though Price said the amount of students who tend to utilize this option is typically small.

Other than providing their signature, students who fill out the form are simply asked to list if their reason for remaining unvaccinated is “medical,” “religious” or “personal.” A disclaimer on the form states, “Covid-19 Vaccines have been found to be safe and effective,” and provides a link to CDC findings.

“We are on the record of saying we think the absolute best way for you to be safe is to get a vaccine,” Price said. “We’re carving out an exception for those who have a sincerely held belief otherwise. But, our message to them is still (that) we hope you reconsider.”

Chapman’s CU Safely Back (CSUB) COVID-19 dashboard shows that 95% of individuals currently accessing campus are vaccinated, a statistic reiterated in an Aug. 23 email from Struppa. However, Jamie Ceman, Chapman’s vice president of strategic marketing and communications, told The Panther this number just takes into account students who have been visiting campus facilities over the summer, a much smaller demographic than the overall student body.

“With most students not yet on campus, that was the most relevant number to report,” Ceman said.

Based on reports collected from the campus community, Ceman said the current vaccination rate among the entire student population actually rests at about 80%.

Comparatively, at a local level, the vaccination rate in Orange County is just over 60% of the population of nearly 3.2 million, according to data from the OC Health Care Agency.

How will students who contract COVID-19 be accommodated academically?

“It’s no different than when a student goes skiing,” Bouchard assured The Panther.

While the university has committed to returning to fully in-person instruction, faculty and staff have been advised to plan for how to alternatively deliver their course should a student be prohibited from coming to class under COVID-19 protocol. Bouchard noted these cases will be handled on an individualized basis to consider the respective needs of each student.

“Faculty should proceed as they do in all other terms and arrange for their students to stay current with course content,” Bouchard wrote in an Aug. 27 email to all Chapman faculty. “It is up to you, as faculty, to decide how best to do so.”

Since classrooms are still provided with high-caliber video and audio recording equipment, Price hypothesized that some professors may opt to still create asynchronous lectures or post online-only resources in order to increase accessibility. However, he clarified the decision is ultimately left to the discretion of each faculty member.

If a student is looking to request exemption from Chapman’s return to in-person learning entirely and proceed with their academics in a remote or hybrid format, they must reach out to Disability Services.

What are the ramifications for students who don’t follow Chapman’s COVID-19 safety guidelines?

Bouchard is hopeful the desire to regain the traditional Chapman experience, both socially and academically, will fuel students to maintain compliance.

Students who blatantly neglect COVID-19 protocol may be penalized in their grades.

“If you have a midterm, and you fall out of compliance with your testing and miss the midterm because you’re not in compliance, that’s going to hurt,”  Price said. “For those who need an incentive, the potential of significant academic, negative consequences should serve that.”

Students who refuse to comply with Chapman’s COVID-19 safety protocol may be reported to Price. In cases where the student is disruptive, Public Safety will be asked to intervene. 

“It was important for us to send a message to students that if you choose not to be vaccinated — a small percentage of our students have done that — that you have to take the testing regimen seriously,” Price said. “We’re going to check it every day, and there’s going to be consequences if you don’t keep up. We think the way that those consequences will be felt the most is academically.”

How big of a threat is the delta variant to the Chapman community?

Currently, Orange County does not require masks indoors for vaccinated individuals, unlike Los Angeles County, where masks are required indoors regardless of vaccination status. Lam told The Panther that the looser restrictions in Orange County are opportunities for the delta variant to “replicate and mutate.” 

“The viral load that the delta variant produces is over 1000 times more than the Alpha (variant),” Lam said. “We’re talking about a supercharge virus right now. It’s basically a virus on steroids.”

According to the CDC, the delta variant is the predominant variant of the virus in the United States, as it is more than twice as contagious as previous variants. Vaccinated people can have breakthrough infections and still spread the virus to others.

An estimate of the amount of positive cases it would take for requirements to roll back is unclear.

Will vaccine boosters be mandated by the university?

Scientists and government officials are considering vaccine boosters to aid with decreasing immunity amid the surge in coronavirus variants. The route has already been taken by other countries, such as Israel, where over 1.9 million people have received a booster dose since Aug. 1. 

Kelly told The Panther that there is not enough data just yet on whether a booster vaccine would be beneficial or relevant in an institutional setting.

“There’s nothing imminent planned,” Price confirmed.

The U.S Department of Health and Human Services announced a plan Aug. 18 to begin administering booster shots this fall, with individuals being eligible starting eight months after their second dose of either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine. The CDC will prioritize healthcare providers, residents of long-term care facilities and seniors as first in line for the vaccine boosters once they are given authorization by the FDA and Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

“If I were a … college student, I would not be trying to get the booster right now,” Kelly said. “I would wait until Pfizer or Moderna comes out with this year's SARS-COV-2 vaccine.”