Dear School of Music Students,
Welcome to the beginning of the Fall 2020 semester. As our lives continue to be deeply affected by the pandemic, we all must continue to be nimble and flexible as the situation changes. Our first priority is the safety and health of our students, faculty and staff.
While we’d love to be meeting completely in person, it’s simply not prudent to reconvene until it is determined that it is safe to do so. We have, in accordance with UNLV, local, state and federal guidelines, created a plan that will provide students with the best possible educational experience under these unprecedented circumstances.
We ask you all to take all necessary precautions to protect yourselves and others, including:
- Monitoring your health for any signs of illness, and refraining from coming to campus when ill.
- Taking all necessary precautions to minimize exposure to COVID19 on and off- campus.
- Wear a mask at all times while on campus. Face shields do not substitute for wearing a mask. You must wear a mask under the face shield.
- Washing and sanitizing hands thoroughly (and often).
- Practicing physical distancing of at least six feet from others.
I appreciate your understanding and urge you to stay safe and healthy, be kinder than usual to
others, and I look forward to when we all can safely return to campus.
Very best wishes to you all,
Susan Mueller
Director, UNLV School of Music
susan.mueller@unlv.edu
Safety and Health Protocols
- All students, staff, and faculty must wear a face covering or mask at all times in public space, classes, elevators, and restrooms. A face shield is not a substitute for a mask or face covering. Students, faculty, or staff that do not wear a mask will be provided a mask or be removed from the space.
- Social distancing tape or markers will be on the hallway floor for students moving through the space.
- Entrance and Exit signs directing traffic entering and exiting the building will be displayed to reduce the number of people moving through the doors at any given time.
- Hand sanitizers will be available throughout all 3 buildings, HFA, BMC, and HAB1. All classrooms will have hand sanitizing supplies and cleaning/disinfecting supplies to properly sanitize the workspace between classes. All teaching classrooms, and practice rooms that have been used in the day, will be thoroughly cleaned every evening Monday through Friday.
- Enter and exit any space 6 feet apart from another person. Instructors will dismiss the class to allow for the extra time needed under this protocol.
- Course materials: Faculty and students should only bring what is necessary to class. Please be prepared with the necessary books, writing utensils, electronic devices, etc. Materials must never be shared.
- Each instructor will monitor the disinfecting of any computer, desk, chair, keyboard, or items used by others. Sanitizing wipes will be provided. Each instructor will be provided their own markers, and eraser, if they are teaching in -person classes.
- No food allowed in the buildings or any classroom, only covered drinks are allowed. Students, faculty and staff may not congregate in hallways or practice rooms.
- Music stands may not move from room to room, they must stay in the room they are assigned.
Classes
Classes will be delivered both online and in-person. MyUNLV will reflect how each class will
meet.
- In-person or synchronous courses: Students will meet at the time and day listed in MyUNLV. The location of the course is listed in MyUNLV. Instructors are also being flexible to run an in-person class and also providing asynchronous teaching.
- Remote: Courses that have a day and time, but instruction will be remote. You will need to be online at that day and time. Once a course is listed remote, it will not switch back to in-person during the semester.
- Asynchronous courses: In the School of Music, these courses will be listed as TBA and DEPT ARRANGED. They will be delivered fully remote. Each instructor will establish the platform in which instruction is to be delivered.
- Web based: These courses will meet online, but not at any specific day and time. There is a fee attached to these courses.
- Public Study Spaces: In between classes that are in person, and followed by asynchronous class or in reverse order, there are:
- Overflow classrooms: holding room for students to participate in asynchronous classes with strong Wi-Fi before or after in-person classes will be made available.
- Third party programs: Software is available in computer labs to install on students’ devices at no cost to students.
- Assessments: Instructors are not allowed to have students pay for proctoring fees unless it is stated when students register.
- Students may not practice, rehearse, or warm-up at any time in the hallways within the buildings HFA, BMC, HAB1.
Ensemble, MUSE Courses: Ensembles will not meet in-person until further notice; but each student should still sign up for those ensembles, which will be performing in non-traditional (virtual) manners.
Applied lessons, MUSA Courses: Applied lessons will be conducted remotely. We are also providing large spaces for some in-person lessons following all safety protocols. In some cases, a limited number of applied lessons may be scheduled in larger performance spaces throughout the semester. Students should maintain good communication with their instructors in order to adhere to UNLV and School of Music protocols regarding any in-person instruction. Repertoire classes will be delivered virtually.
Academic, MUS Courses: Any course that meets in person has been placed in rooms that allow for social distancing by dividing the class into groups to reduce the number of students in the room.
Recitals
- At this time, recitals that are not the culminating experience (Junior, Senior, MM, DMA) will be performed remotely. Students are asked to contact their studio instructor and their Advisory Committee Chair. Together, you will best decide how to deliver the recital repertoire. The school will decide how some of the culminating recitals can be delivered.
- We realize that some of these recitals might be performed without an accompanist, and the faculty will be flexible regarding the repertoire should it not be conducive to remotely performing (ex. chamber music involving many people.)
Practice Rooms
- Students will not be charged in the fall 2020 semester for use of the practice rooms. Practice rooms will be assigned to students with the assistance of all applied faculty to identify the need of the student.
- There can be only one person in a practice room at any given time.
- No one may share the practice room with another person. If the room is assigned, that assignment must be adhered to, or the person will lose access to the assigned room.
- Priority will be given to piano majors and accompanists. Any request to be assigned a practice room must come through the applied instructor.
School of Music Building Operations: HFA, BMC, HAB1
- The School of Music staff and student workers will be on a staggered work schedules so that no more than 2 people are in the office at the same time. The rest of the time they will work remotely.
- The office will not be open to any walk-in traffic, all faculty and students must make an appointment. It is not necessary to meet with any staff in person, but we can schedule zoom meetings or phone calls.
- Everyone in the music office must wear a face covering when in the presence of another person and observe the 6 ft social distancing. Administrative Assistants do not have to wear one when they are in their own office alone with their door closed.
- Buildings will be monitored often for non-student traffic.
- Doc Rando, BMC 160, BMC 159: There will be no outside events in the fall 2020 semester unless approved by the Director, and after obtaining permission from the university.