Closing the University of Idaho campus for a full academic year could cost the university an estimated $33 million dollars in lost revenue from dining, housing, parking, decreased enrollment and more. UI President C. Scott Green shared this information during a COVID-19 town hall for UI employees early Tuesday morning.
UI recently closed a $22 million budget deficit through furloughs, not renewing contracts, voluntary separations or retirements from the university and other budget-saving methods. Green said solving a potential estimated $33 million could result in significant job losses.
“I know there’s a lot of anxiety out there and, frankly, we’re in a situation where there’s often no one right answer,” Green said. “Every path has risk and a human cost, but one path, no matter how narrow, offers us the ability to exit this pandemic solid and secure. It’s not a path with a guaranteed outcome, far from it. But we have been working day and night to make that path viable and as safe for our employees as possible.”
The estimated deficit amount does not include students potentially leaving after the start of the semester or the cost of COVID-19-related precautions. The equipment and labor for COVID-19 testing and the thermal scanners purchased as a precaution will likely cost $1-2 million, UI Special Assistant to the President Toni Broyles said.
“But we’re looking at that as an investment,” Broyles said. “The equipment is an investment in our research, in our R1 mission. And it’s important to have a safe environment.”
Over 800 people attended the hour-and-a-half long meeting, asking questions of 14 UI employee panelists. Simultaneously, UI graduate student Holly Kim led a protest against the university’s fall reopening plan in front of the Administration Building. UI employees and students have shared concerns about the university’s fall reopening plan through social media, emails sent to administrators and online petitions.
“Your concerns about returning to campus to teach have been heard and we’ve taken steps that all but a few select universities in the country can match,” Green said.
Many of these steps were presented in a PowerPoint during the meeting, including:
- Hiring a COVID-19 response manager and a public health advisor
- Moving online after fall break
- 436 accommodations made for high-risk employees (as of Aug. 4)
- Campus-based lab for COVID-19 testing
- On-campus isolation and quarantine facilities
- Adjustments to classrooms and event spaces, including limited seating
- Increased frequency of classroom cleaning
- Added plexiglass to areas where face-to-face interactions are common
- Thermal scanners in high-traffic areas and handheld thermometers for every department
- Provided PPE kits and face coverings to all employees and students
- Face covering requirements
- Delivery of food and library materials
- Creating the Healthy Vandal Pledge and marketing campaign
UI is considering moving to an online-only format like last semester if need be, Green said. The university is monitoring national, state and local government restrictions and directions, public health recommendations, advice from Gritman Medical Center, the capacity of on-campus isolation facilities, case numbers in Latah County and UI and infection modeling done by UI researchers.
“We’ve made that hard decision (to go online) once already and we will be prepared to make that again should the environment change and point us in that direction,” Green said.
In the meantime, the registrar’s office is working to move as many in-person classes as possible into larger spaces, potentially converting event spaces like the Bruce Pitman Center ballrooms into classrooms. Suggested syllabus language regarding face coverings, when to stay home from class, Zoom etiquette and more are being provided in a faculty toolkit, according to incoming Faculty Senate Chair Barbara Kirchmeier. The Faculty Staff Handbook is also being updated with COVID-19-related information and procedures, General Counsel Jim Craig said.
Green and UI Provost and Executive Vice President Torrey Lawrence said they were willing to sit in on classes to better understand each instructor’s concerns and the new learning environments.
“I’ve always said to my team, here and wherever I work, that I don’t ask them to do anything I’m not willing to do myself,” Green said.
Details on UI’s fall reopening plan can be found in our COVID-19 roundup. Current COVID-19 case counts can be found on our website in English and en Español.
Lex Miller can be reached at [email protected]