In response to the global COVID-19 outbreak, the University of Southern California has established an Emergency Operation Control group that meets daily to assess risk and potential solutions and review international and local information about COVID-19, according to an email sent to the USC faculty and staff Monday.
The email, sent by Provost Charles Zukoski and Senior Vice President of Human Resources Felicia Washington, states that EOC is to take action regarding “screening, isolation of individuals, reconsidering university-related travel, housing of students returning from programs abroad, or in the possible scenario of elevated risk, necessary postponement or cancellation of activities including classes or events.”
Steve Goldfarb, USC’s director of fire safety and emergency planning, is a member of EOC. He spoke with Annenberg Media about the measures the group has taken in preparation for any possible outbreaks.
“We've been planning and watching what’s going on in other countries. We’ve been watching recently what’s going on here in the United States, and each and every day this group meets to look at the current situation and to ensure that we are doing what we need to do,” he said.
Goldfarb also talked about the recent suspension of many USC study abroad programs in light of the Center for Disease Control’s guidelines for institutions of higher learning for students to return from international study.
“Our goal here is that if it’s a CDC Level 3 location, we are moving students back here to the United States. That has been in progress and continues to be done every day,” Goldfarb said.
To minimize potential exposure to COVID-19, USC has canceled some study abroad programs. It will also cancel all upcoming international spring break programs, the email stated.
Moreover, some USC events, such as the USC Women’s Conference that was scheduled to take place Friday in Seattle, have been postponed indefinitely.
USC has also mentioned the possibility of using Zoom, a remote conferencing program, and Blackboard in the case that students are no longer able to physically access campus due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
“In the event that it becomes impossible for all students to attend on-campus classes for some period of time this semester, all faculty need to make preparations over the next week to deliver courses using our university-wide online learning tools—Blackboard and Zoom,” the email states.
Professor Dora Vertenten from the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy talked about the practicality of using a software like Zoom during a potential outbreak. Vertenten has had a decade of experience using Zoom for both conference calls and classes.
“We can offer coursework in Blackboard and meet with our students both as a class and individually using conference call technology like Zoom ... And we can do that in a seamless operation to support students,” said Vertenten.
Some professors at USC have gone as far as to set up times for their classes to practice using Zoom. Josh West, a professor at USC Dornsife, will be ensuring that his students are familiar with Zoom in his upcoming classes, although West acknowledges that it would make it harder to interact with students.
“I obviously prefer meeting with classes in person, because it’s easier to ask questions and engage with students … but for lectures, it seems like something possible to do, if not ideal,” said West. “I would like to do a practice run and have students make sure that they can use their USC accounts and that they have the app installed on their devices.”
Schools like UC Berkeley have also advised students to use Zoom or other alternate instructional tools in case of a coronavirus outbreak in California. New York University closed its campus in Florence last week and resumed class for these students through Zoom.
Current information about the coronavirus can be found here. For questions, students can use the COVID-19 hotline: 213-740-6291 or email: studenthealth@usc.edu.