COVID-19

We have established protocols for SYP operation under five COVID-19 scenarios (Level 1-5).  These are outlined in our Health and Safety Plan and we are currently at level is 3.  We anticipate summer operations continuing at level three this year. SYP would only not run if we moved up to level 5. 

It is the policy of Michigan Tech Summer Youth Programs (SYP), that an approved face covering must be worn by all participants, visitors, staff, and faculty at all times in accordance with SYP Health and Safety Levels and regardless of vaccination status. This may include indoor spaces and enclosed public spaces such as campus buildings and open workspaces. Face coverings may also need to be worn outdoors during activities where adequate social distancing cannot be maintained. Masking requirements for environments typically encountered during the Summer Youth Programs experience are defined in Table 1 for all Health and Safety Levels.

Material and Proper Usage

• Fabric face coverings should consist of a new, tight-weave cotton fabric (e.g. quilting cotton, denim, duck cloth, canvas, or twill) or surgical mask. Face coverings should be worn over the mouth and nose. They should not dangle around the neck, off the ears, or be worn on the chin or forehead.

• Plastic face shields are not required at SYP. Face shields should only be worn in conjunction with a fabric face covering. A face shield alone is not an acceptable face covering.

• Individuals should avoid touching or adjusting their face covering. If this becomes necessary, the individual must immediately wash their hands per CDC guidelines.

• Anyone not wearing an acceptable face covering as described in this section will be asked to change their face covering. If one is not available, SYP will provide one.

• Fabric face coverings are not considered personal protective equipment (PPE) and should not be used when entering a room or area where known or suspected COVID-19 cases are present. 

Mask Care and Sanitation

• Students should come prepared with at least 10 face coverings that meet the criteria outlined here for each week of SYP in which they are participating. This will account for a clean face covering during each day of programming and several spare face coverings. 
• Fabric face coverings should be worn one day only. Laundry facilities are unavailable to participants during SYP, so please plan accordingly.

In the interest of personal safety and public health, all Summer Youth Programs participants and staff wear face coverings. This includes those who have been vaccinated. Should a participant have special requirements (such as the need to read lips), please contact the SYP office so that arrangements can be made for those directly interacting with the participant to acquire clear masks. 

The face covering policy will be strictly enforced and exceptions will only be considered on a case-by-case basis if requested by parents/legal guardians at least two weeks in advance of arrival. No exemptions will be granted on the day of check-in. Students who have serious medical conditions which do not allow them to tolerate wearing an approved face covering should give strong consideration as to whether it is in their best personal interest to attend SYP.

SYP highly encourages, but does not require, that participants, staff, or instructors receive COVID-19 vaccination prior to participation in SYP. Because the CDC has differing guidance in a situation of potential exposure to COVID-19 for individuals who have been fully vaccinated, parents/guardians are encouraged to complete the Health History information in CampDoc regarding their participant’s vaccination status.

Check-in for SYP will take place mostly as a curbside service this year. Participant sign-in and  drop off will be assigned in time blocks so as to adequately space arrivals. While we encourage parents/guardians to send off their participants in the parking lot, we understand that in some instances this may not be feasible. At Health and Safety Level 3, parents/guardians may not enter the residence hall to assist their student in moving out of their room. Extra SYP staff will be available to assist participants in moving luggage into their rooms. A modified drive through check-in procedure is under development and details will be available soon.

To minimize potential exposure, students will be organized into cohorts based on their course. Students will remain in their cohorts for all activities, including mealtime and most extracurricular activities. While SYP is operating at Health and Safety Levels 1-3, cohorts will be capped at 25 participants and capacity will be reduced to a maximum of 10 in the event that we move to Health and Safety Level 4. Cohorts will be maintained as independent units for all activities including dining, indoor extracurricular activities, and transportation under Health and Safety Levels 2-4.
Mixing of cohorts will be discouraged unless in an approved outdoor setting where social distancing can be maintained and masking will be required. In the event we return to Health and Safety Level 1, cohorts will be maintained as described above but cohort mixing restrictions may be relaxed depending on the current situation. Whenever possible, SYP staff will be assigned a cohort at the beginning of each week and will remain with their cohort for the duration of the program.

Commuter participants in SYP are required to adhere to all standard SYP conduct and COVID-mitigation expectations. In addition, commuter participants are requested to minimize their contact with individuals outside of their immediate household and SYP cohort during the course of their program. As commuter participants are the only students permitted to engage with individuals both on campus and outside of their SYP cohort, we require that commuter participants agree to follow all policies and procedures established by SYP to reduce risk of COVID-19 exposure.

During their time at Summer Youth Programs, students will be housed in Wadsworth Hall (Wads). While SYP operates in Health and Safety Levels 1-3, housing will be double occupancy with a switch to single occupancy at Health and Safety level 4. Double occupancy assignments will be made based on cohort. Participants may make a roommate request so long as both participants are attending the same course, are assigned to the same cohort and both request to room with each other. Participants not in the same course or assigned the same cohort, including siblings, will not be permitted to room together. This applies to all housing assignments regardless of participant vaccination status.

In double occupancy rooming situations, beds are arranged on opposite sides of the room. This orientation aids in maintaining social distancing. Additional safety measures such as opening windows and using fans in the windows to promote ventilation are encouraged, however participants must bring their own fan. A limited number of fans are available to rent on a first come first serve basis from SYP.

Single occupancy rooming requests will only be considered in special circumstances and may be discussed with SYP staff in advance of participation, however some participants may receive a single room due to cohort housing arrangements.

In an effort to minimize transmission risk, indoor extracurricular activities will be conducted by cohort. Each cohort will be assigned Activities Counselors (ACs) and these counselors will remain with the cohort throughout the duration of the course whenever possible. This year, SYP will provide mandatory, screen-free extracurricular activities for approximately an hour each evening by cohort. As always, additional optional activities will be provided, including field trips off-campus, outdoor games, and sports. Optional outdoor extracurricular activities may be offered to students from mixed cohorts when social distancing can be maintained. 

To the extent possible, extracurricular activities will occur in outdoor spaces where social distancing can be maintained. In the event of inclement weather, extracurricular activities will be moved indoors and students will be expected to abide by all masking and social distancing policies. Upon completion of the extracurricular activity period, all students and staff are expected to thoroughly wash their hands or use hand sanitizer. After each activity session, ACs will sanitize all equipment used and return it to storage. 

During all off-campus extracurricular activities, mask and social distancing policies as described above are still in effect.

Historically SYP has had a special check-out/in process for students wishing to leave campus during the course of the program for any reason (doctor appointments, lunch with a parental/guardian-approved individual, etc.). Due to strict adherence to our cohort model for mitigation of potential exposure to COVID-19, participants will not be allowed to leave campus while their program is in session this year. Parents/guardians may request exceptions to this policy to be considered on a case-by-case basis with advanced notice. Requests can be made by contacting our office at 906-487-2219, 1-888-PRECOLLEGE, or emailing us at syp@mtu.edu with “SYP Special Check-Out Request” in the subject line.

In conjunction with Dining Services at Michigan Tech, Summer Youth Programs will be offering cafeteria-style and grab-and-go meal service for summer 2021. Meals will be served in to-go containers from the dining hall of Wadsworth Hall and participants may sit at the tables designated for SYP. There will be no self-service available during meals; all self-service stations have been transitioned to cafeteria-style and students will be served by employees of Dining Services. 

Meal times will be staggered by cohort to reduce the number of students in the dining hall at one time. Students will arrive and depart from the Dining Hall together. Breakfast will be open from 7:00 am to 9:00 am, lunch from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm, and dinner from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm. SYP participants will be seated by cohort in groups of no more than six to a table, in seating designated for SYP use. Non-SYP participants will be restricted from SYP dining areas to the fullest extent possible. To accommodate larger groups of people, SYP will be providing outdoor seating arrangements and encouraging the use of these spaces when weather permits.

When students are on field trips and/or unable to return to the dining halls, to-go and boxed meals will be provided and course instructors will use disposable gloves to wear while serving food.

Working with Michigan Tech’s Facilities Management team, SYP staff will make every effort to maintain a clean environment for participants and staff. Enhanced cleaning protocols will be implemented between weeks for dorm rooms, showers, restrooms, and shared spaces; all common touch points will be sanitized regularly. Participants may be asked to wipe down spaces and supplies after use. To aid in ventilation, participants will be asked to leave their windows open (weather permitting) in the residence hall daily and upon final departure and classrooms will also open doors and windows if applicable.

SYP will utilize no-touch or low-touch signs, supplies, and materials to the fullest extent possible and avoid shared items and/or items that cannot be effectively sanitized.

To ensure adequate social distancing is maintained and to reduce the number of people in the residence hall at one time, SYP check-out will be modified as a curbside service during staggered pick up times. Our general check-out windows will remain Fridays from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm and Saturdays from 9:00 am to noon. At Health and Safety Level 3, parents/guardians may not enter the residence hall to assist their student in moving out of their room. A modified drive through check-out procedure is under development and details will be available soon. 

Michigan Tech Summer Youth Programs reserves the right to terminate the participation of any student when it is deemed to be in the best interest of either the student or the program (as determined by the University and program staff). The University and the program and the program staff expressly reserve the exclusive right to require compliance with all standards, including those contained within our Health & Safety plan, as a condition of participation in the program.

SYP is committed to providing as much transparency and flexibility as possible given to the changing circumstances. Course cancellations, either by SYP or participants, will be handled in the following manner:

	SYP Cancellation	Participant Cancellation
Prior to June 1	Participants will be offered a seat in another course with availability or a full refund of costs paid	Full refund of costs paid, less the $100 non-refundable course and/or $25 bus deposits, if applicable
Prior to Program Start	Participants will be offered a seat in another course with availability or a full refund of costs paid	Full refund of costs paid, less the $100 non-refundable course and/or $25 bus deposits, if applicable
Within Two Weeks of Program Start	Participants will be offered a seat in another course with availability or a full refund of costs paid	Due to COVID-19 exposure or illness: Full refund available or enrollment could be moved to a course following release date from isolation/quarantine Due to other reasons: Refunds granted for extenuating circumstances on a case-by-case basis
During Program	Participants will be offered a prorated refund of the course fee	Participants will be offered a prorated refund of the course fee

 

While Summer Youth Programs operate at Health and Safety levels 1-3, charter buses to campus from lower Michigan will continue to operate with some modifications from years’ past. Symptom monitoring in accordance with the current Health and Safety Level is recommended prior to boarding the bus and parents/legal guardians must complete a symptom clearance form with the bus chaperone at the time of participant boarding.

 

Participants and parents/legal guardians must wear an appropriate face covering during boarding and at all times while riding the SYP charter bus. Students riding the SYP bus will be subject to the code of conduct outlined in the Student Handbook and violations of the mask policy will be handled accordingly. Hand sanitizer will be provided at boarding/disembarking by SYP staff and should be used by all riders. 

 

Capacity on charter buses in Health and Safety Level 3 will be limited to 50%, or one student per two seats (see sample diagram, right). Students will alternate between window and aisle seats to maximize social distancing. Siblings will not be permitted to sit together on the charter bus.

 

In the event of a return to Health and Safety level 4, SYP reserves the right to modify the bus schedule (or cancel entirely), capacity, and policies. Those students who have signed up for the charter bus will be contacted and informed of policy updates.

To add the charter bus service for your student please email us at syp@mtu.edu including your student full name, if you are requesting a one way or round trip bus seat, and from what bus stop. More information on our bus stops, pick-up locations and cost can be found on our travel information page.