The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) has been developing plans to gradually resume in-person teaching, learning, and residential life for the fall 2020 semester in a staged manner so as to reduce the risk of spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The result of those efforts is the framework housed on this website, known as: Make Ready: A Framework for Returning to SAIC’s Campus

This framework provides information on the following:

While the campus has been closed to all but essential staff, we have been working to mitigate the risk of transmission through new processes, protocols, and physical distancing measures. To date, we have:

• Made physical modifications to spaces around campus to allow for social distancing, including engineering controls and increased ventilation, plexiglass screens, and directional signage
• Placed sanitation equipment in all common spaces and classrooms
• Instituted new hygiene requirements, such as social distancing guidelines and a requirement to wear face coverings while on campus

Moving forward, we will work directly with departments and instructional facilities to further develop cleaning protocols for each area, and we will continue to work closely with SAIC’s Campus Health and Safety Team and follow all guidelines and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH).

We are committed to returning to campus this fall. Although many things about campus will feel familiar, there is no doubt that learning, teaching, making, and working on campus will be much different this year. With this framework as our guide, we will continue to provide an art and design education of the caliber our students and the world have come to expect, despite the changes necessitated by the global health crisis. The uncertain and ongoing nature of the pandemic will require us to be nimble in our response, continually reviewing our practices and processes, and may necessitate updates to this framework; this website will remain the definitive resource for the most up-to-date information. 

Contact

If you have questions about Make Ready: A Framework for Returning to SAIC’s Campus or the return to campus process in general, please direct them to saicinfo@saic.edu.