Introduction and Guiding Principles

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact our world in unprecedented ways, the University of San Diego remains focused on addressing two imperatives: ensuring that we take prudent precautions to protect our community and communities beyond our campus and continuing to deliver a values-based, liberal arts education that prepares our students to address society’s most urgent challenges. Through individual and collective actions, we can engage in meaningful academic and co-curricular experiences while working to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

We have all been called to recognize our role in contributing to a healthy, welcoming, and inclusive community. This document is intended to be a guide as to what students can plan for and expect as we start the Fall 2020 semester. The University of San Diego’s plan to return to campus will follow or exceed guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the State of California and the County of San Diego. We expect these guidelines to evolve over the coming weeks and therefore we will adjust accordingly. This document will be updated regularly, please refer back to this information, and the information on the Torero Blueprint webpage frequently (sandiego.edu/blueprint).

In President Harris’ message on May 7, 2020, he announced that the university intends to reopen campus in mid-August, with the guidance of the University of San Diego’s six-point plan as well as the medical and public health expertise of the federal, state and county authorities.

The University of San Diego’s six-point plan commits to:

Delivering a high-impact learning experience grounded in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition; Prioritizing health and safety; Ensuring access to testing and monitoring for the virus; Converting our campus into a low-density model; Installing technology into our classrooms to meet the changing times; and Adjusting the academic calendar to mitigate risk.