Notice

Updated: OCTOBER 2, 2020 at 11:15am PT

Dear NYFA LA,

We hope you are settling into the Fall semester comfortably. The continued presence of the COVID-19 pandemic certainly creates challenges for us all, but we are encouraged by the community’s ability to address these challenges. We encourage you to review the NYFA Health Alerts and archived communications to the LA Campus, which are regularly updated on the NYFA Student HUB. If you have any questions about the information in this LA Campus Update, please email RemoteLearningLA@nyfa.edu.

This LA Campus Update contains important information about Fall Semester including:

• LA County and Fall Semester Updates
• Requirements for Campus Entry
  1. Self-Quarantine
  2. NYFA COVID-19 Symptom Tracking
  3. Testing for COVID-19
  4. COVID-19 Student Conduct On and Off Campus
  5. COVID-19 Student Training on the Hub
• Grading for Fall Semester
• Watch Fall Convocation

LA County and Fall Semester Updates
NYFA LA continues to attend telebriefings that are regularly held by LA County Department of Public Health. As we have mentioned in previous communications, LA County announced that higher education institutions will not have permission to resume in-person classes until November 30, at the earliest. LA County does not want students congregating on campus in any way that could perpetuate the spread of COVID-19. NYFA LA agrees with and will abide by this guidance.

• Production is still allowed and several cohorts are already being scheduled for exterior production workshops in Griffith Park in the upcoming weeks. These productions will allow students to familiarize themselves with usage and safety of production equipment.
  • If your section is scheduled for an exterior production workshop, you will be notified by your department chair 14 days prior to the production, so that you can begin your symptom tracking and testing within the required window of time, see the “Requirements for Campus Entry” section (below).
  • As with any class, students who choose not to or cannot physically attend these productions in person will be able to Zoom into the production as it takes place.
  • Some cohorts have already checked out individual camera and lighting packages for use in their own residence.
  • Those who are planning advanced or thesis shoots can continue the greenlight process following all COVID guidelines.
• Once LA County gives NYFA LA permission to resume in-person instruction, based on State of California Higher Education Guidance including infection rates and positivity rates, we will only do so after we determine we can do so safely in consultation with NYFA’s public health consultant, Dr. Peter Bloland, formerly of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

No student is required to attend classes in-person for the Fall 2020 Semester. Students may complete instruction remotely for the duration of the Fall Semester and may choose to Zoom in to on-campus sessions.

• Students who wish to change their declaration regarding “hybrid” or “remote only” should contact LARegistrar@nyfa.edu.

Requirements for Campus Entry
If you haven’t already done so, please read the NYFA COVID Safety Plan. Reading this document carefully will help you prepare for your arrival to campus. Below is a summary of information contained in the NYFA COVID Safety Plan that pertains specifically to your arrival to campus and requirements for entry to campus or attendance at off-site productions.

1. Self-Quarantine: To mitigate the transmission of illness within our community, NYFA requires all arriving to NYFA LA from regions outside of Los Angeles to self-quarantine for 14 days prior to your first day of in-person class or off-site production.
   • Please check your NYFA schedule to confirm your first possible day on campus or off-site production.
   • It is important during these 14 days that you practice physical distancing and good personal hygiene. Further guidelines for self-quarantine are detailed in the NYFA Self-Quarantine and Self-Isolation Guidelines.
2. NYFA COVID-19 Symptom Tracking: All NYFA students and employees are required to provide NYFA a report of their symptoms with the use of the NYFA COVID-19 Symptom Tracker.
   • On September 24, all students received an email with instructions about how to access the NYFA COVID-19 Symptom Tracker App.
   • It is important that you report your symptoms each day 14-days prior to your first day of in-person class or off-site production, whether you are in self-quarantine or not.
     • Please check your NYFA schedule to confirm your first possible day on campus or off-site production.
   • Once your in-person class or off-site production begins, you will report your symptoms only on the days you are scheduled to be present on campus or at the off-site production.
     • Symptoms must be reported in the NYFA COVID-19 Symptom Tracker App prior to your arrival to campus or the production for the day.
   • You will be taking your temperature twice daily for the NYFA COVID-19 Symptom Tracker during the 14-day quarantine and/or during the 14-days prior to your first in-person class period. Be sure you have a thermometer at home!
   • Your data will be FERPA protected and read and stored only by the NYFA COVID-19 Team Administrators trained to observe all relevant privacy laws.
3. Testing for COVID-19: NYFA requires all employees and students to be tested for COVID-19, with a RT-PCR COVID-19 Diagnostic Test, between 2-6 days before your first day on-campus. Please verify with the testing site that this is the test you are being administered. No other test will be accepted.
   • Before being permitted to report to campus, you will need to submit your test results to the NYFA COVID Team Administrator. Your test result must be NEGATIVE.
     • Test results should be emailed to the NYFA COVID Team Administrator at: covidteamla@nyfa.edu
     • Once reviewed, you will receive a confirmation email from the NYFA COVID Team Administrator that your negative test result has been received and that you are cleared to come onto campus.
   • If you report a positive COVID-19 test result, a COVID-19 Team Administrator will contact you to offer guidance, support and assistance. This may include information about self-isolation, monitoring your symptoms, and seeking medical advice, as noted in NYFA Self-Quarantine and Self-Isolation Guidelines.
     • When you have recovered from COVID-19, you will be welcomed to campus provided you meet the conditions for entering campus as described in the NYFA Self-Quarantine and Self-Isolation Guidelines.
   • Your data will be FERPA protected and read and stored only by the NYFA COVID-19 Team Administrators trained to observe all relevant privacy laws.
   • The City of LA and LA County continue to expand COVID-19 testing sites. Access testing site information through these links:
     • City of Los Angeles, Curative, and CORE COVID-19 Testing Sites
     • LA City COVID-19 Testing Sites
     • LA County COVID-19 Testing Sites
4. COVID-19 Student Conduct On and Off Campus: Students are required to sign a pledge affirming that they will use safe practices on and off campus.
   • The pledge states: “I understand that if I break my pledge - if I fail to adhere to the aforementioned guidelines either on campus or off campus - I may face disciplinary action, up to and including revocation of permission to attend on-campus classes and activities, suspension, or expulsion from NYFA.”
   • In addition, students who violate safe practices may be asked to self-quarantine for 14 days.
5. COVID-19 Student Training on the Hub: Students are required to successfully complete the COVID-19 Student Training prior to the first day of in-person classes or off-site production. Students will be able to take the COVID-19 Training on the Hub.

Grading
In the Fall 2020 semester, NYFA will no longer be applying a Pass/Fail system for final course grades. Due to the continued prominence of online learning in the Fall 2020 semester, however, all final course grades above an F will automatically be adjusted up by 1/3 of a letter grade. The following chart illustrates how this adjustment will affect grades entered by the instructors:
 

 
Convocation
On September 14, 2020, NYFA LA held Fall Convocation to kick-off the new academic semester. At the gathering, students, faculty, and staff were invited to hear campus updates while also learning about resources and tips for a successful semester. If you missed the event, we encourage you to check it out. Fall Convocation 2020 can be viewed at the video posted on the NYFA Hub.

If you have any questions about the information in this LA Campus Update, please email RemoteLearningLA@nyfa.edu.

Regards,

Dan Mackler
CSO / SVP
Dean of NYFA Los Angeles