May 23 Campus Memo

Operational Mode 5 (OM5) effective Monday, May 23.

Dear MICA Community,

As outlined in Recap 23, MICA’s physical campus will transition to modified Operational Mode 5 (OM5) effective today, Monday, May 23. Below is a visual rundown of some of the key differences between Operational Mode 4 and modified Operational Mode 5:

Mask Supportive

  • Individuals may choose to remain masked or to not wear a mask.
  • Services that are open to members of the public such as Postal & Print, the MICA Store and Exhibitions may use the OM5 "Face coverings appreciated" signage.
  • Local offices can collectively choose to remain masked and may also use the OM5 "Face coverings appreciated" signage in their internal office spaces.

Flexible Model

As a reminder, OM5 is a flexible guidance model, which allows for making temporary adjustments to COVID-19 policies based on the ongoing collaboration and guidance of our consulting epidemiologists and science-driven decision-making.

Additional Elements

  • Unvaccinated community members with approved exemptions will still be regularly tested on campus.
  • Students enrolled in on-site classes will have full access to studios, workspaces, shops, and fabrication studios, though some remote production services that began during the pandemic will continue.
  • The default instruction mode for residential programs and on-campus activities will be in-person. Alternate instructional modes will be defined through the Course Modality Definitions/Expectations for face-to-face and hybrid courses.
  • In-person class gatherings will operate at full capacity.
    • Curricular and co-curricular in-person engagements will be allowed at full capacity. In-person field-based experiences—including academic field trips—are allowed but must abide by the policies for field-based activities.
  • Campus Shuttles operating normal routes and schedules for on-campus buildings and residences.

The full Operational Mode 5 policy is available here.

Thanks,
The Office of Strategic Communications