September 20, 2021

This message is distributed to all Fall Quarter Instructors
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Dear Instructors,

In preparation for in-person classes, Design, Facilities & Safety Services, in consultation with the Chancellor’s COVID-19 Response Working Group and faculty experts, has assessed each and every classroom space to minimize the chance of COVID transmission. As you likely know, COVID transmission occurs primarily through the air:  a contagious individual exhales droplets and aerosols containing infectious virus, which are suspended in the air and can be inhaled by a susceptible individual. Good ventilation works to remove aerosols from the room air, reducing the exposure of other people in the room and thereby reducing the risk of COVID transmission. (Of course, vaccinations and face coverings add important additional layers of protection.)

Using open-source models developed and vetted by experts in the aerosol community, we have assessed every instructional space at UCSB with an eye to limiting COVID transmission. The vast majority of instructional rooms use forced-air supply ventilation systems that reduce the probability of COVID transmission to exceedingly low levels when set to deliver fresh air at their maximum rates. Approximately 40 classroom spaces use different styles of ventilation that are not designed to supply a specific rate of fresh air. In these cases, we are taking additional steps to ensure clean air is delivered to these rooms at a level comparable to those with forced-air supply. We are taking these steps out of an abundance of caution; in almost all cases, it is likely that the rooms’ existing ventilation would have resulted in similar low risk as rooms with a forced-air supply.

If you are scheduled to teach in one of these rooms, you will receive a separate email that explains the additional measures we have taken, and the role you can play in promoting classroom safety.

Up-to-date information about classroom COVID-readiness can be found at: https://evc.ucsb.edu/communications/covid-19/classroom-readiness

We are looking forward to a healthy and invigorating return to in-person instruction!


Scott Grafton, M.D.
Campus COVID-19 Mitigation Program Manager and Professor of Psychology & Brain Sciences

David Marshall
Executive Vice Chancellor

Garry Mac Pherson
Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services