When Creighton University School of Law began its fall semester, it did so in person, with students returning to campus for the first time since March.

The university spent the summer months planning on how best to protect its students from COVID-19 while still providing a normal education experience.

“Creighton has done an exhaustive amount of work in making sure that the law school is a safe place in the current climate,” said Justin Pritchett, a first-year law student who moved from Montana with his wife and two young children to attend Creighton Law.

In order to ensure a safe environment, Creighton has implemented a number of measures such as sanitizing classrooms in between classes, social distancing in classrooms and temperature checks, with screening stations set up across campus. There is also an app that allows for daily self-screening.

“I cannot express sufficient gratitude to the staff and administration for their efforts,” Pritchett said.

The university has also set up dashboard – accessible at bit.ly/creightondashboard – to provide students and faculty with weekly updates about campus infection rates. As of Aug. 22, 1,732 students had been tested, with nine positive for COVID-19. The dashboard also provides a list of supplies and their availability, including face shields, masks, hand sanitizer and disinfectant.

Despite the precautions, Pritchett remains a little nervous about in-person instruction. It was easier to socially distance in Montana, he said, and he is a mem ber of a more at-risk group.

“While pedagogically I firmly believe that remote learning struggles to compete with in-person learning, during the current pandemic I would opt for remote learning to more fully reduce risk,” Pritchett said.

That being said, Pritchett is pleased with his decision to enroll at Creighton Law and is looking forward to completing his studies here in Omaha.

“I was particularly interested in finding an institution that was invested in shaping fully formed persons to practice law in an ethical way,” Pritchett said. “I also wanted a place where there was real communication, interaction, collaboration, and relationships between faculty and students. These attributes were sharply illustrated when I first visited Creighton last winter.”