Greetings students,
Happy 2021! We can’t wait to welcome you back and start the spring semester.
I wanted to confirm that classes will start on January 25th and campus will be open this spring as planned. Residential students will move in on January 21st and 22nd as we announced in December so that they can test and quarantine prior to the start of classes (residents will be receiving additional information in the coming days). This process will be very similar to the process we used during opening in Fall 2020. More information is coming to residents later today!
We will be testing all residential students, out of state students, and athletes prior to the start of the year, similar to our process this fall. This includes out of state students who live off campus.
We have one big change this semester: all faculty, staff, and students who physically come to campus for work, activities, and/or class will be required to test weekly throughout the spring 2021 semester. This will not be optional, and failure to follow the testing schedule can mean that you will lose access to campus and may face disciplinary outcomes. We will be providing more information in the coming weeks about what this will look like.
With the start of the semester only two weeks away, I encourage all community members to exercise extreme caution and safety from now until the start of classes. This means wearing face coverings, social distancing, and getting tested/quarantining if you are experiencing any symptoms of Covid-19.
We are not requiring anyone to do a Covid-19 test before they start their travel to campus, but if you have any concern about exposure I would HIGHLY encourage you to get tested at home now so you can quarantine before the start of the year. If you have tested positive at any point over the break you should email me to let me know before you return to campus. For those who have tested positive and recovered, you may be exempt from testing for 90 days from the date of your positive test.
More information will be coming your way over the next couple of weeks, this is just the first of many. I hope you all have had safe and relaxing holidays. Be well and we will see you soon!
Best,
Sarah Coyer