Back to class: Colleges prepare for return of studentsDate: 8/16/2021 WESTERN MASS. – As the fall semester closes in and students are preparing to return to the area, local colleges and universities have been working to strike a balance between health and safety while offering a more immersive experience than they were able to during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
The delta variant has become a true concern for the institutions and their host communities alike and with this in mind, colleges and universities, often in tandem with local public health agents, have developed policies and protocols aimed at protecting students and staff as well as the community at large.
Reminder Publishing reached out to these local institutions to give the public an understanding of what steps are being taken and to help students best prepare for their return to campus.
Amherst College
Amherst
The fall semester kicks off at Amherst College on Aug. 30 and the college is maintaining stringent protective protocols.
“We continue to hope for a less restrictive fall semester, but we will start with the measures that will ensure the campus is as safe as possible under the circumstances that exist when we return,” President Biddy Martin stated in an Aug. 4 letter to the college community. “We will make decisions that have the best chance of ensuring health and safety while also ensuring access to the resources and conditions you need for your education, your work, and your overall well-being. Depending on the course of the virus, we may need to impose additional restrictions and/or requirements, including limits on the size of gatherings, closing in-person dining, limiting student travel off campus, and/or restricting access to campus by visitors. We certainly hope to avoid these steps, if at all possible.”
In order to return to campus, all students, faculty and staff must be fully vaccinated, with exceptions granted for medical or religious reasons. Vaccination status must be verified by the college before they return.
According to updated policies on the college’s website, if a staff member does not qualify for an exemption and refuses to vaccinate, they would be placed on an unpaid leave of absence status for 90 days. If the employee is not fully vaccinated within the 90-day period, the college would consider it a case of job abandonment and move toward termination.
In addition, students, faculty, staff and campus visitors must wear masks indoors at all times – unless alone in a private office – and outdoors when unable to maintain six feet of distance from others.
The college will also continue to offer free testing in collaboration with the Broad Institute, a research collaborative between Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Martin encouraged all students to get tested 48 to 72 hours before arriving on campus in order to ensure a negative result before travel and advised that students would receive both PCR and rapid antigen tests upon arrival on campus. Additionally, the college will conduct weekly surveillance testing for all vaccinated members of the campus community; those who are unvaccinated with an exemption will be tested twice a week. In the event of a positive test result, that person would need to isolate for 10 days in areas set aside by the college for this purpose.
Hampshire College
Amherst
Until further notice is given, Hampshire College will require face coverings indoors on campus, except when alone in a private office or private room with the door closed. This requirement applies to everyone, regardless of vaccination status.
According to their website, Hampshire College will require onboarding asymptomatic testing for all students, faculty and staff after arrival to campus to start the fall semester. Local trends in vaccination status, test positivity percentage, and the rate of COVID-19 infection in the community will help determine the need for any regular asymptomatic testing in the fall. Testing will be conducted between Aug. 16 and Sep. 8 and everyone will be required to take two separate COVID-19 tests.
“All students, faculty, and staff are required to be fully vaccinated,” said Jennifer Chrisler, the chief advancement officer for Hampshire College Advancement. “This is in recognition of the rising spread of the delta variant and the understanding that as people arrive to campus they are traveling from and through many different places.”
According to Chrisler, rooming should not cause too much of a problem since most rooms at Hampshire are singles. Religious or medical exemptions will be allowed for vaccinations.
“The most important lesson we learned from last year, that we will practice again this year, is helping our students and the entire Hampshire community adopt a culture of care for one another,” said Chrisler. “That it is the individual behaviors that add up to the collective well-being of our campus.”
Additionally, the college will ask all students, faculty, and staff to sign a Culture of Care agreement to help support behaviors of “mutual respect.”
As of press time, every county in Massachusetts outside of Hampshire County has exceeded 50 cases per 100,000 in the last seven days, which is considered substantial transmission. With the number of cases increasing due to the delta variant, Hampshire College is adding these measures as a precaution.
“I am grateful to everyone who has helped the Hampshire College community achieve a very high level of vaccination, which is the best security against contracting the virus,” said Ed Wingenbach, the president of Hampshire College. “I remain confident that we will be able to protect our community by following reasonable safety measures and treating each other with care.”
University of Massachusetts
Amherst
The fall semester at University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) is scheduled to begin on Sept. 1 with all classes traditionally taught in-person returning to that format. With that said, the university has put strict health and safety protocols in place.
“It is our goal to have as near as normal college experience this fall, but we are closely watching the progress of the delta variant and will respond as necessary should conditions dictate it,” said Mary Dettloff, deputy director of the university’s Office of News and Media Relations.
UMass is among the area colleges that have established a vaccination mandate for the 2021-22 academic year, requiring all students and employees to provide proof of vaccination or exemption. Students who receive an exemption must be tested twice a week. With students returning to campus and local off-campus housing, as of Aug. 12, Dettloff told Reminder Publishing the university is nearing full compliance.
“Ninety-seven percent of our students have complied with the vaccination requirement. Work is underway to ensure full compliance. Within that 97 percent who are in compliance, 1.85 percent or 432 students have been provided medical or religious exemptions,” Dettloff said. “The great majority of international students are also vaccinated. We know some international students have been unable to access a vaccination, and we are working closely to ensure proper entry into the U.S. per Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidance, as well as arranging for vaccinations upon arrival in Amherst. Among international students, 10 individuals (0.25 percent) have been provided medical or religious exemptions.”
The university has also instituted a mask requirement for indoor public spaces. This policy includes residence hall common areas, dining halls, classrooms, and office and academic buildings. The only time students and employees do not have to wear masks is if they are outdoors or if they are in their resident hall rooms or offices alone. Also, students may take their masks off to eat in the dining commons, but must have them on while waiting in line.
During the previous academic year, the university took punitive action against students who participated in off-campus gatherings that were in violation of the commonwealth’s guidelines as well as on-campus incidents that violated the university’s Interim Pandemic Policy. While the state’s restrictions are no longer in effect, UMass’ policy remains in place for the fall semester.
“Most of the state guidance for gatherings has been lifted, though we will closely monitor any change in that. Amherst Police Department will still respond to complaints about large off-campus parties,” Dettloff said. “We encourage our off-campus students to be respectful and they are required to register their gatherings with the Good Neighbor Registration system we share with the town of Amherst. Egregious violations either on or off campus will be dealt with through the Code of Student Conduct process.”
The university plans to host several smaller-scale events, many of them outdoors, to welcome students back to campus throughout the fall semester.
UMass will also continue to offer free COVID-19 testing for the community, though the location of the testing center will move from the Mullins Center to the Campus Center.
Elms College
Chicopee
Elms College will require undergraduate and graduate students to be vaccinated for COVID-19 ahead of the fall semester according to School President Harry Dumay.
“This decision was made after careful review of lessons learned throughout the academic year; in addition to local, state, and federal health guidance,” said Dumay in his letter to the school. The measure is made in an effort to return campus to a fully operational living and learning experience according to Vice President of Enrollment Management and Marketing Jonathan Scully.
Students will be undergoing online COVID-19 training ahead of the upcoming school year. All residential students will be tested for COVID-19 upon moving into campus. For students undergoing classes fully online, they will be exempt from vaccination requirements according to Elms’ COVID-19 mandate. Students can also apply for health and religious exemptions ahead of the school year.
Even with vaccination requirements in place, Elms is maintaining similar safety guidelines to the prior school year. “Elms [last year] implemented its ElmsSafe safety plan, in which everyone practiced social distancing, as well as performing proper cleaning and disinfecting protocols as advised by the Mass. Department of Public Health and Centers for Disease Control,” said Scully.
In the continuation of ElmsSafe this year, the school will continue to offer hand sanitizer and disinfection wipes around the school while implementing social distancing in high traffic areas.
With delta variant cases rising, the school will remain flexible with the changing times. “[We] have a campus-wide COVID Task Force that meets weekly to discuss the current situation,” said Scully.
Asnuntuck Community College
Enfield, CT
After 17 months of limited public access, Asnuntuck Community College has once again opened its campus, but flexibility will be key in the college’s fall plans. Credit courses, which begin on Aug. 26, are available in online, on-campus and hybrid models and students have the option of choosing their preferred method of learning.
The college plans to offer support services and student activities to all students, no matter what model they choose.
Asnuntuck is remaining cautious by recommending virtual interactions, such as virtual campus visits, and it hosted a virtual career open house recently. Other virtual services, such as advising, are recommended, but people have the option of making an appointment with staff.
The college is also requiring masks be worn on campus, regardless of vaccination status.
More information regarding Asnuntuck Community College’s reopening can be found at https://asnuntuck.edu/campus-reopening-info.
Holyoke Community College
Holyoke
Holyoke Community College (HCC) is strongly encouraging, but not requiring, all members of its college community to get vaccinated.
The school joined 14 other community colleges in issuing a statement about vaccination requirements in April. “It is essential that we meet the needs of all of our students, including some who are often from the communities hit hardest by this pandemic and facing disproportionate access to the COVID-19 vaccine,” according to the joint statement. The policy has not changed since its announcement according to Media Relations Manager Christopher Yurko.
After being closed in-person due to construction, HCC has added in-person classes to the fall schedule alongside its usual offering of online classes. Class sizes will be limited to 15 people per classroom to maintain maximum distancing. Masks will be required indoors for all faculty and students, while the college hopes to maintain rigorous hygiene standards throughout campus.
The facilities team will be providing Plexiglas dividers for all front facing offices, hand sanitizing stations in public areas, and proper signage to help maintain guidelines. HCC will also be offering free COVID-19 tests six days a week in collaboration with the city of Holyoke and Fallon Ambulance.
While the school is not requiring vaccines, they are making every effort to provide access for their students and faculty. “Starting on Aug. 24, HCC will have vaccination clinics for students and faculty,” said Yurko. These clinics will operate every Tuesday for the remainder of the semester.
Bay Path University
Longmeadow
Bay Path University plans to get back to pre-pandemic normal this fall semester, with in person classes, an open dining hall and fitness center and on-campus events. The plan to make this happen can be summed up in two words: required vaccinations. Students, faculty and staff at Bay Path University must be fully vaccinated before they step foot on campus.
As always, there are medical and religious exemptions. Students and employees claiming an exemption had to submit paperwork in late July.
The university is trying to make getting the jab easy. Free vaccinations are available at a nearby CVS pharmacy and the institution does not have a preference on one vaccine over another, as long as it is one of the three approved for emergency use in the United States.
Unvaccinated students will be required to wear masks inside and outside if six-foot distancing is not possible. The same goes for faculty and staff. Vaccinated individuals have no such mask requirements.
Even vaccinated students will experience some precautionary measures, though. Visitors are not allowed in the residence halls and the Hatch Learning Commons is only allowing members of the community if they are accompanied by a Bay Path student, faculty or staff person.
Currently, no on-campus testing for COVID-19 is planned, but it is stated on the website that this may change as case rates fluctuate. Health Services and Residential Life Staff are trained to deal with potential cases of COVID-19, should a residential student contract the virus, despite the precautions.
More information on Bay Path University’s COVID-19 restrictions and plans can be found at https://www.baypath.edu/about/the-path-forward.
Smith College
Northampton
Smith College’s Senior Director for News and Strategic Communications Stacey Schmeidel said the school is taking a strict approach to limit COVID-19 on campus.
“This fall Smith will maintain the COVID-related health and safety of the Smith community using an approach that include the vaccine requirement for all students and employees, regular testing, masks and the continued monitoring of external conditions to manage COVID-related health and safety of our campus community,” she wrote in an email.
In an Aug. 9 letter to students and faculty, Smith College President Kathleen McCartney announced that starting on Aug. 11, everyone on campus is required to wear a mask inside all indoor campus spaces with some exceptions.
“The only exceptions will be students’ rooms and faculty and staff members’ individual offices. Students must wear masks in the dining halls except while eating. Masks will remain optional outside,” she wrote.
Along with the mask requirement, the university will also require all students to be fully vaccinated before they return and all faculty was required to be fully vaccinated by Aug. 1 while acknowledging religious or medical exemptions. Regardless of vaccination status, all students and staff are required to take a weekly COVID-19 test for those fully vaccinated and twice a week for people with exemptions.
McCartney also said she is hopeful these measures will provide a strong start to the year.
“I am optimistic that these measures will ensure a strong start as we return to campus for the fall semester. If pandemic conditions improve and the number of cases on campus remains low, we may be able to relax some of these conditions,” she wrote.
Classes begin at Smith College on Sept. 2.
Mount Holyoke College
South Hadley
Director of News and Media Relations at Mount Holyoke College Christian Feuerstein said the college would be welcoming back all students to campus this fall. Last year, she said, on “up to 60 percent of the student body” was invited back to campus. “Which is great, not only are we welcoming new students, but sophomores will have their first chance to be on campus,” she said.
While all students are being welcomed back to campus, she added all students, faculty and staff will be required to be vaccinated. “We will be hosting student vaccine clinics for students who haven’t been able to get vaccinated yet. If they do not have proof of vaccination and didn’t apply for exemption, they will have to get vaccinated on campus,” she said.
Additionally, Feuerstein said starting on Aug. 6 until Oct. 8, the college will have an indoor mask mandate. While at this time the mask mandate is scheduled to end on Oct. 8, she said there was always the opportunity for the college to look at local health metrics and guidelines and re-evaluate if it was needed to continue.
The mask guideline, she stated, required the wearing of face coverings “if you are outside of your private space,” which were “defined as a room in a residence hall or office.” Feuerstein said they were allowing people to make the decisions as to “how they feel about physical distancing in various situations.” She said, “In classrooms if people want to sit six-feet apart, they can do so.”
In updated guidance that was released on Aug. 11, Mount Holyoke College clarified that masks may be removed “when actively eating in dining spaces or in other indoor locations where food and beverages may be consumed.” The guidance stated individuals should decide for themselves what their comfort level is with regard to eating in close proximity to others. Feuerstein added at this time the campus will remain open to the community and “there is no requirement for masking outdoors.”
While they are not making any changes to their housing and how students will live in their private residences, she said some students will be housed at Hampshire College for the semester due to a lightning strike that caused damage to Mead Hall. “So because of Mead Hall being taken offline due to the fire and the lightning strike, we are working with Hampshire College and renting some dorm space from Hampshire College for Mount Holyoke students,” she said.
With regard to hosting students from fellow universities and Mount Holyoke Students attending classes at other colleges as part of the Five College Consortium, Feuerstein said she expects that everyone will be respectful when abiding by rules and regulations. “I think our students, all Five College Consortium students, are going to be respectful of each campus’ requirements. Whether that’s any mask requirements or distancing requirements,” she said, emphasizing that students should have a general knowledge of what the other schools’ guidelines were “before stepping foot onto other campuses.”
American International College
Springfield
American International College (AIC) is planning to have as much of a normal fall semester as possible. To help with this, AIC is requiring that all students and staff are vaccinated against COVID-19.
According to Matthew Scott, vice president of student affairs, AIC will be hosting in-person classes and their residence and dining halls will be open. Students are able to choose their roommates and will begin moving in on Aug. 27.
Fully vaccinated individuals are currently not required to wear masks inside, though Scott said this is subject to change.
“However, of course, with everything that’s happening with the delta variant we are watching that very closely,” said Scott.
AIC also hopes to provide a vaccination clinic on campus to help both students and staff have easy access to the COVID-19 vaccine if they still need it.
“It’s been a little challenging, actually, to have somebody come to campus to run the vaccination clinics, but we want to make it as easy as possible. We have a lot of students coming who are international or who are coming to campus and don’t have a vehicle, so we want to have a vaccination clinic for them,” said Scott.
AIC will have on-campus COVID-19 testing for individuals who are symptomatic or have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for the virus. However, Scott said they will not be requiring regular surveillance testing.
Isolation and quarantine housing procedures for those who contract COVID-19 on campus are still available but, according to Scott, they hope not to have to use them very often.
“We do understand that there will still be, unfortunately, some cases that we experience throughout the year, so we are prepared for that as well,” he said.
Scott said that in a worst case scenario, AIC would be prepared to switch to virtual classes and send students home. However, he stated that they have no plans to do that unless the pandemic significantly worsens.
“One of the things that we learned is when colleges were sending students home they were actually taking a bunch of people who potentially are taking the virus from the college campus or the local community where they are and then sending them out all over the world. So some have said that it may even be safer to keep them on campus and just continue to run your mitigation techniques,” he said. “If we have to do it we certainly will, but we think we can manage it right here on campus especially with our vaccine requirement.”
For now, Scott said that he is most excited to see students return to campus and have a somewhat normal semester.
Springfield College
Springfield
Springfield College is putting robust COVID-19 guidelines in place to keep their students and staff safe during the upcoming semester.
According to Slandie Dieujuste, vice president of student affairs, classes will be in-person, there will be athletics, residence halls are open and visitors are allowed on campus though not in the residence halls.
“Our goal is to provide our students with as normal of an experience as possible,” said Dieujuste.
In order to make this possible, Springfield College is requiring that all students and staff are vaccinated against COVID-19. When arriving on campus, all students will be tested and must wear their mask at all times until a negative result is received.
Vaccinated students must wear masks indoors, but are able to take them off outdoors. Those who are unvaccinated due to an exemption or religious reason must wear their masks both inside and out, said Dieujuste.
Unvaccinated individuals will also be required to have COVID-19 tests once a week. Dieujuste said that Springfield College has a robust contact tracing protocol and has quarantine and isolation housing set aside for those who contract the virus.
Despite the vaccination requirement, Springfield College will not be offering vaccination clinics during the fall.
“We are not doing that again because vaccines are so readily available and we’ve been communicating with our students and employees very early on that this was something that they needed to do, so we don’t see a need to do it because most of our population have already started the vaccination process,” said Dieujuste.
According to Dieujuste, Springfield College would also be prepared to switch to virtual learning if necessary, but they have no plans to do so at this time.
For now, Dieujuste expressed excitement about welcoming their students back starting Sep. 3.
“I’m looking forward to welcoming our students to campus and providing them with this engaging experience,” said Dieujuste.
Springfield Technical Community College
Springfield
Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) instituted a guideline that requires students, faculty and staff to wear masks while indoors – regardless of vaccination status.
According to Darcey Kemp, vice president of student affairs at STCC, the college will continue to offer for students and employee testing at no cost, and they have also dedicated time in a COVID-19 case manager who works collaboratively with the Springfield Department of Health and Human services.
“We continue to follow COVID safety protocols by reporting positive cases through the case manager,” she said. “We have a really comprehensive cleaning protocol that includes wipes in all open staff areas, reception desks, kitchen and lounge areas, etc.” Hand sanitizers are also maintained throughout the campus and near every restroom. Desk shields will be given to any employee who requests those, as well as masks if an individuals personal mask breaks.
“So far, we have seen everyone coming through the building has been adhering to the mask guidelines,” said Kemp.
Additionally, air purifiers will be provided in areas that do not have proper ventilation from certain systems. Keyboard and mouse covers will also be available for self-service computers at the school.
STCC will not require students to be vaccinated because, Kemp said, it would create an extra barrier for open access for students. Instead, the college will offer weekly COVID-19 vaccination clinics on campus and have also joined the White House college vaccine challenge to encourage students to get vaccinated.
According to Kemp, STCC has been able to maximize their ability to serve students remotely over the past year because they have added options that allow students to come in a pick up bags of food and connect with faculty when needed.
“We’ve improved the offerings to students,” she said. They also have an automated online system to help students who seek assistance. “We’ve been able to see that we have to be responsive to our students needs, and that it’s important that we maintain those best parts that we do well,” she continued.
Classrooms will be filled to 75 percent capacity for the time being and masking will still be required during class time. There will also be an emphasis on keeping the same partner throughout the semester if a class requires group work of any kind.
For more information on student resources, people can visit https://www.stcc.edu/resources/.
Western New England University
Springfield
All students attending Western New England University (WNE) this fall will require a full COVID-19 vaccination, according to Vice President of Student Affairs Kerri P. Jarzabski.
In her update to incoming students, Jarzabski highlighted the school’s goal to integrate vaccinated students. “We believe that [the university] can return to a pre-pandemic campus life this fall, provided the vast majority of our community gets vaccinated,” Jarzabski stated. Teachers, as well as residents, commuter and graduate students, are required to provide photo proof of their COVID-19 vaccination record to the school. Anyone requesting an exemption must fill in a form with proof of verification by a medical provider or file for religious reasons.
The vaccination requirement comes with a sizable movement to restore the campus back to a sense of normalcy. While the school plans to operate “classrooms, residence halls, University Commons, and athletics/recreational facilities” under pre-pandemic conditions according to Jarzabski, there will still be procedures put in place.
WNE Director of Health and Wellness Kathleen Noone shared, “WNE will be requiring masks during the first few weeks of opening. We will continue to monitor the situation and make ongoing changes as needed.” The recent emergence of the delta variant has placed extra weight on the school to thoroughly prevent any potential COVID-19 spread.
While the fall may remain ambiguous, Noone stated that they are fully prepared for whatever situation comes ahead. “WNE has a leadership team that meets weekly to oversee our response to the pandemic…our Health Services and Resident Life teams are prepared to handle any needs for isolation and quarantine, if needed,” said Noone.
Westfield State University
Westfield
Newly appointed Westfield State University President Dr. Linda Thompson announced in an Aug. 6 letter to students an indoor mask mandate would be in effect for the beginning of the Fall 2021 semester. Thompson cited the rapid spread of the delta variant and Hampden County’s status as having a “substantial risk” for COVID-19 transmission as reasons for the mask mandate.
“The Westfield State mask requirement pertains to all individuals on campus, regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination status. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health also advises that unvaccinated individuals wear a mask (indoors or outdoors) when social distancing is not possible,” said Dr. Thompson.
In addition to the mask mandate, Westfield State is also requiring that all students with an on-campus presence get vaccinated against COVID-19, as agreed by all nine state universities in Massachusetts.
New and transferring Westfield State students are slated to return to campus Aug. 26, with the remaining students scheduled for Aug. 29.
Representatives of Greenfield Community College did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.
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