The university’s plans for the spring semester include a delayed start for undergraduate classes and required virus testing for residential students.
Because of the current surge in COVID-19 cases in the region, Neumann is staggering the start dates for spring semester classes. Graduate and Adult courses begin as scheduled on Monday, January 11. Undergraduate courses will start on Tuesday, January 19.
Of course, these dates and plans reflect current public health conditions and are contingent upon any additional directives that Governor Tom Wolf may issue.
This schedule change mirrors a nationwide trend as reported on January 4 by Inside Higher Education: “Rising COVID-19 infection and death rates are prompting colleges and universities that are hoping for in-person instruction in 2021 to again shift their calendars and push back the start of the spring semester ... Pennsylvania colleges have been particularly active.”
Like Neumann, many colleges are starting spring classes later in January with the majority of courses in a hybrid or online format.
The plan for residence halls is to welcome students on January 15 and 16. Upon arrival, students must either present evidence of a negative COVID-19 test, taken within 72 hours prior to their return, or agree to a campus-administered test. Neumann will cover the cost of these tests.
Students will be assigned a specific time between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to report, in their vehicles, to one of three tents in the Mirenda Center parking lot. If they have proof of a recent negative test, they will be permitted to move in immediately. If they do not have documentation of a recent test, students will be given a test to self-administer on the spot. Graduate nursing students and laboratory personnel from FlowMetric Life Sciences, the company supplying the testing kits, will be on hand to instruct and assist.
After completing the test, students will be given a number to place on the dashboard of their car and directed to a parking area to await results, which will be available within 60-90 minutes. Those whose tests are negative will be given a clearance pass to grant them access to the residence halls,
Those who test positive will be given a list of sites where they can get PCR tests (the “gold standard” test for diagnosing COVID-19) and asked to quarantine at home. They can then email negative test results to the university and be cleared to live on campus.
According to Chris Haug, vice president for student affairs, FlowMetric will have a mobile lab, capable of processing 30 tests per hour, on campus on January 15 and 16. He expects approximately 520 students to live in residence halls this semester.
Ongoing, random testing of residential students will continue throughout the spring semester. The schedule for this testing is still in development.
At the end of the fall semester, on December 18, 2020, the campus COVID-19 dashboard listed 45 confirmed cases: 12 resident students, 25 commuting students, and eight faculty/staff/service partners.
Tentative plans also call for maintaining the spring 2021 academic calendar, including spring break from Monday, March 1, until Sunday, March 7, and graduation ceremonies on May 15 (for the class of 2021) and May 16 (for the class of 2020).