Saint Rose Announces Fall 2020 Restart Plan

Today, The College of Saint Rose Interim President Marcia J. White announced the College’s restart plan for Fall 2020, which includes a return to on-campus living and instruction.

Classes will begin on August 24, as scheduled, and will be delivered through mixed modalities, including in-person, remote, or a hybrid of both. In-person instruction will end at Thanksgiving break, and the remainder of the semester will be conducted remotely.

The plan was crafted after a review of the local, state, and national trends of COVID-19 cases and the New York State Phase 4 reopening guidelines, and in consultation with public health officials. Undergraduate and graduate students were surveyed on the topic, and nearly 1,000 students responded. The majority of students responded that they wanted to come back to campus.

Students, employees, and their families were notified of the plan in a message from White. Detailed plans, frequently asked questions, and resources can all be found at www.strose.edu/restart. Key points include:

• Employees and students will receive daily health questionnaires. If a concern is raised by a questionnaire response, isolation, testing and contact tracing of potentially COVID-19 infected students and employees would follow.
• The campus community will be expected to follow protocols recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as state and regional health officials. These include requiring social distancing, the use of masks or other face coverings in College buildings (with the exception of single offices, residence halls, and while dining), limits on the size of group gatherings, and asking students and employees to stay home when they are not feeling well.
• Efforts to reduce density in the residence halls, particularly in bathrooms and other common areas. Double rooms will remain doubles and single rooms will remain singles. The College will give students more flexibility in housing by suspending the first-year and sophomore on-campus housing requirement for the 2020-2021 academic year.
• New cleaning and disinfecting practices and protocols will be in place for all of our campus spaces, and new sanitizing equipment has been purchased and is in use.
• Quarantine and self-isolation policies are in place for those who have symptoms or test positive for the virus.
• The College is finalizing protocols and procedures regarding testing, and we will share details as soon as we have them available.

“As an alum, longtime trustee, and interim president, of The College of Saint Rose I know that our core mission of care and concern for each other will guide us during this centennial year, as we turn the page at Saint Rose to provide an exceptional education for the next 100 years,” White said in her announcement to the campus community.

Again, to view all of the details of the plan, visit www.strose.edu/restart.