Spring 2021 semester to start as scheduled, all classes will be remote for first two weeks

Interim President Marcia White sent the following message to Saint Rose students today, January 6:

Dear Students,

I hope you had a restful break. You may already be aware that COVID-19 rates in Albany County, where Saint Rose is located, have been rising. As always, we are working to provide you with a high-quality Saint Rose education in the safest way possible. We have an update to our restart plan for Spring 2021 that provides a thoughtful return to campus with the safety of our own community and the wider community at the forefront. As it has been throughout the pandemic, all plans are subject to change based on national, state, and regional shifts.

To ensure continuity of your academic progress, the semester will start on January 19 as planned. However, all classes will be offered remotely for the first two weeks with in-person and hybrid instruction beginning on February 1. The Spring 2021 semester will end on May 5, as scheduled. Nearly 60% of our undergraduate and graduate courses this semester will offer an in-person component (whether fully in-person or hybrid).

If you live on-campus in the residence halls, you will have two options:

• If you wish to move in as originally scheduled and live on campus during the two weeks of remote instruction, you can still move into the residence halls following this schedule and protocol. You must notify Residence Life of your intention to live on campus during the period of remote instruction by noon on January 12 by emailing reslife@strose.edu, so we can plan for your arrival. As you will be living in the residence halls for the full semester, you will not receive a housing refund.
• You can remain off campus for the first two weeks of the semester and will not be charged for housing for that time period. Move-in days will be January 30 and 31. If you choose to move in during this time period, room charge adjustments will be made for 14 days. After all aid (federal, state, and institutional) is applied to your account to take care of any balance owed, if you still show a credit balance, you will get a refund. Room adjustments will be processed the week of January 24. You can modify your meal plans until Friday, January 22, at which point meal plan selections will be locked. Unlike with housing, there will be no dining charge adjustments to accounts. Students will move into the residence halls following this schedule and protocol.

Testing requirements: As previously announced, we are requiring all students – undergraduate and graduate – who will be coming to campus for any reason in the spring semester to submit a negative COVID-19 test result. Card access to buildings will be turned off for anyone who fails to submit a result. Students who will not be on campus during the spring2021 semester may complete an opt-out form. They will not have card access to College buildings for the spring semester. The deadline for test result submission to covidresults@strose.edu (except for those who are moving in for the remote instruction period or are from an area that is named under the NYS Travel Advisory) is January 29, which means you can begin testing as early as January 23.

You will have to obtain testing off campus. The New York State Department of Health offers a searchable directory of testing sites. Out-of-state students can find testing sites through their state’s health department. The College will allow the submission of results from rapid COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) diagnostic testing, including the rapid antigen tests.

Students should also know that College employees have or will be tested before coming to campus as well. Testing protocol throughout the year will continue as it did last year, with weekly sample testing of our population through Health Services. We also will offer COVID-19 testing to students who are symptomatic or have concerns based on a contact.

During each day of the semester, students must fill out the Daily Symptoms Tracker, which is a form that appears on your To-Do list in the Navigate app every day.

Staying informed: Weekly updates from Health Services and the weekly In the Know email for students, which provides a wealth of information and updates (and is also available on the website), will resume in the spring semester. Dr. Margaret McLane, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, will send you a message later today discussing the return to academics at Saint Rose and offering some tips.

Additional information, including answers to questions about student-teaching placements, vaccines, housing and dining, and other topics can be found on our restart website, which has been updated for Spring 2021. If you have questions, I urge you to reach out to solutions@strose.edu.

We are still requiring masks on campus, social distancing, and other safety protocols, as we did last semester. Your compliance with these policies was critical to keeping COVID-19 rates low at the College. Given a new strain of the virus and the spike in cases nationwide due to the holidays, showing love by masking up and maintaining social distancing is more important than ever. Please be well and know that we are proud of how we stayed safe as a community in the fall, and we are all excited to welcome you back to Saint Rose for 2021.

Stay safe and well,

Marcia