SUNY Cobleskill will welcome back students beginning August 10 with a revised calendar and classes held both in-person and remotely.
“We are pleased to announce that our Fall 2020 plan has been approved by SUNY and complies with the higher education guidelines set forth by the Governor’s Office,” said President Marion Terenzio in a statement released Thursday.
Like everything with COVID-19, the plan—detailed in length on the college’s website—is subject to change.
For it to work, Dr. Terenzio said, everyone needs to cooperate and follow social-distancing, screening, and monitoring requirements.
The plan, she said, is based on guidance from the Governor's Office, the Mohawk Valley Control Room, SUNY System Administration, the Schoharie County Department of Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control, and other experts.
Its “core tenets” put safety first while continuing to make higher learning accessible.
Students will begin a staggered move-in August 10 with everyone—including family members—screened; students will be allowed just one person in the building with them.
Masks and social -distancing will be required and enforced and those who don’t comply “may be subject to removal.”
Masks will also be required in classrooms and on campus, though not in dorm rooms.
Classes will begin August 17, there will be no October break, and students will leave for the semester by Saturday, November 21—their Thanksgiving break.
After that, all classes and testing will be done online; the semester will end December 4.
During the semester, about 75 percent of the classes will be held remotely with 25 percent in-person.
Roommates will be considered “family units” and masks won’t be required in dorm rooms, however visitors from off-campus or other dorms won’t be permitted.
Masks will be required outside rooms; lounges, fitness areas and elevators will be closed and gatherings in spaces like kitchen and laundry rooms will be limited to 10-25 people, based on state guidelines.
Limited seating will be available in Prentice, Twisted Whiskers, and the Farm Fresh Café, with pre-orders for takeout available through a new app being launched by CAS.
To start, clubs will meet online; sports will be run under guidelines from the NCAA and NCA Conferences which are still pending.
There will be a daily screening of employees.
Students showing COVID-19 symptoms will be tested and those testing positive will be sent home or quarantined; one dorm has been reserved for quarantine use and one town hall dorm for isolation use.
Students arriving from states designated as “restricted” will be subject to additional quarantine requirements.
More details on that and the plan will be shared as they become available.