Caledonia County’s only residential college will be open this fall — but students should expect to be tested more than once for Covid-19, wear a mask outside their dorm room and more.
Officials at Northern Vermont University estimate a maximum of 300 students will be returning to its Lyndon campus in early August, down from the typical 450 to 500, NVU Dean of Students Jonathan Davis told the town’s selectboard Monday.
The college, which also has a campus in Johnson, announced in June that it would resume in-person academics and on-campus life during the coronavirus pandemic. Falls sports competitions have been canceled.
Davis gave town officials greater details on the local campus’ reopening, including plans for testing procedures.
When students return to campus on Aug. 13 and 14, the dean said, they’ll use self-administered Covid-19 tests in their vehicles. The self-swab tests are the same type of test — PCR (polymerase chain reaction) — used by the state to screen for active Covid-19 infection.
A week after their first test, students will be tested again, he said, and then the school will randomly select students for testing throughout the fall semester.
“With the number of tests we plan, we feel like it’s going to provide a safe environment for all, including the town when our students do travel to the grocery store or other places,” he said.
The tests will be for all campus-based students — both those living in dorms and those commuting.
Davis said the testing is being done through a contractor — the Massachusetts-based Broad Institute, which is affiliated with Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology — and results are expected to be available within 48 hours of testing.
The institute has been partnering with other colleges for coronavirus testing. Tests will be free.
People on campus will also be required to wear masks inside, unless alone in their own room or office, a policy Davis characterized as part of a pledge students must take.
“In many ways, we plan to exceed the guidelines that the state put forth, including the mask wearing,” he said.
State officials earlier this month issued guidelines stipulating that students must wear masks while in class, but not in residence halls, which NVU will students to do.
NVU officials said the rest of the health pledge — a practice being adopted at other colleges, such as the University of Vermont — hasn’t yet been finalized but will be shared when completed.
Along with the reduced number of students returning, because some are opting for online-only learning, there will be fewer desks and seats in classrooms, said Davis. And only single-occupancy dorms will be available for residential students.
Selectboard member Christian Thompson asked Davis how many states students would be coming from. Davis said some will come from New Jersey, Maryland, Maine, Ohio, California and Texas — and only one or two each from the latter two states, where cases have been surging.
If any student travels to campus via mass transportation, Davis said, they’ll be required to isolate.
“They will not come out of the isolation housing, that building, until they have a second negative test result,” the dean said, explaining that school workers would deliver meals to those students.
Thompson also asked if students must stay on campus while awaiting test results, adding that people in town are wondering how quickly students will start to intermingle with the community.
Davis said the college plans to ask students to isolate while waiting for that first round of testing.
The dean also revealed that fall sports will be canceled at the school, though officials are looking into whether teams can still practice and possibly participate in in-state tournaments.
“We are definitely writing the book here,” Davis said.
More details about the college’s reopening are available online.
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