GOAL: KEEP COVID-19 AT BAY

Hartwick Students

Tested Twice Even

Before Class Starts

ONEONTA – Students returning to Hartwick College this weekend must already have been tested for COVID-19, and will be tested again before classes begin Monday, Aug. 31.

By then, all students and employees must sign a document averring they will “Our Social Compact: A Healthy Hartwick College,” outlining all steps they must take to keep the COVID threat at bay.

“Hartwick’s goal is to enable our students to return for instruction while complying with the best guidance available to protect our community, both on- and off-campus,” said college President Margaret L. Drugovich.

All students and employees will be required to:

• Provide evidence of negative results from COVID-19 testing within a maximum of 14 days prior to arrival.

• Quarantine for 14 days, if arriving from a “Hot Spot” state, as determined by the State of New York, even if the student has tested negative for COVID-19;

• Undergo COVID-19 testing again on arriving on campus Aug. 22-31 – students and commuters, and all employees.

• Be tested every week until the end of in-person classes (Nov 20). Again, that applies to students and employees.

Further, “Out Social Compact” requires wearing masks in public, six-foot social distancing at all time, and respect for personal space; good hygiene, including frequent handwashing; participating in daily screenings including temperature checks; disinfecting living and working spaces and personal items on a regular basis; and comply with the College’s Reopening Campus Plan as well as local, state, and federal guidelines on COVID-19 when both on and off campus.

Course work will be delivered both in-person and virtually for students in the fall semester. Changes to the academic calendar for the fall semester eliminated breaks until in-person instruction ends on Friday, November 20. All students will leave campus by Nov. 21 and then complete the semester’s instruction and exams remotely. Final exams conclude on Dec. 10.

The College has enhanced safety and cleaning measures campus-wide, including:

• Daily screening of all individuals entering campus.

• Increased sanitizing of academic and administrative buildings and residence halls.

• Additional hand sanitizer dispensers at building entrances, dining and café locations, fitness entrances, and event spaces.

• Markings and signage in campus buildings to indicate six-foot distancing.

• Designated single-direction foot-traffic in some spaces, and limited the number of building entrances to facilitate screening.

• Restricted elevator occupancy.

• Reduced capacity in theaters and auditoriums to maintain six-foot social distance.