Returning college students to see new safety measures

Mandated virus testing, delayed campus arrival, quarantines in store

As thousands of Connecticut college students prepare to begin the spring semester amid a resurgence of the coronavirus, schools across the state are delaying campus arrivals and heightening COVID-19 testing requirements. Some have also canceled spring break.

In Hartford, students at Trinity College will begin online learning Feb. 8, after an optional remote term that began Tuesday and will continue through Feb. 5. But they will not begin returning to campus until Feb. 18, with in-person classes expected to start March 1, after a quarantine period.

Joe DiChristina, vice president of student success and enrollment management, said Trinity made the decision to push back campus arrivals when health professionals began warning of surges during the winter months and flu season. Starting remotely “allows us to be able to have a full semester, and then

carefully bring students back to campus,” he said.

Similar to other Connecticut schools, Trinity expects students to get tested before returning to campus, and the college will test students again upon arrival. Then, before they can join in-person classes, they must get tested again. DiChristina pointed out that Trinity has about 230 students that live a block or two away from campus, in the Hartford community, which has seen a significant increase in cases over the past few months. Those students, along with the ones who live on campus, will continue to be tested twice a week in an effort to keep both the Trinity and Greater Hartford communities healthy, he said.

DiChristina said Trinity is also adjusting the COVID-19 community contract all students must sign “to address some lessons that we learned during the fall semester.” In October, 15 students were removed from campus for visiting a local bar or violating no-guest policies.

While it remains difficult to plan ahead with so many unknowns, “at least we have one semester under our belt,” he said.

At UConn, Storrs residential students must complete a mail-in COVID-19 test about a week before returning to campus on Jan. 16. Students who test positive must remain in isolation at home. As they were in the fall, all students will be tested again during check-in upon arrival, and they will remain in residential quarantine until Feb. 1. Dorms will be kept at 50% capacity or less. But unlike the fall semester, students will begin classes online during those two weeks. Associate Vice President and Dean of Students Eleanor Daugherty said students shared with administrators how difficult the fall quarantine period was with very limited activity.

“COVID is as much about the science as it is about feelings. You cannot sustain staying open if you don’t allow for both. You can’t put students in quarantine and not consider the impact on their mental health,” she said. “This is as much about the science, testing and rigorous medical care as it is about taking care of the mental health of our students.”

Off-campus and commuter students who are registered for in-person classes at UConn, or who will be regularly working or conducting research on campus, are also required to be tested about a week before visiting campus. Throughout the semester, the university will continue regularly testing both residential and off-campus student populations.

“We’re doing much more aggressive surveillance,” Daugherty added.

Following spring break, expected to take place from April 11-17, all residential students at UConn will return home. The last two weeks of classes, as well as exams, will be conducted remotely for all students.

Central Connecticut State University, Eastern Connecticut State University, Southern Connecticut State University and Western Connecticut State University will not have a spring break, although the state’s community colleges are expected to. The universities will begin classes one week later than originally scheduled, on Jan. 26, while community college students will begin classes Jan. 22.

“Some of you might believe that losing out on Spring Break is unfair,” Central Connecticut State University President Zulma Toro wrote in a notice to students. “Quite frankly, the pandemic has caused a great deal of disappointment for most of us, but we must make the best of things and do all we can to protect ourselves and one another. Limiting your exposure to COVID-19 during Spring Break is critical to keeping our campus community safe.”

The University of Hartford and Quinnipiac University in Hamden have also eliminated their spring breaks. Molly Polk, UHart’s vice president for marketing and enrollment, said the administration is in daily contact with the state and health officials to review the semester start date, which is expected to take place after mid-January. Students will soon be notified of changes, she said. The administration aims to tests all students every week through February.

“In the fall we really focused on residential students because they all live together,” she said. “Now in Connecticut there is a spread in the community that wasn’t here in the fall. So, we really have to focus on commuters as well.

“I think all the colleges and universities will tell you that it was a bit of trial by fire as we worked through the fall. As situations came up and positive cases happened, we were figuring out how to manage them as we went.”

Polk said the university has a better sense now of the practical things students need during quarantine and isolation periods, such as welcome bags in case they forgot certain items in their rush to pack a bag, as well as food menus, laundry service and mail delivery. Administrators are also partnering with students to figure out more opportunities for virtual socialization and engagement.

“This is certainly not a traditional on-campus college experience right now, and we know that,” she said.