Colleges prepare class schedules

As hospitalizations for the coronavirus are ramping up in Pennsylvania, colleges and universities are getting ready for the spring semester.

Gov. Tom Wolf on Dec. 17 projected that hospitalizations could peak in January and February, resulting in the state Department Health recommending the delay of the start of spring semesters at colleges and universities.

“We are seeing an alarming increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, and these trends are expected to worsen in January at the time when students normally return to campus,” said Acting Secretary of Education Noe Ortega. “Colleges and universities play a critical role in mitigating the spread of COVID-19 and creating safe learning environments for students.”

Some Berks County colleges and universities plan to push back the start of the second semester to provide additional time to mitigate the virus.

All are offering most classes remotely to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, with a few in-person classes.

Albright College

Last summer, Albright College’s pandemic team recognized that they could expect case increases in winter, according to spokeswoman Carey Manzolillo.

Manzolillo said the college began early preparations for a second wave of the virus.

The college is offering a six-week optional session from Jan. 4 to Feb. 12 of online-only classes.

Two more sessions are scheduled from Feb. 15 to April 6 and April 8 to May 28, with sessions including some online and in-person classes.

The college also announced it plans to test each student at its Gable Health Center for COVID upon their entry to campus.

Students have again been asked to adhere to all safety guidelines outlined by the state Department of Health, including completing a 14day isolation prior to their scheduled arrival to campus.

Tests take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete, and students who test negative will be allowed to move into residence halls, Manzolillo said.

Albright’s dashboard showed 1 active case and 1 person in isolation. The campus has seen 79 COVID cases for the pandemic.

Alvernia University

Kristopher Nolt, Alvernia University spokesman, said classes will begin on Feb. 1. He said they typically begin two weeks earlier.

Nolt said the students and teachers are getting accustomed to working at home.

“This is what we have to do at this time,” Nolt said.

He said that some classes will be held remotely and others in person. He said the same protocol will be followed at all three campuses.

The school’s online dashboard listed two new COVID cases with a total of three active cases among the Alvernia community across the three campuses: Reading, Philadelphia and Schuylkill.

“I don’t have the total number of (pandemic) cases on hand but I can tell you that we did not have any COVID-19-related hospitalizations during the fall semester,” Nolt said.

Kutztown University

Kutztown University

announced it will start its spring semester virtually.

A message sent to the campus community Dec. 23 says that when classes begin on Jan. 19, a 100% remote learning format will be used for the first two weeks, with in-person classes resuming on Feb. 1.

Students begin moving back to campus on Jan. 29 at scheduled move-in dates and times.

All students are being asked to quarantine in their homes for seven days prior to returning to campus. International students will be contacted by the International Admissions and Services Office about their return-to-campus plan.

Any student who is sick is asked to stay home and not return to campus until their symptoms subside.

KU will also be requiring all students living on campus to be tested for COVID-19 as a condition to live in residence halls. Upon their return to campus, students will

report to O’Pake Fieldhouse one hour before their assigned move-in time to be tested for COVID-19, receiving their results by email about 15 minutes after being tested.

Students will need to present their negative test result to KU staff before being allowed to move into a residence hall. Students who test positive will be required to return home and isolate per guidelines from the state Department of Health.

Voluntary COVID-19 testing will be available for students living off campus on Jan. 27 and 28 and Feb. 1

and 2. Preregistration will be available at a later date.

KU employees will also be offered voluntary testing on the same dates as off-campus students. The university will cover the cost of employees’ tests.

The university is pursuing additional testing opportunities throughout the spring semester for both students and employees..

Penn State Berks

Penn State Berks campus in Spring Township plans to begin remote classes on Jan. 19 and continue to Feb. 12.

Classes might become inperson, depending on the status of the virus, officials said.

“While we know this creates a number of challenges for our community, we are very concerned with the current outlook across the country and the commonwealth and believe this is the most responsible way to begin our semester,” said Penn State President Eric J. Barron.

The campus dashboard has been steady at 18 cases for the pandemic for weeks.

RACC

Reading Area Commu

nity College, which has about 5,000 students, plans on opening Jan. 19, according to David Hessen, RACC spokesman.

“We have a great group of students, and everyone is eager to come back,” he said.

Hessen said the classes will be a mixture of virtual and in person.

All of the students have been equipped with laptops and tutoring services if necessary.

The college reports weekly and has had 53 cases for the pandemic.