From WLEA radio
ALFRED, NY, October 2020 – Before sending them home for Thanksgiving, SUNY will test all students for COVID-19 prior to campus departure. Alfred State College (ASC) has announced the dates for testing along with further updates to the academic calendar for the end of fall and start of spring semesters.
Every week, ASC tests 600 or more people through pool testing, and wastewater from residence halls is also tested to look for any trace evidence of a positive case on campus. This aggressive testing identifies positive cases quickly so they may be isolated and controls the spread through contact tracing.
“Despite rising numbers of positive cases in the region, we’re very fortunate with a positivity rate on campus now of less than 1 percent,” said Dr. Greg Sammons, vice president of Student Affairs. “Our aggressive measures for multiple forms of testing and immediate tracing of contacts are working well. As we follow SUNY’s directive to test all students within 10 days of the Thanksgiving break, we’re going to finish our fall semester of in-person classes with definitive word regarding student health.”
“Our students, staff, and faculty have all done a great job of following precautions with social distancing, limiting crowds, wearing masks, and frequent handwashing,” said ASC Provost Dr. Kristin Poppo. “We will complete the fall semester with remote instruction after Thanksgiving and we have also updated our academic calendar to reflect changes for spring. As students return, we will secure test results for everyone, keep them in quarantine for the first week of classes through remote instruction, and then begin in-person instruction on Feb. 1.”
Fall Semester Exit
Nov. 16–20 COVID-19 testing for all students
Nov. 19–25 Student quarantine with only exceptions for class, lab, and food
Nov. 25 Last day for in-person instruction
Nov. 30–Dec. 6 COVID-19 testing for faculty/staff
Nov. 30–Dec. 4 Alfred campus classes meet through remote instruction
Nov. 30–Dec. 8 Wellsville/Northland classes meet through remote instruction
Dec. 7–11 Final exams for Alfred campus also through remote instruction
Spring Semester Restart
Jan. 15–17 Out-of-state and int’l students to begin two-week quarantine on campus
Jan. 15 All other students quarantine at home for one week prior to arrival
Jan. 22–24 Campus open for all students to return
Jan. 25–29 Students in quarantine on campus and begin remote instruction
Feb. 1 Begin in-person instruction
To follow SUNY recommendations, ASC has removed the typical spring break so that instruction continues uninterrupted. The college must remain flexible and ready to make adjustments depending on variables including the current status of COVID-19 on campus. The current academic calendar for Alfred State is available online at www.AlfredState.edu/calendar.
